Ode to the Ocean
This won’t actually be an ‘Ode’, not technically, I just liked the alliteration. I was thinking of writing some thoughts that speak to my love of the ocean, that’s all.
The ocean is my friend and lover. I say this because I’ve never once been bitten by a Jellyfish or Portuguese Man o’ War, and I’ve been a frequent visitor of the sea my whole life. Sure, I’ve had the occasional seaweed wrapped around my leg scare, or the experience of stepping on something mysteriously sharp or gooey, and who hasn’t been slammed by a rogue wave that made you feel like you were caught in the spin cycle of an industrial washing machine, breathing water through your nose, only to be spit out on shore with your bathing suit top askew so that your breast is completely exposed? Okay, so the ocean can be a moody and unpredictable friend and lover. Moving on.
The ocean is beautiful in its rhythms and cycles. It ebbs and flows, rises and falls, surges and swells, billows and rolls, heaves and… okay, I think you get the picture. Is it me or do those words sound sexual in nature? No wonder sailors fall in love with the sea. Anyway, where was I? Ah, yes, the undulating rhythm of the sea. Some of my favorite memories are of falling asleep at the beach, the warm sand ripples under your towel, the sound of the crashing waves, the late afternoon sun mixed with a slightly cool breeze… it’s heavenly, until those in your vicinity decide to make their exodus, screaming at each other and accidentally kicking sand in your face as they quickly pack up their gear.
Some people complain about sand and sticky salt water but I love it. Where else can you feel so much a part of nature? I love the sights and sounds and smells, yes, even the smells. Of course I’m talking about the nearby snack bar where they sell char-grilled hamburgers, French fries and fried shrimp baskets. That smell. The smell of food. Why? What did you think I was talking about?
But seriously, I do love the ocean. I once went kayaking with my son in Hilton Head, South Carolina. We got pretty far out in a short amount of time, and then suddenly my son’s kayak capsized. To say we were scared would be a gross understatement. (No one who has seen Jaws 1, 2 and 3, stays calm in that situation.) We were petrified, although as his mother, I had to keep my cool and pretend it was all good, and by, “keep my cool” I mean, scream instructions to him to pee in the water (in my vast made-up knowledge of the sea, urine is a deterrent to all sea life), to float, not splash around, and remove any silver jewelry he might be wearing, though I knew that wasn’t likely since he didn’t own any. If he followed my instructions I knew he would live. Just then a dolphin came swimming by. I’m not kidding. Usually dolphins travel in groups, or packs, or schools, or pods… okay, whatever. They travel together. This was a lone dolphin. I remembered, in the recesses of my mind, that dolphins have been known to rescue people from sharks. God had surely intervened and sent us this dolphin. We would live, and live we did. Not long after the arrival of the dolphin, which by the way, ended up being someone’s inflatable toy, did we pull ourselves onto shore. The lifeguard asked why we hadn’t used the full hour but had returned after only 8 minutes. Obviously he had missed the whole drama. That’s the thing about the ocean, it changes from moment to moment. Blink and the show is over.
Sea Joy
When I go down to the sandy shore,
I can think of nothing I want more,
Than to live by the booming blue sea.
As the seagulls flutter around about me
I can run about when the tide is out,
With the wind and sea all about,
And the seagulls are swirling and diving for fish,
Oh- to live by the sea is my only wish.
“Sea Joy,” a poem by Jacqueline Bouvier written in 1939
Lol I love that little picture of you. The only good moments of your childhood! The ocean is awesome, I will definitely agree. I love that story of you and bud. How funny. I wish I was there, but I’m also glad I wasn’t there because I would’ve been freaking out!
haha! I cut my sisters out of the picture! lol! I thought it was funnier to write that it was an inflatable dolphin, but it really was an actual dolphin that swam up to us! I tried to make it funnier than it was – we were both very far out and terrified. You would have had a heart attack. I think this is why Bud never wanted to return to the beach. haha!
Am I bad person for laughing about you and Bud, even though I’d have done the same things, especially the peeing part. I know fear of urine keeps me out of public pools, so, it has to work on evil sealife, right?
Haha! How could it NOT be a deterrent? I’m sure Jacques Cousteau knew. It must be printed in some scientific oceanic journal, right?
I think a dip in the ocean right now might be in order for you, young lady. Or at least a cold, metaphoric shower! And yes, I love the ocean too. Especially from a hot, sandy beach.
haha! There is no place I’d rather be. Hot and sandy sounds perfect!
You are so adorbs and that poem speaks for me, too! xo
haha! Thanks, Mags. You and I have that in common. xoxo
Ahh! Beachin’ is bitchin’. East Coast, West Coast, Thailand, Amalfi Coast, Cancun – you name it, I LOVE it! A life in the surf, sun, sand any day of the week is the life for me! Alas, I’m landlocked right now…someday though. Great post Lisa!
