humble mortal

I went to the beach today...

It's been very long since I had ventured out there, since it's at least 5 minutes from me, and it requires so much preparation, I just never spent the energy to go. Today I really wanted to!
So after carefully covering myself in SPF 50 and wrapping a bottle of water from the fridge in a hand towel, I threw a beach towel in the car and grabbed one of my textbooks and a writing pad and a pencil and set out to make this journey.

I got to a Park that used to be free, now had numbered spots and a machine to sell you time there. $2 for an hour. No worries (though I didn't take my expensive phone and my expensive iPod with my expensive headphones, nor my wallet) I had my $20 hurricane cash made up of two tens, in the car, so I went back to the car to get one and pay for two hours. I am equipped with flip flops and bathing suit, no shorts or shirt or skirt, since I just drove to the beach the way I wanted to stay at the beach. My trunk always contains a couple of mats and a straw hat and finally I got to use them.

At the parking machine still, I am trying to figure out the instructions and realize that it's not taking the bill. A teenager comes by to get his ticket so I tell him "don't mind me, I just want to see how you get this thing to work" while her realizes, too, that it's not taking paper money. But he has quarters. I don't. I have a buck I save for meters and air and stuff. That's a half hour.

So another couple of ladies are watching this while unloading their SUV and one comes to get their ticket so I ask her if she is able to pay with paper. No, but she has change too. Oh! I say... She then proceeds to give me her left over coins (4) and goes back to the SUV to get some more. I tell her to break the 10 but they cannot, so they just hand me the money. I thank them and give them one of my fliers, just in case they need $2's worth of personal training some day... we laugh.

So this takes me about 10 minutes. Off to the beach now! It's beautiful and I feel my size shrinking as approach the waterline. The beach is quiet and the water is awesome, the sky is... well, the sky was up there, with a great big strip of black a little ways out, over the horizon. So I lay down and feel lucky and tiny and peaceful and sticky. All in mixed order.

I think how great it is to have strangers help out with money at the parking meter. I think how great it is to be able to hop over the bridge and dig my toes in the sand. I think how great it is that the wind picked up and the dark stripe is eating up distance at great speed and I wonder if my books are going to get wet. I stay and I am determined to stick it out. I have been here for fifteen minutes, crying out loud! Everyone is packing up and leaving, I know better, I live here, the rain will never make it to shore and I will have a wonderful time at the beach alone.
The wind gets cold and sprays some water on my glasses. I stay...

I think how much I feel the passing time and the fragile life of even the sunshine. It makes me feel tiny in the universe. But at least I feel. I feel the rain taking over the sky.

Hesitantly, I pick up my stuff and leave... but what a beautiful day at the beach! I must go back soon....