Blinded by The Light
I know this might sound odd but today as I sit pondering my next column I find myself at odds with the Magnificent Sun which has seldom been seen in the area recently. Here on the coast it’s been cold, damp, and generally uncomfortable for the last couple of months and we’ve all been hoping for Sunshine and here it is and it’s blinding me! I’m suffering from Mole like symptoms; eyes not used to brightness!
However, I shall recover as soon as I find my sunglasses which have been hidden away for sometime. Once they are in place and I close the window shades I will continue on to tackle possibly the hardest part of writing a column.
It’s the placing of my rear end firmly onto the chair and keeping it there until I’ve finished. Sure that sounds easy enough but with the Sun shining and the voices of young Spring Break celebrants frolicking on the beach below my house it’s hard to concentrate without my mind wandering back to the time I was a kid having a blast at the coast.
I’d been sprung from the pressures of school for a welcome break and dashing around in the sunshine with friends, old ones and new acquaintances, the idea of staying indoors and pecking away at a keyboard never crossed my mind. My idea of responsibility was trying not to spend all my “fun money” before Spring Break ended. I had to limit my consumption of goodies from the local market and bakery and steer clear of the gift shops which offered many tantalizing treasures from the beach.
But we’d learned that the beach and ocean offered a multitude of interesting activities which were free. From sculpting sand castles to exploring the tide pools and wading into the frigid ocean we managed to exhaust ourselves, work up tremendous appetites and go in search of food. If we couldn’t arrange to build a fire and roast hamburgers or hot dogs we’d set off in search of pizza or some other kind of tasty food that would silence the sounds of an empty stomachs.
Depending on what part of the coast you were on had a lot to do with the choices of food but my fondest memory of ending a perfect sun drenched day was sitting around a campfire munching on hot dogs on the beach in Yachats watching the sun slowly sinking into the Pacific. As darkness engulfed us we felt as if we had lived a fun filled day and now it was time to head into town and see what else was going on!
So you can see my quandary, should I take this sunny day and relive a bit of my youth and hit the beach, have a bonfire, chow down on something questionable in nutrition but delicious, or keep the shades drawn and knock out my column? I’d like to hear from you as to what you’d do, but I think I’m going to give into the temptation of having a bit of fun and for the rest of the day I’ll going to relish being blinded by the Magnificent Sunlight!
See you next week!
To reach Rick Schultze email:yarick@pioneer.net