Regrouping
If yesterday was silent on the beach, today brought all kinds of folks out. I don’t mean that there were big crowds of folks, just, well, me and the GG and Paulette and Jeep and Pan and the Grinch. That was enough. It’s a big chunk of the beach population at the moment. Not that the GG and I are part of the current population because we’ve now landed back here (whomp!) on the Planet Ann Arbor.
Yesterday, I needed to walk alone and words are going to fail me here so it’s a good thing I talked about that yesterday. Today? I walked alone to the Doelle end and back. And then I saw Paulette down in front of her house. I had twittered “on the beach”. I wonder how many others are using twitter to invite their friends to meet them on the beach. I think it is a very cool use of Twitter. Anyway. I met up with Paulette and we walked the beach again. And when we turned around, there was the Grinch! I needed lots of folks on the beach today.
I only had an hour or so at the beach today. The cabin is closed up for the winter. No water any more. If I’d had to use the bathroom, I’d’ve used Harry’s outhouse. But I didn’t. And so. We who are left behind are going on into the future without Radical Betty. The beach feels different and lonely without Betty. She had one of the biggest spirits on earth. For all those years, when she was out of town on her many adventures, her presence was felt. So many summer afternoons, I’d be sitting on the beach and look up to see her carrying a beach chair and a basket of beer.
But we will go on. Today I walked the beach with our friend and neighbor Paulette. And then the GG and I met the Grinch at the Dancing Crane Coffeehouse before we flipped down through the res and Brimley and over to Tilson Road and down down down down south. And work tomorrow (hi-ho!) and maybe eventually, I will unpack… er, before we go to San Francisco in less than two weeks… Yes.
Radical Betty was a huge loss but all of us who knew and loved her will regroup in time. Love you all. And thanks to everyone who was on the beach today! Beach Folks, Fin Family or not…
September 28th, 2009 at 12:37 am
A basket of beer? She was a kindred spirit to me then. I would have loved her. My grandfather was such a bigger than life person–hilarious and charismatic. He used to fly his own plane and would pull surprise visits where he would buzz our house; when we ran outside, he would tip his wings and then fly off to the airport where we would go pick him up. After 23 years, I still miss him dreadfully.