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March 25, 2003

The Beach

I took off my sandals and walked out onto Hermosa Beach in L.A. at about 1pm yesterday. The sun had escaped its cloud cover just moments before, but the sand was already warm. There weren't many people around at all, and even less evidence of them in the sand that spread around everywhere. It was gorgeous. I wandered down the beach with Kelly and we came to a lone swingset next to an empty lifeguard tower. There was something very surreal in swinging on the beach, looking out to the water and feeling like you could launch out over it. I couldn't remember the last time I had been on a swing with such enthusiasm, and I noticed Kelly and I laughing like schoolgirls for no particular reason. We threw ourselves off the swings, flying weightless for a moment before returning down to the soft sand. More laughter. Then our whole crew wandered along the shoreline - pants rolled up in a futile attempt to keep them dry. There were little Sandpipers that would wade out into the water, and then turn and run like crazy from the tiny waves that would surely engulf them. The water was pretty warm washing over my feet, and it was low tide, so the sand was littered with beautiful shells. Kelly was running ahead, into gatherings of fat grey Seagulls, sending them up into the air and laughing like mad. They were all talking up ahead, but it was impossible to hear over the crashing of the waves. We kept walking along the edge of the water, to where a few novice surfers were trying their luck out by the pier. The water was such a beautiful color, greens and blues - but it wasn't murky. It looked clear and clean, almost grey-blue like freshwater. The waves were big, but not fierce. The whitewater made delicate patterns on the blue surface before vanishing in another wave. Every part of the ocean seemed inviting.

I lost track of the group and just stayed for a while, totally entranced by the picturesque scene all around me. It was so nice to just hear the sounds of the sea, and smell that beachy smell, and not see any people anywhere. I don't know why it is that the beach makes me feel so good. The stress and the tension I had been carrying with me over the weekend seemed to dicipate, threatening even to leave completely. I was able to breathe, like really breathe - when it feels really good and full. I couldn't see or think past what was right before me, and the moment I was currently experiencing. There was just this carefree, exhilirated, peacefulness that took me over for those few minutes alone at the edge of the water. I wanted to save it, and bottle it, and bring it home so that I could keep it with me forever. For just a second I believed that I could just stay there forever and never leave, and that everything would be fine as long as I was right there. For that little bit of time, there was not a thing wrong in the world, and it was fucking great.

And then I walked back off the beach and came home.

Posted by kati at March 25, 2003 03:40 PM

Comments

Posted by: Mike at March 25, 2003 04:36 PM

Posted by: didofoot at March 25, 2003 08:01 PM

Posted by: Mike at March 26, 2003 11:23 AM