Steve Goes to the Beach

This is something I wrote on the beach in Ocean City, Maryland.

   Something I noticed here at the beach; it seems as though everyone is veiled with a sense of anonymity, like they’re all superheroes wearing cloaks of invisibility. I use my metaphorical superhero vision to see through these metaphorical invisibility cloaks. I see the man in his forties who didn’t realize how out of shape he was as he walks from his beach chair down to the water, and the attractive woman in her mid thirties sitting in her beach chair smirking at her husband’s barely noticeable self-conscious hesitation as he begins walking towards the water. My imagination runs wild as I wonder what’s running through her mind...

 

   I think the seagulls can see right through these invisibility cloaks, too. They circle above, laughing away. They scream, “I see you!”...“Fools!”...”Feed me!” or something to that effect. I’m a little out of practice with my seagull speak.

 

   Speaking of seagulls; I have three seagulls standing around me within arms reach as I’m sitting here in my camp chair, just staring and staring at me. At first I thought it was a cool wildlife experience, but after about two minutes of their staring at me, I started getting a little nervous as I realized there are all these people around, but I’m the only one surrounded by staring seagulls. Why are they staring at me so intently? I have no food. It’s just me, my camping chair, and my backpack. It reminds me of the Alfred Hitchcock movie, “The Birds”, especially the scene where the birds are hanging out in the playground, increasing in number, just staring and staring, and the one woman who’s been watching finally realizes the birds are going to attack the children...  I snap out of my Hitchcock memory and practically piss my pants as one of the seagulls walks right up to me and digs a Goldfish cheese cracker out of the sand from under my feet. Ah-ha! Someone left cheese flavored treasures half-buried in the sand. At first I was getting a little freaked out wondering why they’re staring at me and no one else.

 

   I wish the female lifeguards had the same courage as these seagulls. Two of them walked by, one about an hour ago and one just now, going from person to person asking a question, of what I’m not sure. As I waited for the first one to approach me, I was getting very curious as to what the question was, and looking forward to the encounter. When she walked right past without asking me, I was disappointed. I wasn’t staring at her or anything. I was just nonchalantly pretending to read my book. Do I appear unapproachable? Is it because I’m a man all alone sitting on the beach? Maybe they can see through my invisibility cloak, down to the miserable, depressed, loneliness of my soul...

 

   The second female lifeguard was asking the mysterious question from person to person. She started walking towards me, but then changed direction to walk behind me, completely avoiding me. I try to convince myself it’s because I’m the only one alone here on the beach. A mystery indeed… 

 

   I decide to take a swim. I swim out past the breakers and look back at the beach in contempt of all the beachgoers living in their world of companion comfort. I swim out even farther until my feet never touch the ground, and I get the feeling of being adrift in the sea, reminding me of the life that I live, just floating, letting the current take me… no direction… no home… A shrill whistle blows from ashore and snaps me out of my daydream. The lifeguard points at me and then waives his arms in a ‘come here’ motion, calling me closer to the shore. I look at him and wonder why everything is a metaphor… I imagine Lisa being in that lifeguard chair, blowing her whistle, pointing at me, waving her arms in a ‘come here’ motion, but unlike this lifeguard, I see that she really cares. She’s not just doing her job like this lifeguard is, but she’s really worried about me, worried about my feelings. But then I think that a better metaphor would be an anchor. Lisa is an anchor at the bottom of the sea where it isn’t too deep, tethered to my ankle to keep me from drifting away… The lifeguard blows his whistle a second time, snapping me out of my daydreaming again, until it seems as though he’s going to pass out, gesturing frantically with both arms to come back to shore. I figure I’d better swim back, or he’ll be coming in after me. The swim is difficult, and it takes all of my strength to get back to where the swells pull me closer to shore, the lifeguard standing and watching me intently, kind of like the seagulls were earlier. So much for my anonymity... I think my invisibility cloak is wearing thin as everyone watches me swim to shore. I’m finally able to stand, and I ride a huge wave, body surfing with the best of them. The wave feels like it lasts forever as I ride like a champion. The wave finally breaks ashore, and I continue in one motion to stand and begin walking ashore.

 

   I walk through the surf with a feeling of invincibility, as if I survived Davy Jones’ Locker and emerged with Blackbeard’s long lost treasure. I walk with confidence as if I conquered the sea and lived to tell about it. The lifeguard stares at me with his jaw slightly dropped like I’m crazy as I walk by him. I wave to him and smile like an old friend as he continues to stare with a look of astonishment. I’ve never had such feelings before. I am strong, confident, in control. As I walk up towards my chair, one of the female lifeguards is walking back through the beachgoers watching me. My timing couldn’t have been better. I get excited, thinking she’s going to ask me the mysterious question! She walks right in between me and my chair, looking at me and smiling her beautiful smile. I smile back, thinking to myself, maybe I’m not such an outcast after all. Maybe I am worthy of her question. She says “Hello” in a very friendly voice, looking at me like she likes me. I say “Hi” back. She continues to smile at me as if she knows me, then turns and walks away. She walks up to the next group of people and asks them the mysterious question. As I listen hard to try and hear what the question is, a seagull screams just above my head and drowns out her words. The seagull cried, “Fool!”... “Not worthy!” or something like that. I make a mental note to buy a seagull translation book the next time I go to the beach.

 

   The sun drifts slowly towards the horizon as I write and watch the waves and the birds and the sand and the sky… I watch it all in wonder as I contemplate to myself, “What’s it all mean?” The beach crowd thins as the sun sinks into the sky, and the feeling of loneliness creeps back into my soul as the wind sends a chill through my spine. Alone… in the end, I’m always alone. A seagull agrees with me as he cries his lonely cry, and flies away to find a place to call home for the night. I stand alone on the beach as I watch my kindred spirit fly off into the distance. I pack my things and walk through the sand to find a place to call home for the night…     

Reviews

[imawriter]

This is really good! Although I kinda kept waiting for you to divulge why the lifeguard was looking at you with his jaw dropped. haha.. I admit it.. I was imagining you sloshing out of the water without your swim trunks or maybe you narrowly escaped the jaws of a great white shark.. Love the reference to The Birds.. tis one of my fav movies. Hey, when your find your copy of How to Speak Gull in 5 Lessons.. can i borrow it pleeeeeze? Keep writing... I'll keep reading.

[Rachel]

Um, I liked it. It really reminded me of a detailed journal entry, which I guese it was. Is the man homeless, I'm gueseing he is. Why did the lifeguard call him in? That was really the only question I had, good work.

[Al-itzah]

Very detailed story. I liked it, if you ever find a Seagull translation book, let me know, I'd Like to purchase one too.
Great job. It reminds me not of Hitchcock but of this novel "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" by Richard Bach. A must read.

Keep up the work, I look forward to reading your next entry.