Even at Jones beach, it was so hot. I tried saying “Oh, I feel the breeze” but the breeze was hot too. I hadn’t been there in several years, a spot I have always so loved and there weren’t many people there last Friday; the beach looked vacant, like a giant desert, the outdoor cafes empty of patrons.
I especially like the old wooden walkways between the beaches and the majestic old buildings but I seemed to be the only one determined to walk that day. The boardwalks were vacant, the earth around parched. A few people took shelter on benches that had awnings over them.
I didn’t think I could make it along the huge expanse of beach to the water but I started out anyway. I had never seen Jones Beach so vacant on a summer day.
Then, slowly, as I got over the sand towards the water, where the land dipped down and you could actually see white caps, there were people, lots of people and they were laughing and children were making wonderful castles in the sand and whole drawings of ‘Sponge Bob’ and ‘Pants Up’ (that was a new character to me) and they were so glad I studied their work and their parents waved proudly to me.
And, people were playing in the big waves and the water wasn’t icy but very cool and very strong and for a bit, there was this wonderful respite --- from the city, from the rest of the beach that looked like a vast wasteland, from the wonderful old wooden walkways today abandoned. And, for a bit, for those of us who made it to the edge of the sea, there was relief and joy and bouncing children and the surf was so strong it pulled the ‘croc’ off my foot but a little girl got it for me from an incoming wave and we were all smiling and I will never see the sea the same again after that day last Friday outside New York City --- never.
It was our loving mother, our strong father, embracing us, comforting us, telling us we’d be okay; that it would wash us and cool us and make us laugh out loud and smile at each other. It was ongoing and giving of itself and for the brief time I was there, I cannot get the beautiful picture of it out of my mind, nor would I ever want to.
MP Kane, Monday, August 6, 2012
