March 13 Blog
I think it's Sunday. I'm sitting on our "porch" staring at what appears to be a huge endless lake with little wavettes tickling the shore, certainly nothing one could surf or boogie on. Sniff. And this has been the case for several days now. As a result we've had to resort to desperate measures.
Yesterday we removed the sheets from our queen size bed/air mattress and, you guessed it, took it for a little swim. Unfortunately Wilson couldn't go -- he would've popped our "watercraft", but Eric and I managed just fine. He put his flippers on and we had the entire lake....er..ocean.. at our mercy. We spent a good hour lounging and drifting and rocking on the tiny wavettes before Eric kicked us back into shore. It didnt have the excitement associated with a good ride on the board, but it was still somehow satisfying.
I'm thinking we'll have to resort to this sort of behavior again today, since things haven't picked up. Even yesterday, during the tsunami warning, the ocean refused to be an ocean and stuck instead with its impersonation of a huge, smooth lake. If we had a motor boat and water ski it'd be just fine. But our poor boogie boards are feeling forgotten and rejected, and it's just not right.
Meanwhile, the festivities continue. Eric has arranged a huge party tonite, inviting the remaining RV'rs along with a few new ones, and there will be nonstop entertainment. We ran into some friends at a nearby park who said they wanted to move to someplace that was more socially active. They said they'd just move to wherever Eric was, since he's "so active and social" and things were always happening around him. Now for those of you who know Eric, please take a second here to pick yourselves up off the floor. There is another Eric here you haven't met, and I cant guarantee he'll still be around when we get back to Madison. But the world is full of surprises, so you never know.
As much as I love this place, I'm not thrilled about what we're sharing it with. We were sitting in the camper recently when Eric happened to look out and see a huge crab meandering across our patio. Dang they're ugly. And they walk sideways! On purpose! I'm thinking someone should point that out to them. And someone should point out also that they shouldn't go where they're not invited. And believe me they are NOT invited to be anywhere near our home and sleeping headquarters. This crab was SO confused!
So Eric managed to maneuver him (her? How the hell are you supposed to know!? Anybody?) into a box and took IT out to the beach. Wilson gave it a few sniffs, which didn't go over well, and I'm thinking it won't be dropping by for a visit again anytime soon. In fact I'm hoping it'll spread the word.
Then there are the "bugs", which should really be on leashes instead of running free. OMG they're huge! Eric picked a towel up off the ground and a beetle the size of a football fell out and hit the ground with a thud before jogging off. When I went to see what the commotion was, I asked Eric where the beetle went and he pointed to a spot in the dirt several yards away where you could see the thing peaking up at us over the pebbles. I'm sure it was sticking it's ugly little tongue out and gloating. Eric went over and gave it a little taste of his sand wedge, and you'll be glad to know I did not witness the execution so you'll be spared the details. But I'll guarantee it wasn't pretty.
Our neighbor recently took his swimsuit down off the line where it was drying, put it on, and discovered he'd interrupted the nap of a.........ready for this.....scorpion! HOLY CRAP! Now we're talking about things that are not only ugly, but can HURT you as well! THIS IS VERY BAD! As a result, we shake out every single thing we pick up off the ground, and I try to prepare myself emotionally and psychologically for anything that may drop out and crash to the floor by accompanying the "shake out" with some specific and important bodily maneuvers that I can only demonstrate in person. Add some extremely effective sound effects to that and I know I'm gonna be ok no matter what comes crawling out of the dark.
There was a surfing and Stand Up Paddle Board (SUP) competition in Sayulita, a nearby town, yesterday. We went with some friends and had a great time, but due to the "no wave" issue we've been dealing with the past 2-3 weeks, there was little action. You just can't fake it on a surfboard, but the SUP is another story! There were several competitors, and we watched them paddle their boards in a 4 mile race. My entire upper body was hurting for them! The work that goes into paddling while standing up on those things has to be grueling!
Eric found someone on our beach recently who has an SUP and asked if he could try it out. Once again, Eric steps gingerly and unknowingly into the world of entertainment. Everyone on the beach settled into their beach chairs to watch Eric undertake a new challenge. It's kind of empowering to have a beach full of people cheering you on, but the gut wrenching laughter may have a different effect. I heard a guy tell his friends to take a picture because they were never gonna see anything this funny again. Obviously a newcomer who hasn't gotten to know Eric very well yet.
He did come up with some great tricks though. My favorite was when he was finally able to stand up for a few second and then he walked forward and right off the front of the board. Like he was supposed to do that. (I'm pleased to say I got that on video.) I have a lot of respect for the SUP'ers competing at Sayulita, now that I know how hard it is! I tried it too, but then I'm challenged just standing upright on a flat, immobile surface, so I'm not the best judge. We're gonna stick with the air mattress for now and maybe add the SUP challenge next year. It's amazing what I'm willing to try in the water where I won't hurt myself. Ok, just writing that is a joke. I can hurt myself anywhere. It just doesn't hurt as bad in the water.
As much as I love our lives here, the simplicity, warmth, beauty and people, what I love the most is living near and among people, town residents and our fellow RV'ers, I probably never would've gotten to know otherwise. And I've learned, or I should say have had confirmed to me, that people can be together, interact, share friendships and be on equal ground without the societal divisions of class and wealth! No one here ever talks about what they did for a living, what sort of neighborhood they live in, who they know or what they've accomplished. And there is a HUGE variety of mobile homes, trailers, campers and vans, some nice, some small, some ( like ours) very very simple. Nobody cares which one you go into at the end of the day, or what you're wearing when you walk out in the morning.
My point is, WE CAN DO THIS! Our society, and we the people, have only forgotten HOW! We are all the same and our basic wants and needs are the same. Life is good when you care as much about other people as you do about yourself. It's good when you know that you're part of a society where others respect who you are as a fellow human being, no matter what your "standing" in the community, or what your title is or was. It is a joy when you are revered for simply being a good person, or when you help someone out because you really and truly care about them. And what you learn about life and humanity is so incredibly valuable. There are lessons that many will never have the joy of knowing. If they did, their lives would be enriched beyond measure and they would have the understanding and wisdom that would normally take several lifetimes to experience!
I am keeping up with what's going on in my home state and I want to say how proud I am of all the thousands who have made the effort, together, to fight the wrongs that are being forced on us by the greed and ugliness of the wealthy corporate powers-that-be. I hope we can continue this fight, because we have a long way to go and there's a lot of work to do. I am sending strength and gratitude to those on the front lines , and all the organizers who are working so hard! Please, let's continue to fight for our human rights and self respect because if we lose them I'm afraid we'll have to fight twice as hard to get them back. Money and greed are very powerful, but we can't give in and let them win. We need to remember what it means to be empathetic, loving, accepting human beings, motivated by the everyday joys of learning, experiencing, loving and nurturing, NOT judging and competing and caring only about ourselves and our things.
I need to go take our clean clothes down from the line (we have one washing machine at the park, and a clothesline) and figure out how I can stuff all of it into my bike baskets and ride it about 100 yards back to the camper. Always a challenge. There really is something to be said for the simple life. I don't know what yet, but I know it's good.
