| One of the best parts of a vacation is
the positive outlook you derive
from pleasant anticipation. Another
benefit is the afterglow, allowing
you to feel right with the world.
A general guideline I have is
to live in the present and not
yearn too heavily for the past
or future; but making brief exceptions
for things like vacations can
bring some of the benefits of
the vacation itself to your daily
life. Thinking briefly “Yeah that
was great!” or “I am really going
to enjoy this trip!” Can add to
the lightness of your day, assuming
you don’t lean on that as a requirement
for your happiness. Going around
stressed out and telling yourself
“I’ll be happy in 6 weeks when
I’m on a beach” really doesn’t
help you live lightly in the moment,
and may even create pressure for
performance on your vacation and
disappointment afterward. Instead
don’t pack or return with emotional
baggage; but view your vacations
as an addition to the wonderful
existence you are building. Here
are some memories from my last
trip. I flew from Dayton to Baltimore
with a newer airline. Nice all
new jets. Their large overheads
made it easy to stow my one big
carryon I’m still mystified why
it was so heavy. Probably my big
socks... Reading Popular Science
in-flight I re-visited my teenage
fondness for that magazine. Oh
how I now yearn for the garage
of the future. In Baltimore I
rented a sharp new sedan with
a Wall Street Journal on the dash.
Nice touch guys but no more reading
for me that day! I was on the
beach at Ocean City by noon seeing
the storks flop dive; watching
the children advance toward the
water and retreat shrieking with
the waves. I hadn’t been to the
beach for a couple years and I
noticed one thing was different.
Used to be when walking the waterline
you would be careful to walk in
front of a bent over little boy
digging in the beach because odds
were sand would be flying out
backwards between his legs when
you least expected it. Now everybody
has their own shovel; and not
the little plastic handled ones
that come with your beach pail.
we’re talking wooden shafts and
D grip handles. It’s very important
to dig a hole when you arrive
at the beach. One of the arcade
places on the boardwalk at Rehoboth
beach was called Funland. A sign
said "There is no smoking in Funland”.
I kept imagining a parallel universe
sign..."There is no fun in Smokingland"
The motel in Salisbury was an
old 50’s type place. It was actually
its last week of operation. The
owner was friendly, happy to be
retiring, and shared a few stories
now and then. Next year a shopping
center will be there. The wide-open
spaces and driveway lamps in front
provided the type stage a mockingbird
prefers. One seems to be following
me. I would be checking the accuracy
of his repeated calls every morning
as I packed the car for my day
trips. Saturday I made a big rookie
mistake. I had slapped on some
sunscreen leaving the car and
then wandered around in search
of a decent cup of coffee. Looking
at the menu board of basic Italian
fare I asked the Russian girl
behind the counter which item
she thought had the best sounding
name. I was delighted when she
brightened up and without hesitation
pronounced slowly and dramatically
lengthening the oh sounds of “calzone
pepperoni” A little thing like
that can put a bounce in my step
and make me feel pretty carefree,
which is the whole point of the
trip. So kicking off my shoes
I headed down the beach thinking
lunch at the Ocean Club a few
miles away would be nice. Later
I realized I hadn’t put any sunscreen
on my feet. My feet were fried
of course. Out in the sun for
most the day, I may as well have
put them in a microwave oven for
20 minutes. The slightest brush
against them the next day brought
searing pain. I picked up a big
bottle of Aloe Vera gel and kept
slopping it on. They were so swollen
if I loosened the laces and left
my shoes open they were still
tight. Now here is the interesting
part…and really let me assure
you this didn’t ruin a single
day of my vacation…when I stood
up there was this explosion of
deep pain more severe than anything
I’ve ever felt; The kind of thing
that tells you to black out, fall
to your knees, scream, panic,
anything to make it stop. I’m
thinking “I know if I sit back
down it will feel better but this
is the second day of my vacation
and I am not going to sit in the
motel all day!” Taking a step
it felt better in the lifted foot.
Putting weight back on it was
like I’d just placed the foot
under a wheel of a moving truck,
so half buckling at the knees
with each step I kept moving and
the most incredible thing…all
pain was gone after 3 or 4 steps!
I guess the walking helped pump
the blood back out of my already
nearly exploding swollen feet.
