On a glorious Tuesday morning, I am out for a walk on the beach boardwalk. The sun has been gracing us the last few days here in Long Beach, Washington and I want to squeeze every second out of the warm day. I have been walking the Discovery Trail that stretches 8.2 miles along the Long Beach Peninsula, through sand dunes and across wooden boardwalks alongside the Pacific ocean. There are a lot of fun things to look at along the way, including interpretive signs telling about the journey of Lewis and Clark, various sculptures and a grey whale skeleton. Tomorrow I think I will rent a bike and do the whole trail. If I can remember how to ride a bike. It's been years. But you know what they say about riding a bike.....
I have walked about three miles and am heading back toward my car with visions of a hot spinach and cheese omelet and a steaming cup of coffee at the cafe down the street.
I stop to inspect a log that has inscriptions on it - most of them start with "Dear God" and are signed by someone named Danya.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a small figure bounding toward me. His skin is so white it almost blinds me in the bright sun. He is wearing bright yellow swim trunks and a blue and green striped towel wrapped around his bare shoulders. He stands next to me and begins to read the inscriptions out loud.
"Are you a Christian?" he says. Taken a bit by surprise, I turn to look at him. "Well, sort of. I do believe there is a higher power than us, but maybe not the same god that Christians believe in".
"God does exist." Says my tow-headed friend. "And I can prove it." A big smile spreads across my face as I look at his. "Before my dad went to prison, he told me about a time when there was a gang of men surrounding him and they were going to kill him. And then they just ran away. My dad said there was an angel there protecting him."
I say I definitely believe in angels and I think his dad was very lucky that his angel was there that day.
This skinny little cherub tells me his name is Thomas and he just turned 11 a few days ago. He will have a party next weekend with his friend and he hopes his mom will be able to get him a cake from Albertsons. The chocolate with carmel frosting. "But it will have to be the small one" he says, "because the big one will be too much for me and my friend and my mom."
He tells me he is here with his mom and his sister, visiting from their trailer park home in Portland. I ask if his mom knows he is at the beach alone and if she will be worried about him. He tells me he stays outside pretty much all day when he's at home. His mom doesn't want him inside for too long.
I look into his beautiful blue eyes and I don't see sadness. He is very manner-of-fact.
He wraps his towel more tightly across his shoulders and asks if I will walk with him to the water's edge to look for seashells. He gets a worried look on his face and says in a whisper "I'm scared of a tsunami."
"Sure Thomas. I would love to." I say.
We walk along the beach, his superman towel-cape fluttering behind him. "I won't see my dad until I'm 16. And even after he gets out I probably won't see him because of what he did to my mom." My mind is racing and I wonder what adult words of wisdom I can dredge up to sooth a boy who has a rough time. "He does write letters to me from prison, so that's good......but I don't want to talk about my dad anymore. It makes me really sad."
We walk along in silence for a while and search for interesting rocks and shells and pick up bits of crab and clam shells. He is very excited for each one. He wishes he had a bag to put them in but instead wraps them carefully in his towel.
"Have you seen the whale skeleton?" I ask. His face lights up like a Las Vegas neon sign. "REAL whale bones? Where are they? Can I actually touch them?" I tell him that they are just up the path a little and ask him again if he should let his mom know where he is first. He tells me she's having a nap and won't expect him back for a few hours. I'm feeling a little bit weird about this situation but also see a little boy who needs a bit of happiness in an otherwise hard life, and if laying his eyes on the bones of a whale will bring him some joy, then we should go and see them.
As we walk about the length of one city block, he tells me that he gets made fun of a lot in school and he only has one friend there. "I guess it's because I'm so skinny. I only weigh sixty pounds and I'm 11. And I will never do jumping jacks in front of anyone again. That was awful."
As the whale bones come into view, he starts hopping from one foot to the other. "Let's run!" he says. I make my best attempt but it's more like a lop-sided gallop. I could run a lot better when I was 11. Thomas streaks past me in a colorful blur of bright swim trunks and snowy white skin, bare feet not caring as they land on the rough wooden boardwalk planks.
Thomas reads the sign about the whale in a very poised, confidant voice. He is an excellent reader. He touches the bones and we talk about whales for a while. My whale knowledge is limited, so I don't have much information to share. I just know they're really cool, and Thomas thinks so too.
Thomas says maybe he better get back to the hotel now and I tell him I'll walk with him. He smiles big and says "Maybe you can come and meet my mom and my sister. I would really like that."
I have to pause and think about this one...what will his mother think of him bringing back a stranger from the beach? What kind of situation would I be walking in to? Or on the other hand, she may feel better to meet the person that Thomas will surely tell her about later.
We walk toward a nice time-share hotel on the beach and down a long hallway. I take off my hat and big sunglasses and Thomas stops to look up at me and smile. I realize it's the first time he's seen my eyes and most of my face.
We get to the door and Thomas knocks, and then knocks some more. He kicks at the door a few times. It takes a long time for the door to open. When it finally does, there is a tired looking woman standing there. She looks very annoyed and when she sees me, a look of surprise crosses her face.
"Mom, this is Christine. She took me to see some whale bones."
I smile and stammer "Yes, he was alone on the beach and I was a little worried. I wanted to make sure he got back to his hotel ok."
The woman looks confused and then very annoyed as she pulls the boy inside. "Yeah, thanks" she says as she is closing the door. The door then springs back open and Thomas walks into the hallway. He takes my hand in his. His face is complete calm and goodness. His eyes are alive and smiling. He says in the most genuine, grown up voice: "Thank you Christine. Goodbye."
