50 Couches in 50 Nights
50 Couches in 50 Nights
Couch #14 – Zeeva – June 13th, 2010
Couch #14 belongs to Zeeva. The carpet and the couch were purchased for her Bashtet Movement Arts Studio, while she was still blind. She went with a photographer and artist friend of hers to the furniture stores on La Cienega. Using a color chart, Zeeva’s friend named the colors and described the patterns to her. She also felt the carpet. She told the salesman that she was teaching belly dancing and yoga and he was thrilled. Because he was thrilled, Zeeva did a belly dance across the carpet. The couch is comfortable. It was purchased for guests to sleep on. The Yogi Balananda held a peace meditation at Bashtet while sitting on this couch. Zeeva lives in Agua Dulce, an unincorporated rural area 45 miles north of Los Angeles. She lives in the house she bought for her mother before she passed away. Zeeva lives there with two cats. Zeeva is an artist, a dancer, a peak performance specialist. She is all about inspiration and empowerment. People need to know that they can be well and beat unbeatable odds. She is a testimonial for holistic health and wellness professionals who can help people get well. Zeeva is ready for love and to be love. Zeeva draws, paints, dances, hikes, and enjoys getting together with a small handful of friends with who she can share real quality time. She also has a passion for other creative arts including drawing, sculpting as well as music, poetry, and theatre. Zeeva also is interested in mythology. Zeeva is supposed to be permanently blind, permanently brain damaged, and permanently disabled due to an injury. She lived that way for 5 1/2 years. We are Facebook friends and met when I showed up at her house the day I was sleeping on her couch. When she was brain injured she could not listen to a lot of music, because the input was to overwhelming for her brain. Recently, a friend gave her a sampling of music that missed during that time, including a jazz remix of “Torch of Freedom”. That version has the lyric “I was blind and now I see”, which obviously strikes a chord in her. Zeeva likes peaches and reminded me that it is the season for peaches. Ripe, juicy peaches. Her favorite films include “Lawrence of Arabia”, “The Red Shoes”, and “Bagdad Cafe”. Zeeva is inspired by the project and thinks it will be healing for me. Zeeva lives in state of divine grace and optimistic realism.
Okay, so where was I? I had just returned to Downtown Los Angeles with Indira after a day at the farm. As it was already late in the day, I immediately got into my car and headed for my next couch. I would once again be heading out of Los Angeles to spend the day with Zeeva at her home in Agua Dulce. I texted her that I was on my way and got back on the highway. Despite being in a rural area, it wasn’t a terribly long trip from Los Angeles. As Indira had done all the driving to the farm and back, I was fine with distance. Once I was off the freeway, it was a scenic drive past the Vasquez Rocks, which have been featured in many a movie and television show, including Star Trek (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasquez_Rocks). After some twists and turns landing me on a couple of dirt roads, I arrived at Zeeva’s place. She calls her place Helicon, referring to the old Greek mythological place where the Muses dwell and dance. Being a dancer, it seemed appropriate. Z had just arrived home herself and was unloading some things from her car when I pulled up. I did the same, bringing my things into the house. She offered me a cold beverage and given the choice, I had a beer. As you recall, I had been ill recently and other than the beer at the Mexican place in Tehachapi, I hadn’t had a drop to drink, so this sounded great. Aqua Dulce is pretty hot and deserty, but it was the evening at this point and so I took my beer and Zeeva and I headed outside to enjoy the cool evening air.
50 Couches in 50 Nights 