My entries here have become fragmented, aimless, and discontinuous. I am self-conscious about this development. Not really thinking most of the time that anyone is really reading this long, boring text. But occasionally I wonder about the whole concept, why am I doing this? The writing here, for those who know me through correspondance (that word spelled that way always now, in memory of Ray Johnson) know that this writing is stilted, formalized, and rather lifeless compared with live interaction. I never did develop a healthy style, more just have written under a conglomeration of influences from Henry Miller to J-M. G. LeClezio among others, and all that previous knowledge completely corrupted by living in a second language situation for the past seven years now … A day of blustery rain showers in between pulses of brilliant sunshine. The storms roll off the mountains where there are clusters of ragged clouds (Loki calls them cloud hats). They sail quickly across the fjord, leaving gray curtains that slowly break into triple rainbows. The storms here are silent save for the wind and rain. There is no lightning or thunder — both these phenomena are extremely rare in Iceland, although Thor was well known for the loud blows of his magic hammer, Mjolnir. In the six years I lived here, I heard two crashes of thunder and saw possibly one strike of lightning. Today, time is seen linear and spatial in the voluminous skies — every moment there are different displays of Light inter-playing with the greening and white mountains, the cool blue Arctic sky, and the shading masses of condensate that spin tones of Light in all variations. We swim under this play. Enjoying the changes. It probably doesn’t get over 55F. Nothing new. But, despite temperatures which never satisfy the needs of my warm blood, I like being under water in a swimming pool when the sun shines. I teach Loki how to catch this underwater Light in his hands. appended on an email from Joy…

There is a German cruise liner in the fjord off the pier that has loosed a number of its lifeboats to putter around, apparently letting the passengers fish. The harbor will be host to something like 38 cruise liners during the summer tourist season this year, more than ever before. The tourist board promotes the country more and more each year — I think around 300,000 tourists come now in the three summer months. The absolute number isn’t great, but given the size of the country and the fragility of the environment, well, it seems the main tourist spectacles are becoming run down, worn out.

My mother is just out of the hospital and calls from Arizona. In a rare two-way phone conversation, Loki actually talks to her. Usually he is too shy. She is feeling quite good.