Skip to main content

First trip To The Beach 2017 - Part 2

When I go to the beach it's not the waves or horizon that interest me, unless its a dazzlingly spectacular sunset.  It tends to be the people.  Join me in a little voyeuristic observation of the folks who are all here to have fun.  The fun means different things to them all but everyone here is enjoying themselves.  




This guy wearing the West Virginia University sweatshirt interested me more than anyone else on this trip.  I was fascinated by what his story might be.  Widower?  Wife at home, or maybe in a nursing facility?  Was this their beach?  Does he come here to remember or forget?  





These guys were playing a game with a ball and a mini-trampoline.  The guy with the ball bounces it on the trampoline and the guy closet bounces it around to others much like volleyball.  Don't know what it is called or how you keep score but they played the entire time I was there which was about an hour and a half.



Well, the water wasn't as cold as it was in December but it still had a chill.  Still, what seems to be the problem here?  





Paddle boarding would be something I would like to try once - it seems like a nice combination of balance, effort and reasonable dryness.  




Makes no difference where you are these day, even with your lady friend at the beach - we just can't pry ourselves away from our social media devices.  This guy needs to pay more attention to her.  




I'm not exactly sure where her hand is but these guys know how to handle a sunset, a nice warm day and  a romantic place like the beach.  



And finally, someone so overcome by the joy of being at the beach, and a soft place to land, that he was practicing his handstands.  

At the risk of sounding a little jaded (one beach is like another) the beach is one of those rare places you go where everyone is happy. Even if their lives suck, they get some joy from the place.  One bit of sand is like all the others around here - not much difference and all pretty nice - but its the people that remain the real story.  

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Flashback Friday

Class, Or Lack Thereof The Dwight Vice gravestone in Oquawka, Illinois. I bring this old chestnut out every so often just to remind me that class is classless.  Dwight Vice was killed in his home near Oquawka in 2001.  It was one of those things that can generate crime:  two guys thought Dwight had a lot of money stashed at home because of his pot-selling sideline to supplement his fishing job.   Not really one of those big drug deals gone-bad things.  Marijuana was, according to the trial, about the only stuff Dwight sold.   But these two guys barge into the house and killed Dwight and attempted to kill his 11 year old kid, Darryl, before they took off with what money they could find.   His son, now 23, was stabbed in the back and left for dead.  He survived and is wheelchair bound and has undergone several surgeries to repair his wounds.  He will be paralyzed for life.   None of this is pleasant.  Reading the f...

Philippe Park and The Tocobaga Indian Mound

About ten miles or so north of Bedlam is a place called Safety Harbor.  Its the place that has the 300-500 year old oak that the city tried to kill I featured a couple weeks ago on BFE .  They have a pretty nice park that has some interesting history, too.  Count  Philippe landed here and introduced the pineapple and cigar making to the Tampa Bay area. Today, however, I want to mention something else about this area, besides the really nice scenery.  Phillipe Park was also the home of the Tocobaga Indians.  The Tocobaga occupied the Tampa Bay area from around 600 A.D. to the 1600's.   This is a fairly common view of old stately moss-laden oaks down here.   This shot was taken atop the only Tocobaga Indian mound in the area.  This exact spot is home not only to the Tocobaga until they died out, but then to Count Phillipi who settled the area after the Tocobaga died out.   The place is full of oak and ...

The Mary Davis Home - Part 2

None of these pictures were taken by me,  they came right from the MDH website.  I am posting these so that friends who have never seen inside where I worked can gain access.  After 27 years I have many stories, tales and acquaintances.  But, I wouldn't know how to express them appropriately in a few paragraphs.  I enjoyed 98% of my stay there and hope I made a difference in the lives of a fraction of the kids who entered.  The original MDH at this site was just the front part.  The large red-roofed area in back was added on in the 90's. This is the Jerry Carlton library.  It was unofficially named after one of the counselors who truly loved the place.   He passed away around 2002, I think.  Mr. Farber looks like he is explaining a few things to a client. The classroom. Activity area with the gym behind the windows. Another shot of the classroom. It was a little different area to teach since we had 2 classes and 2 teachers i...