East is East

When I was a child in SC, I knew the sun rose in the east, so when I looked in the direction of the rising sun I knew I was looking east, and when I looked east I knew I was looking in the direction that the sun came from.  I knew also that the ocean was off there in the east too, but we never went there.

 

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When we moved to California I knew the ocean, the Pacific, was in the west; from the top of a near by mountain I could see the ocean off there in the west.  So I knew west was where the ocean was and that the ocean was in the west.

But then I moved to Santa Barbara, California and I have been screwed up ever since as to where east and west and north and south are exactly.  Santa Barbara is located on a bit of land that juts out into the Pacific.  You can see on a map that, if you are standing in Santa Barbara and you decided to face the ocean, you are not looking west, you are in fact looking south!  

I don’t know how the hell the ocean stopped being in the west, but it did and ever since then I have been screwed up.  Since I continue to think the ocean is in the west, I am also confused as to where north and south are exactly.    I got so confused and upset by my confusion that Carol bought me a little compass to carry around if I became upset about not knowing which direction I might be looking.  That was a good idea.  But I lost the compass.

I have been thinking about directions because I hear on the radio that the Big Fire is moving north east.  So when I turn around and the ocean is at my back and I am looking at the mountains—and I don’t know how this happens—I am actually looking north.  It is good to know the fire is moving north because that means it is not moving south which is where I am located.

Maybe because of the fire, I will finally figure out which direction the ocean is, here in Santa Barbara.

 In the meantime, I don’t think I will look up at the sky again this month because I am sick and tired of that cloud of smoke.

3 Replies to “East is East”

  1. As the REM song says, just stand in the place where you live and face North, etc…at Lake Wohlford, East seems to me to be about thirty degrees South of where it should be…

  2. As the REM song says, just stand in the place where you live and face North, etc…at Lake Wohlford, East seems to me to be about thirty degrees South of where it should be…

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