I’m At The Beach!

I’m at the beach! I’m at the beach! I’m at the beach! Guess where I am? AT THE BEACH! To be fully transparent, I’m probably not at the beach right now while you are reading this article. But, I WAS at the beach in body, and I am STILL at the beach in soul. I love the beach. When I sit out on the beach, cares melt away, worries subside, and relaxation kicks in. If that doesn’t happen to you, then you’re doing it wrong.

"The ocean makes me feel really small and it makes me put my whole life into perspective."

-Beyonce

I agree. Here are some random musings on things that I love at the beach.

Weather is unique at the beach. We have property at the beach, and we have sometimes struggled with horrific storms, but we have always avoided serious problems. My heart goes out to people whose lives have been tragically affected by hurricanes, tsunamis, & tropical storms. I wish that was not part of life on the beach. But, aside from disasters such as that, weather comes & goes so quickly at the beach—a large buildup of clouds, heavy rain, followed by bright sunny weather. If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute, it’s going to change. At the beach, you can see storms that are a’brewing from far away, which gives a wide-angle panoramic perspective that you don’t often get elsewhere. As a child, one of my strongest childhood memories was sitting on the 2^nd story porch of the TIKI Motel with my grandparents watching a lightning storm that was far out at sea. At first, the lightning terrified me, and I insisted that we needed to run inside. But, with my grandparents calm, reassuring wisdom, I agreed to sit on the porch & watch. The distant lightning storm was magnificent.

Kids are wide-open at the beach. Running, hollering, digging, swimming, splashing, cartwheeling, hand-standing—you name it, kids are doing it. Everything they do involves mini science experiments. Which sand builds a better castle, wet or dry? Where does the water go after we fill the moat? Can I swing my net fast enough to catch the minnows swimming in the shallow water? What can I bury in the sand? How tall can I build a drip castle before it collapses under its own weight? Is there anything living down in the depths of that shell? Which type of wave is the best to ride? Can I submerge myself under a crashing wave? So many things to do, kids can entertain themselves for hours and be all tuckered out at the end of the day.

The beach is consistently changing. The tide always goes in and out. Yesterday’s beach is washed clean, ready for a new day. One day the waves are calm and clear. The next day the waves are heavy and rough. A steady breeze brings welcome refreshment on a hot day. A heavy wind upends umbrellas and towels and pelts beach-goers with sand. Which beach will we encounter today? At the beach, a new set of analytics kicks in. Instead of checking the traffic routes and the work schedule for the day, you learn to read the beach, to decide which beach accessories you will need. When is high tide? Is today a good day for the umbrella? the boogie board?; the skim board? Can we take a nice walk on the beach? Will there be a note-worthy sunset? You learn to embrace the natural changes. Every day is different at the beach.

What's Up With Seagulls? In the 1970s, the book Jonathan Livingston Seagull, by Richard Bach, was all the rage. The story followed a solitary wistful seagull who yearned to make more of his life. The seagulls that I encounter on the beach are pretty much like the ones that he left behind. They are noisy and annoyingly relentless in pursuit of scraps of food. They challenge people to give them food, or else. They bullishly pick on one another as they jockey for position among the crowds of humans. Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing them fly and strut in their natural habitat. I just don’t need to get up close & personal with them.

Pelicans, on the other hand, mind their own business. They soar casually over the ocean water or balance precariously on skinny posts.  They fly low and scour the waves for a tasty morsel of fish. They swoop down to scoop a beak-full of their prey. 

A funny old bird is a pelican.
His beak can hold more than his belican.
Food for a week
He can hold in his beak,
But I don't know how the helican.

by Dixon Lanier Merritt

Lots and lots of shells. So many varieties. Back in the 1960s, when my grandparents built their retirement home in a burgeoning beach community, we collected many shark’s teeth. With so few beach-goers at the time, we were able to collect a large number of shark’s teeth and pristine shells which washed ashore. Now, I collect tiny shells, since most of the larger shells on the shore are broken.

Sunscreen has made it possible for me to spend an afternoon on the beach. Using sunscreen, there is a direct cause and effect for us light skinned folks.  Applying sunscreen means we have a better chance of protecting our skin & getting a sunkissed shade of tan. Not applying sunscreen means the likelihood of a big bad burn. Your decision, you suffer the consequences immediately. No drawn-out “smoking might cause lung cancer”, or “high cholesterol leads to heart disease”. There are immediate results. A big bad burn is not fun. I have suffered from severe sunburn, and it is awful, I tell you. Sunscreen is a must-have.

Flipflops—is there a better shoe? These simple unpretentious shoes keep your feet from burning on the hot sand. You can rinse them off with water without a care. They are lightweight and easy to carry, yet, you can carelessly toss them onto the sand as you walk down the beach, and find them waiting for you when you return. I love flipflops. For a time, I was slightly obsessed with them, as you can see by my flipflop collection.

People strip down. You see a lot of bare skin at the beach. Tight spandex, elastic waists. But, there is something refreshing about seeing all those people without the trappings and the trimmings. The smokin' bodies, the disproportionate body shapes of all widths and heights, the bulges. It’s all there. People shed their self-consciousness when enjoying the beach. What you see is what you get. If you have a problem seeing other people’s bodies in their swimsuits, then you, my friend, need to get a life and worry about yourself. Let everyone chill and relax in their own way.

Somebody stop me! I could go on and on about the beach. For now, I think that’s enough. I’ve think you can catch my drift.

"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever."

--Jacques Cousteau

That's where I am, in the net of wonder. At one with the beach.