"Goodbye Thomas. I'm so happy that I met you today." He turns and slips back inside and the door closes with the familiar click-lock of a million hotel room doors.
I have walked about three miles and am heading back toward my car with visions of a hot spinach and cheese omelet and a steaming cup of coffee at the cafe down the street.
I stop to inspect a log that has inscriptions on it - most of them start with "Dear God" and are signed by someone named Danya.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a small figure bounding toward me. His skin is so white it almost blinds me in the bright sun. He is wearing bright yellow swim trunks and a blue and green striped towel wrapped around his bare shoulders. He stands next to me and begins to read the inscriptions out loud.
"Are you a Christian?" he says. Taken a bit by surprise, I turn to look at him. "Well, sort of. I do believe there is a higher power than us, but maybe not the same god that Christians believe in".
"God does exist." Says my tow-headed friend. "And I can prove it." A big smile spreads across my face as I look at his. "Before my dad went to prison, he told me about a time when there was a gang of men surrounding him and they were going to kill him. And then they just ran away. My dad said there was an angel there protecting him."
I say I definitely believe in angels and I think his dad was very lucky that his angel was there that day.
This skinny little cherub tells me his name is Thomas and he just turned 11 a few days ago. He will have a party next weekend with his friend and he hopes his mom will be able to get him a cake from Albertsons. The chocolate with carmel frosting. "But it will have to be the small one" he says, "because the big one will be too much for me and my friend and my mom."
He tells me he is here with his mom and his sister, visiting from their trailer park home in Portland. I ask if his mom knows he is at the beach alone and if she will be worried about him. He tells me he stays outside pretty much all day when he's at home. His mom doesn't want him inside for too long.
I look into his beautiful blue eyes and I don't see sadness. He is very manner-of-fact.
He wraps his towel more tightly across his shoulders and asks if I will walk with him to the water's edge to look for seashells. He gets a worried look on his face and says in a whisper "I'm scared of a tsunami."
"Sure Thomas. I would love to." I say.
We walk along the beach, his superman towel-cape fluttering behind him. "I won't see my dad until I'm 16. And even after he gets out I probably won't see him because of what he did to my mom." My mind is racing and I wonder what adult words of wisdom I can dredge up to sooth a boy who has a rough time. "He does write letters to me from prison, so that's good......but I don't want to talk about my dad anymore. It makes me really sad."
We walk along in silence for a while and search for interesting rocks and shells and pick up bits of crab and clam shells. He is very excited for each one. He wishes he had a bag to put them in but instead wraps them carefully in his towel.
"Have you seen the whale skeleton?" I ask. His face lights up like a Las Vegas neon sign. "REAL whale bones? Where are they? Can I actually touch them?" I tell him that they are just up the path a little and ask him again if he should let his mom know where he is first. He tells me she's having a nap and won't expect him back for a few hours. I'm feeling a little bit weird about this situation but also see a little boy who needs a bit of happiness in an otherwise hard life, and if laying his eyes on the bones of a whale will bring him some joy, then we should go and see them.
As we walk about the length of one city block, he tells me that he gets made fun of a lot in school and he only has one friend there. "I guess it's because I'm so skinny. I only weigh sixty pounds and I'm 11. And I will never do jumping jacks in front of anyone again. That was awful."
As the whale bones come into view, he starts hopping from one foot to the other. "Let's run!" he says. I make my best attempt but it's more like a lop-sided gallop. I could run a lot better when I was 11. Thomas streaks past me in a colorful blur of bright swim trunks and snowy white skin, bare feet not caring as they land on the rough wooden boardwalk planks.
Thomas reads the sign about the whale in a very poised, confidant voice. He is an excellent reader. He touches the bones and we talk about whales for a while. My whale knowledge is limited, so I don't have much information to share. I just know they're really cool, and Thomas thinks so too.
Thomas says maybe he better get back to the hotel now and I tell him I'll walk with him. He smiles big and says "Maybe you can come and meet my mom and my sister. I would really like that."
I have to pause and think about this one...what will his mother think of him bringing back a stranger from the beach? What kind of situation would I be walking in to? Or on the other hand, she may feel better to meet the person that Thomas will surely tell her about later.
We walk toward a nice time-share hotel on the beach and down a long hallway. I take off my hat and big sunglasses and Thomas stops to look up at me and smile. I realize it's the first time he's seen my eyes and most of my face.
We get to the door and Thomas knocks, and then knocks some more. He kicks at the door a few times. It takes a long time for the door to open. When it finally does, there is a tired looking woman standing there. She looks very annoyed and when she sees me, a look of surprise crosses her face.
"Mom, this is Christine. She took me to see some whale bones."
I smile and stammer "Yes, he was alone on the beach and I was a little worried. I wanted to make sure he got back to his hotel ok."
The woman looks confused and then very annoyed as she pulls the boy inside. "Yeah, thanks" she says as she is closing the door. The door then springs back open and Thomas walks into the hallway. He takes my hand in his. His face is complete calm and goodness. His eyes are alive and smiling. He says in the most genuine, grown up voice: "Thank you Christine. Goodbye."
"Goodbye Thomas. I'm so happy that I met you today." He turns and slips back inside and the door closes with the familiar click-lock of a million hotel room doors.
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| The beach boardwalk |
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