My choice for the next few days
was clear; Keep moving or stay
off my feet. I kept moving, walking
miles every day. If I stopped
walking for even a second the
pain bombs would detonate in my
feet. So if I was standing in
line for food or at a theme park
I would appear to be really enjoying
the music, bouncing around from
foot to foot. At a urinal I probably
looked like I really had to go,
settling for the medium pain associated
with shifting my weight from foot
to foot standing there. The right
foot was a little worse than the
left and by the 3rd day I found
I could stand for a half-minute
on my left foot if I raised my
right leg behind me. The highest
absurdity occurred when I found
myself balancing on my left foot
right leg arched up behind me
as I stood over the toilet. I
imagined I must look like a clownish
roman fountain. I was so focused
on pushing the foot pain envelope
it didn’t occur to me till then
I could sit down. What can I say?
We guys are weird. I took the
Lewes / Cape May Ferry north and
checked out Wildwood. There was
a shooting range amongst the midway
type games. The sign said “Wack
the Iraq”. Paint ball guns were
fired on live targets wearing
Saddam and Osama masks. I was
so amazed at its existence I had
to turn around and look again,
stopping later to take a couple
pictures. I’m in favor of the
war on terror, but that blatant
racist targeting was pretty surprising.
Just a few steps down the boardwalk
and the normalcy of hermit crabs
and frozen custard would return.
I was walking so much I didn’t
worry too much about diet. Ice
cream, boardwalk fries, chocolate
covered strawberries, and calzOHnee
pepperOHnee. I enjoyed the landscaping
at Busch Gardens on a semi rainy
day, cooled my jets at the water
park of Kings Dominion, and walked
around Virginia Beach one evening.
The main street there is populated
with paid entertainers and a few
were pretty good. Still unable
to stand still without the kind
of pain that would send me to
the pavement I circled around
the area where a decent jazz trio
was playing, enjoying all the
sights and sounds. The 4th of
July I spent at Ocean City. “The
Navy Cruisers” A group of Navy
musicians was performing on the
beach and they were sounding pretty
good. I walked through the crowd
and sat down in the sand right
in front of the stage. The Navy
concert band followed; real music
by real musicians. Anthems can
really get to me; make the tears
well up. They did some “Guys and
Dolls” stuff and “Grease”…but
when the lady singer from the
Cruisers came out and sang God
Bless America it was awesome.
Such a strong voice…a crowd behind
me on their beach blankets at
twilight waiting for the fireworks.
A couple kids to my right were
lying in their freshly dug holes
facing the band in open-mouthed
amazement. To my left a Coast
guard boat was rocking in the
waves just offshore, keeping the
pleasure boats safe from the fireworks
and protecting the thousands on
the beach from who knows what.
She hits the peak at the end of
the song high and strong with
this amazing orchestration being
conducted behind her, shouts whistles
and applause rising up at the
songs apparent end and then the
phrase is repeated singing higher
clearer and stronger “God Bless
America” with the band rising
up to the new tonality with the
full range of tingling bells,
strings, cymbals crashing, all
trumpeting, soaring and filling
thousands of souls on that beach
with the depth of sound. It was
beautiful. The fireworks paled
in comparison. Walking away during
the beginning I found myself enjoying
the way the bombs echoed in a
side street. Leaning against a
signpost during the finale I still
had a pretty good view. A homeless
looking gentleman was sitting
motionless on the ground nearby.
Next to me a teenage boy relaxed
on his bicycle. The fireworks
finale was a satisfying 5 minutes
of constant multiple explosions.
After a few seconds of silence
following the last barrage the
homeless man looked up at me and
the kid on the bike, laughing
maniacally. The distant cheers
rising from the beach mixed with
the chorus of car alarms triggered
by the bombs. Everyone loves a
spectacle. I smiled and walked
a couple miles back to my car
enjoying such spectacles as the
too drunk to walk man and the
amazing lady who walked almost
as fast as I did…I complimented
on her on her speediness. Now
if I had oversold the vacation
in my anticipation the sunburn
might have made me miserable.
And I’d still be whining instead
of looking back with amusement.
But I was able to roll with it
and have one of my better vacations
ever. Mainly it was sand sun and
waves leaving me fully recharged.
I don’t have to do it again to
be happy…but I probably will.
A garden center manager, writer,
musician and webmaster; Lee Goins
is often called on as an expert
in landscaping and gardening.
Residents of Shelby County Ohio
have been bringing him pieces
of trees, moldy leaves, and jars
of bugs for 8 years in spite of
the well publicized knowledge
he prefers chocolate. His gardening
help has been featured on TV,
Radio, Newspapers and websites
like http://www.shelbylandscaping.com
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