Gracie and a New Beach Experience

“Let’s go to the beach,” says “Suzie” enthusiastically.  Gracie has her doubts as she remembers her last visit to a beach, which was a compilation of humiliation, danger, and surprise. She knows from a radio talk show that the number one fear for women going to the beach is being seen in a bathing suit, but there are other things to fear as she quickly finds out.

The waves don’t really look very big, so Gracie is surprised at losing her footing and being knocked on all fours before the water has even reached her thighs. She spits sea water out of her mouth and snorts it out of her nose, as the sand is pulled from underneath of her each time she attempts to get up.  She worries about her left leg as she feels a jab of pain near her knee, where she underwent much physical therapy to get the IT band limber. She’s up.  No she’s down; spit and snort.   This goes on for about three rounds until finally someone grabs her by the arm and pulls her forward.  Her rescuer, a young girl about age 12, commands Gracie, “arriba!” and struggles to drag her out of the ocean.  She is sweet and even tolerates Gracie’s oft-repeated ”Muchas Gracias!!” Thank heaven for that girl’s tenacity.  Gracie doesn’t feel embarrassed, just grateful for her rescue.  Her host eggs her on to go back in the water and she thinks “Is he nutters or just a misogynist?”  Later on, though, she discovers that he didn’t know she had run into difficulties in the ocean, so obviously he is neither. Today’s beach experience has got to be better than that one. 

The Common Lake Gull

For starters, it’s Lake Michigan, not the Atlantic Ocean.  Gracie and “Suzie” pick up their beach chairs and walk a few blocks to the beach, which has little, gentle waves.  The water is quite cold, even though it’s August.  Gracie prefers Caribbean temperatures so she won’t be venturing in too far.  They set up their spot for sitting, and relax, talking about their children, cooking, baking, art, and massaging their feet in the sand.  She looks out at the sea gulls but is corrected in that they are "lake" gulls. There is also Indiana’s oldest and only surviving lighthouse built in 1858.

The lighthouse has an interesting history.  In 1861, Miss Harriet Colfax, a multi-talented voice and piano teacher, and typesetter, added lighthouse keeping to her list of accomplishments.  She took care of the light for 43 years, finally retiring in 1904 at age 80.  In all her record-setting years of service the light never failed between sunset and sunrise.  She died on April 16, 1905.  What a remarkable woman she must have been.

Back in the present, Suzie picks up a flat black stone and promises to make it into a souvenir of Gracie’s visit.  Later, but not much later, as promised, she turns it into a miniature work of art.   Suzie instructs Gracie:  “when the waves get rough, look to the light.”   It has a place of honor on her car’s dashboard to this very day. 

Copyright © 2015 Martina Sabo