Once again, I find myself sitting here at the edge of the beach..,.as early as possible..... and with my toes close enough to the water for the dissipating waves to reach and then swallow up. Ive been out here a while now and notice that only two walkers have passed me by. I watched one dolphin dip in and out of the water from the left of the Gulf all the way as far as I can see him to the right. I briefly consider taking a picture, but then quickly decide I probably wouldnt be able to capture him .....and besides if I did get him and then posted the picture, you would probably not be able to see him anyway. So, I put my phone down. (I wonder why dolphins are always hims for me.)) I can see boats in the far distance and then my mind does what it always seems to do. I start thinking about the 40s. I dont know why I seem to always go back to that particular time period, unless its because that was when life took place for my grandparents and their stories used to fascinate me when I was a little girl. My parents were born in 48, but it was the time period right before they were born that has always intrigued me. My grandmother, Gracie, (my dads mom) was the greatest story teller, (besides my dad), that I ever knew. She could relive and reenact and retell a story from her past like nobody else. ....And I was her best audience. I would ask her to retell stories I knew from rote over and over....even through college....just to hear her style of delivery. She was hilarious!!! With her southern drawl and charming laugh, I often thought she could have had her own stage show. All she would have had to do was just stand there and simply retell these stories! She was a one-woman show....and she wouldve made a killin! Ha! My dad was the same way, except he allowed me to perceive the world in the most interesting and thought provoking way. He would retell old stories that would leave us doubled over in tortuous-my-stomach-hurts laughter that would leave you in tears! Ha! And HIS LAUGH was so infectious and contagious that itd make you laugh even harder! Ha! ((Just remembering laugh has me giggling right now.) ha! Priceless. But Dad wouldnt only retell stories, he would imagine anothers story and have us thinking about others and their life story in a completely different way. I know this doesnt make sense, so i will give you an example... For instance, If we drove past an old, dilapidated grocery store....or any other old, crumbling business....Dad would get this sad look in his eyes and say, That hurts me. Hed pause for a minute and then continue, Kids, that was somebodys dream....that has now fallen apart. We would just look at the old building and then he would add, I cant help but go back in time and imagine the day this business was a familys greatest hope for their family. Their dream for a better life. I can almost picture the husband and wife arm in arm staring at their brand new business, with their sign at the top that probably had their family name on it, like Johnsons Grocery. Maybe they had a ribbon cutting ceremony. Imagine the excitement the husband and wife felt as they felt and believed that this would start a business that would take care of their family for many generations after them.... .....and now its nothing but a heap of dilapidated old wood with splintered and broken dreams. As a family, we would talk about what we imagined happened and it usually turned into a discussion of life lessons. (This is before cell phones when the kids and parents actually talked to each other in the car.) ha! Now, Im looking out at the Gulf and my mind goes back to a time that I wasnt even a thought...not even the idea of me existed...yep....the early 40s.... And as I look out on this beach, I think about that time period when German subs were sent here to destroy U.S. vessels carrying food and supplies. I cant help but wonder what it looked like during that time period. What was the feeling, the mood of the people around here. Isnt that strange of me? I do this all the time and its just weird! Ha! I promise I know that. Ha! I look around at all of these high rises, beach homes, condos, restaurants, touristy shops and all of the people around .....and I literally wonder, What would the people of THAT time period think of all of this?? If they couldve traveled through time, and couldve seen this themselves, would they be completely blown away? Shocked? In awe? Sad? Happy? Amazed? What would they think?! I imagine back then, they literally had the beaches to themselves. Their own little slice of paradise. Everybody probably knew everybody and Id be willing to bet that many young couples fell in love many asummer nights right here by this very beach....and maybe in this very spot! When I think like this, I view the beach differently. This very spot that I am sitting becomes almost sacred to me in a way because I imagine all of those before me, who sat RIGHT HERE. And all of them living through something. Everybodys got something. Everybody. Thats life. And this place on this beach is the perfect spot to sort out whatever something one might be going through. Because of the way my dad (and my grandmother) helped me to perceive the world before me, I internally give gratitude to all of those, who sat right where I am sitting, for what they did (because everybody has a part...big or small....) in the shaping of our world into what it is today. My Pollyanna-ish hope is that decades from now....maybe even when I am far removed from this earth.... I hope another soul sits in this very spot and tries to imagine what life must have been like for my generation. I hope they feel a sense of gratitude that in some way....big or small.....our time period, (including me) has brought something pretty special and significant to the world. So, today, as I sit here with waves crashing at my feet, I want to lift my water bottle up to the heavens and say with a smile on my face and with love in my heart, Cheers to the Greatest Generation....the 40s ...the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s (Holla!), 90s, 2000s up until now! Heres to all of us....ALL of our hopes.. ALL of Our dreams.... ALL of Our faiths and beliefs! Heres to all of it ....because ALL OF IT is what makes us so very great! ***And a special cheers to my Gracie, my Papaw, my Khaki, my Grandpa Jack and my precious, precious Dad. It is your legacy that I love to carry on. It is your love that I feel straight from heaven. And it is because of the gratitude and devotion that I feel for each of you that I will propel myself into this world with love and kindness......making a difference in this world I so love...one person at a time. Love the people you love! Love em good Love em hard Love em strong And Love them forever. As my dad would say: Amen...Amen......and AAAAmen! Great day everybody!!
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 13:51:50 +0000
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