ain't no desert

went down to the beach this evening.

not to watch the sunset.

i think the last time the sun actually set here was two days ago.

i got back from the farmers’ market, barbecued sandwich in hand (soon to be “in mouth”), and i could hear the waves pounding against the shore.

the houses between here and the beach usually dulls the surf to just a distant resonance that could easily be mistaken for the wind in the trees.

not this evening!

this evening the sound was tremendous!

i quickly ate the meal, dumped the berries in the colander and made for the beach.

“surf city, here we come!”

the waves were far from being those massive winter storm waves that, i’m told, come up to the asphalt on the 17-mile drive. but, it was, what spalding would have called, “a perfect moment!”

there were no palm trees ripping in the wind.

my perfect moment was accentuated by cypress trees shaped by years (centuries?) of winds.

quite beautiful.

i stood up above the surf for a while before the chill of the july evening drove me back to the car.

but, i was entranced with the ever so slightly waning tide as it drove the waves over the rocks and up onto the beach.

it is not the solitude that i find in the stark beauty of the desert.

but, it’ll do just fine.

i wish spalding could have seen it.

spalding gray 1941-2004