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| © photo by Judi Getch |
Every time I walk along the beach my mind flashes back to my time in the Marshall Islands. Don't ask me why because I can't give you a good reason. It could be the beach, but the beaches down there are covered with poisonous stone fish. I could never tell what was a real rock or a stone fish hiding, so I'd always walk the beaches wearing shoes. Maybe it's the sunrises and sunsets, tropical and vivid... . I remember those so well. I had to be up early to catch my flight to work, but first had to walk to the Officers Club for breakfast just as the sun rose. Or maybe it's the feel of the humid air on my hair and skin. I have naturally curly hair and the humidity wreaks havoc with it - still. I have to smile... those were great days. We worked long hours but on our days off, a gang of us would reserve a boat and take off. There was no fee... just go. Swimming was difficult off the boat because of the GIANT men of war. The guys of course never cared, but then the next day at work, they suffered with the huge welts that the men had left on their backs as they floated by. For some reason, the smell and sounds of the ocean bring me back to Kwajalein. I guess maybe I should write an entire blog on my time in the Pacific... I'm so glad that I took those opportunities to travel when they were offered.
Then as I continued along, I met a lady who identified with my Tee... Wellfleet of course. She had spent her childhood summers in Truro, the next town north of Wellfleet, at a rented cottage on Ballston Beach. The cottage was taken during one of the large Nor'easters to hit that area. I had spent probably those same years as a kid in Wellfleet. We talked about how much fun it had been to be a kid down there... the swimming every day, the family around, cookouts on the beach... those summers felt like they went on forever. I could see the happiness on her face as she remembered her days spent there with family. Her Dad had died early as mine had. We had much in common.
I finally sat down on the beach to sip my coffee. I had sat in this very spot ten years ago with my long time girlfriend - we had met on our first day of work in the Human Resources office. We always laughed about that day because she thought that I must have been a secretary or Administrator because of the way I was dressed and how I looked... I certainly couldn't be an engineer like her. She had come to visit me at the beach... she loved the ocean like I did. We sat in the sand talking about everything... boyfriends, husbands, weddings, work. . The only thing that we didn't talk about was her dying... it was like the scene in the movie Beaches (Forever Friends) - the two friends sitting on the beach at sunset. I cherish those days spent with her... we went through much after that, chemo and more chemo, but the ending was the same. .
This is why writer's keep a journal... to catch these random thoughts. These were mine today... along the beach.
Till,
Judi
