journal features

eight pina coladas

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-eight years and a million words

The Cottage, 2001.06.23

In an effort to relate the problems she'd had last night with heartburn, my grandmother was describing the last time she'd felt the same symptoms; when she'd had 8 pina coladas in one day during a trip to Mexico. Heh, heh, heh. That's my grandma.

My marine sandals fell apart today. One of the straps just tore right through while I was wading around in the bay. Lousy Nike pieces of cr*p. Cost me $100 when I bought them, and that was just less than three years ago!

rand()m quote

If I had my life to live over, I'd try to make more mistakes next time. I would relax, I would limber up, I would be crazier than I've been on this trip. I know very few things I'd take seriously any more. I'd certainly be less hygenic... I would take more chances, I would take more trips, I would scale more mountains, I would swim more rivers, and I would watch more sunsets. I would eat more ice cream and fewer beans. I would have more actual troubles and fewer imaginary ones. Oh, I've had my moments, and if I had to do it all over again, I'd have many more of them, in fact I'd try not to have anything else, just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of my day. If I had it to do all over again, I'd travel lighter, much lighter than I have. I would start barefoot earlier in the spring, and I'd stay that way later in the fall. And I would ride more merry-go-rounds, and catch more gold rings, and greet more people and pick more flowers and dance more often. If I had it to do all over again - but you see, I don't.

—Jorge Luis Borges