Back to the Beach

I must admit my life has become more complicated after I met this old man with Einstein hair on the beach. It was a simpler life, you know, with a busy medical practice, pretty decent health except for some crank knees that begged to be oiled with a can of liquid cartilage, and an occasional vacation.  I had no concept that on old man who walked with cane, could be so strong of mind, and powerful of will, and yet at the same time, a man who could recite scriptures easily, and seemed afraid of no one. His soul seemed to draw me in to him like a fresh ocean breeze into my eager lungs, and yet, I had no idea what I was being drawn into, and what the danger of this association could be, but I no longer care about that.  You see, I now knew that I must follow him and learn from him and yes, write his book as he requested.

Bu then, I do remember his words: “They will follow you now, because of me, Carson.”   Perhaps he meant this divine symphony of feminine perfection —Veronica, the opulent blonde with the pert, but classy wiggle who was previously a brunette who liked to brandish her shiny Sig Sauer.  And why did she so badly want to meet the old man, and use me to find him? Like the Bill Withers song “Use Me”, I must admit, sometimes there could be some exciting advantages to being used by her, but my loyalty is to Ollie. And who did she work with?

I had to leave her though.  She was getting close, and soon the grappling hook, would be imbedded in me.  So, I stood her up at the beach bar and escaped.  Back to the beach, and I just kept walking, remembering the first time I met the old man and read his T-shirt: “Been there, done that, don’t mess with me.”  Yeah, don’t mess with him. Seems he has a view of life that has been tarnished by tragedy, strengthened with hardship, but bolstered by faith in the Almighty and a steadfast determination to serve others with his blessings.

So, I kept walking, letting the waves French- kiss my parched pinkies.  After about a mile or so, that Beech Bonanza flew over me this time, and he dipped his wings to me!  Before, he dipped only to Ollie when he was seen.  You know, the pilot’s salute of respect. Why was he respecting me?  So, after the wing dip salute, he banked off to the sea, and came back and saluted again, and seemed he was communicating with me.  The plane then circled around a concentration of tall beach grass, and in the center was a skinny, lone oak sapling, He continued to circle it, pointed his finger to the location until the pilot saw that my attention was drawn to it, then, he flew away, just like that.

I waded through the tall grass, and at the base of the tree, I saw two empty Guinness bottles laid across each other as if it was a cross, and then, I knew, it has to be a sign from Ollie.  I removed the bottles, dug in the sand and found a small box.  I opened it, found a bible, with chapter markers all over it, with his favorite passages he apparently wanted me to read.   And then, inside the bible was a letter.

I opened it and read:

“Dear Carson. I trust you are doing well, but I do believe you see now that following the old man is not a basket of fun and games.  It’s not easy, but I think you are coming along ok in your journey to understand how to write the book. Oh, and obviously now, it seems I won’t be able to go to the beach bar anymore to drink. I can get my Guinness elsewhere where I have more privacy. They’re getting a little too close, don’t you think?   There are some things I want you to know…”

© SRCarson  2024