Essex Street Hot Tub

You may have heard of the legend of the Essex Street Hot Tub, or perhaps been there yourself.

Long story short, a man living in the South Berkeley neighborhood built a hot tub in his backyard decades ago. The backyard became a regular place for locals to hang out, indulging in the heat of the water and sometimes getting a bit rowdy. After some time, the man felt like his offering was being disrespected, so he decided to lock the backyard. A keypad appeared on the gate, and people had to ask for a code or gain his trust to receive one.

The situation is a bit odd, and not without controversy. People, namely women, requested that the space be made friendly and safe for feminine bodies. So a new rule was enacted, men must be accompanied by women, and the hot tub would only be open to women after 9pm. Of course, people rightfully protested the hot tub, due to the antiquated, binary notions of gender and transphobia.

But the hot tub, for better or for worse, still stands with a few rules attached. 1. You must shower before entering

2. There must be no talking, this is a meditative space

3. No men allowed after 9pm

Clothes are optional and nudity is encouraged. “Wearing a bathing suit would be like wearing a clown costume to the funeral.”

Tonight, I decide to go to the hot tub, which is conveniently located 2 doors down from my home (La Casita Homosaurus). My roommate pleaded with the man for months, catching him in conversation about the neighborhood and gaining his trust for a hot tub code. I’ve had the

pleasure of indulging in the space a handful of times. I hang my towel in the wooden room and hop into the shower. Warm, warm, hot. I stay in the hot water for a while, remembering that my body needs to be warm to enter the hot tub.

The moment comes- I greet the other people in the hot tub with my energy and dip into it, my body being immediately soaked and submerged in hot water. This is where the discomfort comes in, I almost want to leave immediately because of the shock. But I remember to be patient, to feel the discomfort and heat. Sit through discomfort, I remember. So I wait.

Eventually, I get out and find a spot on one of the wooden boards in the yard. I feel at home looking up at the stars, the light breeze on my naked skin. There’s O’Rion’s Belt! And there’s me! Gemini, the twins. It’s comforting finding some light through the dark night. It’s comforting being engulfed in near total darkness.

But the cold starts making me feel a bit uncomfortable, and I lay there a little longer. Sit through discomfort. Eventually, I get a bit too chilly and decide to walk back to the hot tub. The bark crunches under my feet, and the trees tower above me, swaying with the wind. I enter the tub again, bathing in heat and discomfort for a while.

When I get out I head to a swinging chair in the corner of the garden. I see my friend, Dusky, a cat who frequently visits our house. I lay down, “Hi guardian,” I whisper, defying the rules of the backyard. “Hi angel.” I lay down and Dusky tries to climb on top of me, but their nails start digging into my skin. I push them off- let’s respect each other’s spaces and bodies, friend!

I stare up at the stars and trees again. I always love looking up at the branches that reach up into the sky. I came here a few times in the summer, when my roommates acquired a code from a friend. I fell in love with the land then- the massive trees, the open sky, the hot tub, and

the company of Dusky. I visited a few times and didn’t even remove my clothes or enter the hot tub- I just meditated, read, and journaled. Unfortunately, that code was deactivated soon after apparently it had been shared too many times. I knew that I would have to patiently wait to earn my way back into the presence of these beings.

I swing myself a little on the chair, feeling childlike wonder raise in me. After the limit of discomfort hits, I get up from the chair. “Bye, spirit,” I whisper to Dusky. I head back to the shower to rinse off before heading home. I turn the knob and cold water hits me. Too cold! Too much discomfort. I turn off the water and go to dry myself off with my towel. We all need to respect our limits of discomfort, after all.

❤ Nina