A Day at the Beach

A somewhat unusual day… to be fair and honest, the last eight months has been somewhat strange.

Rather than plunge into the many drastic changes in my life over the latter part of 2006, my focus should be today, and this day was absolutely wonderful.

Beautiful food, a chilled red wine and a beach covered with sun worshipping laid-back Australians, and all felt to be relaxed.

The beach was somewhere down the coast from Melbourne, a lovely little cove with a rusted old tanker positioned about a kilometre from the shore. To our left, a majestic cliff formation, a craggy work of natural art, I thought, as we put together our small tent, laying out a blanket and changing into our bathers.

It has been twelve years since stepping foot in the Pacific Ocean, and let me say, the water was a little cold, but the body adapts and cools down, turning the mind back to a semblance of normality.

As stated too often to mention again, the hot weather turns me into a grump at least, and at most, a cartoon rendition of Hannibal Lector. The ocean acted as a good tranquilizer, the slow and constant tide moving over my body towards the shore.

My friend packs a picnic lunch like no other: chilled prawns, ham and chicken slices on whole meal or sour dough bread. Fresh fruit – strawberries, blood red grapes, melon and rich cheese: bottled almost frozen water or orange juice, and an Italian soft drink that tasted divine. The chilled wine captured the essence of the gastronomic experience because a good wine contributes and adds to the taste of all superb meals. After our late lunch, she laughing at most of my lame jokes, (she really likes my jokes) we settled in and napped for thirty minutes…well, really, fifteen minutes tops.

Arriving just after three in the afternoon, my eyes and temporal anchors, after the little nap, could not adjust to actual time; as dusk and dawn are similar, waking to not know whether it’s morning or evening. “That’s it!” I thought. Rising and running into the ocean like a mad man possessed. After submerging in the cold water and re-emerging into the light of day, my time protocols were back in place.

My friend continued to sleep and suddenly lifted her head to say, “I’m glad you’re here, I would not want to be anywhere else in the world without this man that sits right here!”
As the sun disappeared behind the sea, my fellow beach humans’ stood, packing-up and casually began to saunter away.

And so did us…

Amongst the crowd on the beach with my gentle friend: good food and wine, a beautiful horizon and sunset that felt to burn the sky, life, despite my so-called problems, felt to be a gift, something to be mindful of every second, because life is fleeting and ends in the flicker of an eye…