Topless in Tahiti

"We've been swimming over four hours,
let's stop at that raft for a rest."
Kelly and Hugo and I were bored
sitting around the pool day after day
waiting for a 747 crew to call in sick
or go past duty regs.
The fourteen of us sitting reserve in Tahiti
couldn't believe our good fortune.
Three days ago I was laying on Sandy Beach,
south of Honolulu with three other
reserve flight attendants when Ellen Sue's
pager went off. She dashed to the pay phone
and came back screaming five minutes later
that she had been scheduled to deadhead to Tahiti
to sit reserve for seven days to cover sick calls.
Debbie and Kiki and I jumped to our feet and
raced to the pay phone. Debbie arrived
first was told she could go to Tahiti
and she said, "Hold on, my friends want to go too."
I was assigned the trip and so was Kiki.
Approaching Tahiti from the air took my
breath away. It was hard to imagine anywhere
prettier than Hawaii, but the endless shoals
around the tiny islands looked fantastic.
Our beachfront hotel was happy for the steady
business from Continental airlines and treated
us like royalty. Well, the front desk staff did
anyway, the barefoot maids glared at us the the
French-speaking locals were openly hostile
when we went to the store for French bread and cheese.
Every night the hotel put on fashion shows and
dance exhibits and after a few drinks
we would be asked to participate.
Jolly good fun but after three days
boredom set in and while all the girls
wanted to stay at the pool,
I needed some adventure and talked the two guys
on the crew into going snorkeling with me.
"I really need a rest guys, come along now."
We put our snorkel masks down and paddled to
the side of the raft and looked up at its occupants.
The two gorgeous girls were topless
and I managed to say, "Mind if we rest a minute?"
Kelly and Hugo couldn't speak but their
eyeballs nearly popped out of their heads
at the sight of their bare chests.
I felt embarrassed for them but it was rather funny
since normally both of them were unrepentant chatterboxes.
They spluttered and stared but no words came out and finally
the French girls managed to say in broken English,
"Go away disgusting Americans."
We paddled off and after a few more hours
in the crystal clear, warm bath-like water,
we returned our snorkel gear to the front desk
and thanked them for a wonderful outing and
told them we went to the mouth of the bay.
"But we told you to stay by the shore!"
the manager said emphatically.
"So many sharks where you decided to go."

Dream Library/Ornithology Center

I dreamed the school board gave us a building
but my library was a round building by the forest.
One side was books and the other side was tiered displays
of bird nests full of different speckled candies.
I looked out the window and a huge robin with
bright orange feathers was on a nest fanning her wings
in the sun and her chicks were too.
I turned around and the candies had turned into real eggs
but the chicks were hatching fully formed
into tiny two inch long beautiful birds.
I lean over and stare at the tiny mockingbird.
She fans her white and black wings
and I examine the tiny feathers,
looking closely at the black and white contrast.
My heart seems to grow bigger as I study the feathers
and I am filled to overflowing happiness.