Last Wednesday, as I was out running errands, it was pouring rain and gunmetal gray both in and outside my head. When I arrived home, I discovered the most delightful early Christmas gift from my beloved friend, Jade: a fuchsia basket bursting with a panoply of chocolates from Dylan's Chocolate Bar, one of my favorite places in Manhattan and the known galaxy. And the thought behind the gift was the best part: she said she wanted to remind me of the sweetness in the world.
This morning as I was reading the front page New York Times story on the horrific execution of the four police officers outside of Tacoma, I received a text from my dear friend, Maria, saying she wasn't sure if I was awake yet but wanted to let me know she'd left a surprise for me downstairs by my building's front door and for me to retrieve it before it was absconded. I was already half-dressed (clad in shirt and bra but still in my pajama bottoms), so I threw on some jeans and headed for the elevator. And there by the main entrance was an enchanting bouquet of a type of lily, I believe (I'm not the world's most adept horticulturist), a Godiva chocolate bar, and heartfelt and witty card.
I realize I'm not as funny when I chronicle how grateful I am, but the fact remains I am grateful to so many for so much. As I wrote the other day, there will come a time I return to penis jokes and such. (Today's Facebook post: "Like Thomas Edison and his light bulb, whomever develops a sensor that detects free-floating particles of douchebaggery will steer human history permanently for the good.") And I can feel myself inching that way: humor gets you through this nearly as much as anything. In the meantime, though, I'd fail as a writer and as a person if I ignored the incredible kindness surrounding me through one of the two worst years of my life.
So how 'bout if I split the difference and write how fucking grateful I am? While I mostly still feel like I'm stumbling blindly about, hour by hour I'm figuring this out. (And look! I just inadvertently wrote a Sheryl Crow lyric.)
Litsa Dremousis' site! I'm the author of "Altitude Sickness", Future Tense Books, October, 2014. My essay "After the Fire" was lauded by Best American Essays as a "Notable Essay of 2011, and the Seattle Weekly named me one of "50 Women Who Rock Seattle". Please find my full bio, archived essays, fiction, interviews, features, audio, video and contact information. Plus, a wee bit of ribaldry. COMING SOON: LITSADREMOUSIS.COM.
About Me
- Litsa Dremousis:
- I'm the author of "Altitude Sickness", a wry and candid examination of the inanity of rock and ice climbing and the mainstream culture that venerates them. Future Tense Books, October 2014. My essay "After the Fire" was selected as one of the "Most Notable Essays of 2011" by Best American Essays 2012. I'm a Contributing Editor at the literary site The Weeklings. We partner with Salon and have received praise from The New Yorker, The Daily Beast, Slate, and others. My work appears in The Believer, BlackBook, Esquire, Jezebel, McSweeney's, Men's Health, Monkeybicycle, MSN, New York Magazine, Nerve, Nylon, The Onion's A.V. Club, Paste, Poets & Writers, Salon, Slate, The Weeklings, on NPR, KUOW, and additional venues. I've interviewed Sherman Alexie, The Black Keys, Betty Davis (the legendary, reclusive soul singer), Death Cab for Cutie, Estelle, Ron Jeremy, Janelle Monae, Alanis Morissette, Kelly Rowland, Wanda Sykes, Rufus Wainwright, Ann Wilson and several dozen others. The Seattle Weekly named me one of "50 Women Who Rock Seattle". CONTACT ME AT litsa.dremousis@gmail.com. Twitter @LitsaDremousis.

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