I love shell landscaping instead of grass. I love sea grapes and their round bright yellow-green leaves. I love man made sand dollars or sea turtles in place of boring stepping stones which might lead one to a house with muted pastel colors and a coordinated mailbox made to also look like a house.
I love tackily painted mermaids and signs that say “craft beer sold here” and it looks like a rundown shack only to find the coolest people inside.
I love watching locals drive their golf carts lazily through the area and other dog walkers and runners and bike riders. I love the cliché beach decor: a lamp with a starfish holding up the shade, a mug with “Life’s a Beach” printed on it.
In the rental, white sand is everywhere, and please don’t bother trying to sweep it because there isn’t a broom anyway. Did you know that it’s okay to bring the scratchy grains in bed, because nothing matters here.
I love the arched window high above our tiny place where I can see the moon and dark green palms springing out of the crown.
I dislike the sink in the tiny bathroom that seems to be situated on a slope and won’t keep tooth paste on it. I dislike that I have to hold the plug to drain the water after I wash my hands or face.
I do like the tiny kitchenette where we keep wine and granola butter and fresh, fuzzy peaches and barely yellowing bananas and sourdough crackers. I feel as though we are cozy and we are hidden and we are different.
Am I a person who could live happily as a beach local? Olive skin leathery from a neglected sunscreen habit? The heat is something I’ve always preferred to the cold. Even when my hair puffs into wild consistency and sticks to the nape of my neck. I imagine onlookers noticing me and Gigi as we walk rather proudly along the decadent looking sidewalk (hexagon stones surrounded by native plants).
They think, “look at that girl and her wild hair and her little dog.” And they don’t think much beyond that but isn’t it lovely that anyone thinks of anyone at all.
(from the summer of 2024)
(Daily Writing 015)
Thoughts?