then there was that time we spent an entire day on the sandy coast in the sun of southern california. the rocks went in and out of the shoreline as far as our eyes could see. the following morning i awoke in the sand with my shirt off to my left side, one sock on, and no sign of where my shoes had went. a black dog with a pink collar behind me kept walking in a circle of a radius of about 5 feet. that collar always makes me laugh. the people of california get too much sun on their underarms and chins and not enough rainfall to grow good plants. i think the tide is the best part of the ocean. it always comes back in no matter how far out it travels. it must have been 85 degrees that morning. i still was curious as to where my shoes had ventured. it made me think of how mother's always say "it's not like they just got up and walked away on their own." i always trusted my mother's judgement on a statement like this when it pertained to homework or my sweatshirt but a pair of shoes seemed the more likely candidate to actually get up and walk away. maybe they sometimes just finally learn to move without the control of the person atop. my dad always laughs at this idea. i think people like the idea of a pier because they can go out over the ocean's waters without actually stepping foot in them. it gives them a sort of feeling that they are walking on water. mike always said walking on water would be something he would do if he could be granted a special power. me? i think i would like to be able to control time with the touch of a button on a remote control. like watching a video tape, but it's really life. i wonder what will happen to vhs tapes in five or ten years. will they be the next cassette tapes--buried under the piles and piles of dvds the way compact discs took over in the world of audio entertainment. where were my shoes? i wondered what had happened to the people i had been with the night before. maybe they had my shoes? i didn't want to drive that morning. not even to breakfast--or lunch. what time was it? had i already missed breakfast? i tasted sand in my mouth and the stale taste of salt water. i wanted to find a big shell on the beach the day before to bring back home to the east to give to my love in michigan. i was growing dizzy from watching the dog and its pink collar and 5 foot circle. i guess i didn't need to wear that one sock since i didn't know where my shoes were. and anyways, i liked the feel of the sand beneath my toes. but where were my shoes?