He threw his body to a pinch and latched on with demonstrable purpose: This is mine. I choose this.
As I was watching, his climbing style reminded me that people have their own modes and fashion for living as well. Each person has a rhythm, reach, strengths and weaknesses, risk tolerance, and aspirations. And just like we get to choose how we climb we can choose how to live. Continue reading Climbing and the Art of Living
Outside the window, overlooking the pool, cherry blossoms are flowering pink bouquets, bright against the grey, and tulips rise up with slouched shoulders and frumpy bed head. Water percolates, circling back to collect in clouds, weighted vest air compressing, then streams its way into puddles. In the early morning it’s cold enough to make the tip of my nose cold. Spring.
Last year I missed this. Continue reading No Third Time Charm
I didn’t realize how much baggage you could pack into a carry-on.
Three pairs of shoes, four pairs of pants, some shorts, enough underwear and shirts for a week. And all that shit about past breakups, of the romantic and business kind. I’m glad they didn’t make me weigh the bag. Continue reading The Baggage We Carry
I met a guy. He climbs for his daughter. He’s an immigrant and has to leave the country in a month. His two years are up but his daughter will stay. A home divided. For years he scrapped to come to America from the place where Europe and Asia meet–or separate, depending on your perspective. … Continue reading Enter the Void
“I was really excited to meet up with you because I knew you’d be gone in two weeks.”
Maybe I should have read the writing on the wall. Continue reading A Place in Our Hearts
I awoke at 5:56, been beating the clock for weeks. Why? Continue reading The Sound of Waking up Before Your Alarm Clock
I’d never wanted a vacation to be over before it started.
Maybe it was because I knew we’d be over when the trip ended. Maybe I was trying to delay the inevitable. Continue reading It Won’t Go: On Breaking Up After a Climbing Trip
“Even sweetness can scratch the throat, grandma said, so stir the sugar well.” – Ocean Vuong in “Notebook Fragments”
The thing is, I don’t like sugar in my coffee. But, I was taught recently that a spoonful of sugar in the pot — if you do it Turkish style — makes the final product creamier, frothier, tastier. I have to admit, he’s right.
2018 had its sweet moments, but I didn’t always stir well. Continue reading The Sweet and Salty of 2018: Reflecting on a Year of Love and Travel
A funny thing happens:
A day becomes a month,
a plot becomes a line
— best fit —
and outliers are discarded
for sake of
the data.
I’m not sure why
it seems more real
to stand at the edge
and look at what hell
we’re capable of Continue reading It Stares Back
Aaron Gerry 