The water was about 70 degrees as I stepped into it this afternoon. The Gulf of Mexico was a brilliant blue, and the sky was clear with those puffy white clouds I love so much. The sound of the Gulf was like music as Nanci Griffith ran through the cd player of my head singing, "I want to ride the waves down in Galveston/ When the hurricanes roll in/ Cause that Gulf Coast water tastes sweet as wine/ When your heart's blowing home in the wind."

I used to be a poet. Last night at three a.m. I found inspiration.