It is so bitchin’! Lol!! First we wear our clothes inside out and backward, and now, Honie, we head to the beach!! Two beachy, bitchin’ landlocked girls! Where will the similarities end?!
Have a great weekend!!
Oh, I don’t know. Do you have all your toes? All your own teeth? HA! Wonderful Weekend Wishes to you too.
haha!
Sister-woman! Gripping and goofy in the best kind of way – as in I laughed out loud. Thank you!
Goofy is my middle name. It started as a serious post but I couldn’t help myself. The funny thing is, we actually did encounter a REAL dolphin. I had to change it, though, for comedy sake. I’m glad you had a little laugh.
Have a beautiful weekend, V!
A super entertaining read! 8 minutes! you got me with that one. And the poem by Jackie….. she was my idol!
It’s a sweet little poem that she wrote when she was ten. It’s so heart felt that I don’t think anything comes close to expressing the way I feel about the ocean. True love.
It started out as a serious post and I sort of lost my way and tried to make it funny instead. 🙂 Glad you liked it, Ruth.
Have a great weekend!
Lisa
The way you wrote this made me feel like I was at the ocean. Such vivid, wonderful imagery! The beaches so wonderful. I think we may go to the Jersey Shore this summer.
Ugh. Beach is. Stupid autocorrect.
Thanks, Em. We used to go to the Jersey shore sometimes. There’s a little town called Bayhead that you might like. Actually there’s a Victorian town on the southern border that’s supposed to be super cute. I can’t think of the name… It begins with M.
I love the beach even though I was trying to be funny here. 😀
Why do burger and fries always taste better by the sea? You are a good Mom under pressure and a brave one to go kayaking in the first place. I probably would have just cried 🙂
It was so scary! And it actually was a real dolphin that swam by and it freaked us out. I changed the story to be funny and absurd but it really happened. Trying to keep my son calm wasn’t easy. I’m sure he could see the terror in my eyes. Haha!
This post touched me on many levels.. I grew up with the Atlantic ocean in my backyard (Va Beach) and from the time I was born until I left home I spent every summer in cottages (or the occasional travel trailer) at the Outer Banks.. The ocean, sand, sea spray, everything soothes me and also fills me with immense joy..
Your love of the same things only shows that beautiful universal gift’s powers. thank you for this trip down memory lane although my beach memories are never far.. I love that picture of you..just love it!!
Thanks, Lynne. It is the most soothing place I know. I feel the same way. I never want to leave, once I’m there. I get euphoric and my mind gets expansive. At the beach I feel like anything in life is possible.
The outer banks is someplace I’ve always wanted to go. I think all the hard core Atlantic ocean lovers live there. The beach/ocean is such a powerfully deep experience that we share. I’m glad
we have this in common, too!
I think my expression in that photo says it all.
The ocean is what I miss the most and most often about Nova Scotia. What they call a “beach” around here is laughable,
I love winter beaches the most – I miss living by water.
Living by the water is so therapeutic. It just becomes a part of you and then you always long for it. That’s how I feel, too. I hate living in Illinois for that reason.
Once you’re exposed to the ocean and have that love affair, you can never be totally happy anywhere else. Isn’t that true?
It does get under your skin, for sure.
LOL!!! Hahahaha! Oh how I loved this. And that picture! It is just a perfect post. You were only out 8 minutes and the dolphin was the blow up kind! Hahah! But you remembered what to do in a sea emergency from the Jaws Movies. OMG!!! Lisa. I enjoyed this so much. And ending with a poem from Jacqueline Bouvier!! And Ode to the Ocean that couldn’t have been more perfect! 😀
I’m glad that you found it funny and caught the humor. I think some people took it seriously! The funny thing is, it actually was a REAL dolphin that came by! I changed it to make it funny. I almost had a heart attack when I saw that fin coming toward us. Haha!
The little poem is sweet. She wrote it when she was ten years old. It expresses my feelings about the ocean better than anything I’ve ever read. It’s so pure and full of joy.
Now I want to go to the beach and float on the water.
On an inflatable dolphin.
And waterwings.
Lol! Why am I able to imagine this so easily? The ocean awaits you my water winged friend. Don’t forget to take some pictures for proper documentation.
They have established a “swim with the dolphins” camp just for special needs kids down here, a seaside twist to the ever-popular horseback riding camps for special kids. Your post perfectly captured the essence of finding courage in joy, and vice versa. Not to mention reminding me of my knucklehead moment of swimming out to the far buoy on a whim.
I tried to make it comical but I’m afraid it was lost on some people. It actually was a real dolphin that came swimming by – we see them all the time in South Carolina. It scared us as much as if it had been a shark! Haha! just having that big mammal swim up to you is unreal.
Thanks for liking my post and attempt at humor. I really do adore the ocean and would love to spend the rest of my days living close by.
We all came from it!
Haha! maybe you did! I came from a stork.
Bloody Hell!
Some came from there, too, I suppose. 😉
A real dolphin coming by? WOWZER. I mean I don’t envy the capsizing moment because it would definitely be a scare for anyone with emotional traumas thanks to those shark films, but a real, live dolphin coming up to you at just that moment? Wow, that’s magic… 🙂
“…only to be spit out on shore with your bathing suit top askew so that your breast is completely exposed?”
Okay, you got me. *hides face in total humiliation*
There are plenty of dolphins off the coast of South Carolina so maybe it’s not so magical? It was scary to have a dolphin swim up to us – I tried to make the story funny by altering the truth. I’m afraid some people didn’t catch that. I’m too dry for my own good.
Haven’t you ever emerged from the ocean with your bathing suit askew? it’s totally humiliating because you don’t realize until it’s too late. Everyone is laughing and pointing. Ugh!
Beautiful and scary post ;). I too am an ocean lover. Stuck in the desert. Grr.
Haha! My attempt at humor mixed with a little truth. I’m land locked as well and would do anything to live near the beach. I just feel like a different person when I’m there. Being stuck in the desert sounds sort of disappointing. 😉
Disappointing is one word for it!
I struggled to find a word. That one seemed to fit. 🙂
I’ve been to the east, west, and north coasts of Canada, and someday I’ll take a trip to an ocean that’s actually warm enough to swim in without a dry suit. It sounds lovely. 🙂
If I ever get my beach house, Diane, you’ll be at the top of my invite list. There’s nothing better than riding the waves, nothing. You’d love it.
We been fortunate to live very close to the ocean for nearly ten years now. We can walk to it. But the ocean, when she’s good, she’s very very good, but when she’s bad…well, you know. I would’ve been terrified stuck out in the middle of the ocean too, Lisa. Those stats about the chances of being attacked by a shark doesn’t comfort me much because I know MY odds. Glad you made it out safe and sound and I admire you for keeping your cool. I prefer to just look at the ocean, sit on the beach and maybe go in to cool off at waist level every once in awhile. :).
P.S. That pic of you is precious.
Thanks, Brig. I’m pretty sure I didn’t keep my cool as much as shout out stupid, worthless instructions which only made my son more terrified. Haha! but I tried.
You’re so lucky to be in that spot, and I know exactly what you mean about the ocean’s good and bad days. The water off of Long Island is sort of murky in color- it’s a little scarier to swim there but of course nothing stops me. The water in Florida is much better because it’s light in color and you can see things coming at you a little better. Of course if I had my pick I’d swim in Figi or the Bahamas where the water is turquoise. I need waves though. Lots of people don’t like them but I have to have them.
The picture is a happy one. Thanks.
Dear Gripping
“Oh I do like to be beside the seaside, beside the seaside beside the sea…”
Now, wasn’t Jacqueline sharing a room with Gore Vidal at that stage in her life… or was it later?
Something The Dandy thinks he remembers from Palimpsest.
Yours ever
The Perfumed Dandy
I certainly hope she wasn’t sharing a room with Gore Vidal at that stage! – – that stage being ten years old!! Haha!
I do love the sea. It started out as a serious post and then I started mixing a little comedy in and I’m afraid it fell flat on both counts. Such is my gripping life…
Have a good weekend, my friend!
Gripping
Fell flat? Not at all. You sailed us through choppy waters with great aplomb!
Now Jackie O and Gore Vidal were related, rather complicatedly by parental marriage.
I have heard him described as her “half brother once removed”, though I have no idea what that means exactly.
Apparently they shared rooms when staying at the other half of the extended family home….
Yours ever
The Perfumed Dandy
I’m laughing — I had no idea! Just the idea of little Jacqueline Kennedy sharing a room with anyone other than her stuffed bear makes me giggle for some reason. I suppose then, with that connection that it’s all very possible.
Choppy waters, indeed! You have such a nice way of reframing things, Dandy! I admire your skill.
Gripping
I meant Jacqueline Bouvier – naturally.
My favourite place in all the world!
I love the sea and am lucky enough to be 12 minutes from crashing waves on the North coast or calmer waters on the south. I understand your love of all things oceanic! 🙂
We have this in common! My brother-in-law, who sadly has passed, was from Cornwall. I’ve never been, but I think I would love it. Oh, I would just die to live in your spot. The crashing waves… well, that’s my favorite sort of ocean. Maybe because it mirrors my life! lol!!
You would love Cornwall, our coastlines, our seas and our lovely eclectic restaurants! We don’t eat out often but we have some delightful individual restaurants with some very imaginative chefs! You may not like our climate!
Where was your brother-in-law from? 🙂
I know he was born in Red Ruth? But he lived in other areas as well. I have a funny feeling I would just adore it. one of these days I hope to go. Is this where you’re located? how wonderful!!
We share the same lover. She is a fabulous love.
Ahhh… That’s one of the best things we have in common. You’re so lucky to have the ocean soo close. More reason for me to visit you! 😉 lol!
Do you need more reasons? Just book it. 🙂