Monday, September 8, 2014

Wanna See The Cats Wanna See THE PATS

Made the annual trek to Old Orchard Beach.

Just like the Allman Brothers make the annual trek to The Beacon, only completely different.

Sweet release and maximum R&R.

A change of scenery is so therapeutic. Getting out and away just to remind yourself that working and licking wounds are not all there is to life.

We typically spend two nights up there. Arrive Friday around 1:00, enjoy Saturday, leave Sunday morning.

Too short. Too quick. Not enough. I was suicidal every Sunday morning.

We stretched it out this year and it made all the difference. Got there Thursday, left Sunday. Three nights and two full days.

Felt like a real vacation. Sunday morning I was exceptionally calm and ready to get home to see the cats and THE PATS.

The weather was gorgeous. We dug sun, sand and surf, junk food, booze, family, people watching, buying cheap but necessary  trinkets, long walks on the beach, deep conversation, trivial conversation, relaxing like we were the ones to invent the word.

I believe the relaxation is intensified because you are surrounded by thousands of people who are doing the same. Everybody there is getting away from it all and just digging on the beach and the sun and the warmth and the deliciously slow pace.

You absorb their calm, they absorb yours and the whole thing just feeds on itself.

Goddamn peaceful is what it was.

Chunks of time are spent sitting up on the second floor porch outside the room looking down on the beach. Listening to the waves. Watching families with little kids having a blast. Teenagers on the edge of innocence playing and teasing. People walking dogs, dogs that are free and happy to get soaked; wagging happy hellos to anyone bending over to rub their heads.

Dark nights looking out over the ocean and wondering how anyone ever got up the balls to voyage back in the day when navigation was by the stars and spotlights did not exist. Looking to the horizon and wondering what it would be like to live somewhere else, to live a different life.

Or to change your life, so the dividing line between every day and getting away does not feel like the edge of a razor blade.

Got to visit Sarge a couple of times. That put a perspective on things. Sarge, my heroic brother-in-law, is waging an immense battle against cancer. He is currently staying in a rehab facility very close to his home.

Friday, Corey and Kevin got him out of there and we visited him at home. He was in a wheelchair but his spirits were up. We were with him for a couple of hours, most of it outside on a beautiful day.

Carol, me, Lorraine, Sarge, Corey, Kevin and John. Seven close and loving family members enjoying time together. Simply. Honestly. Appreciatively.

Amazing, amazing, amazing.

Saturday he was not up for moving, so we went to the facility. He was wiped out in bed. At one point he got up to go to the bathroom and Carol suggested we get him in the wheelchair for a tour of the facility.

Brilliant idea.

Sarge perked right up and we took a long walk around this beautiful and peaceful place.

He was in my mind all weekend as I enjoyed our beautiful escape. He brought me deeper in appreciation of our vacation than I have ever been.

We walked downtown, checking out stores, in and out; checking out human beings being human, eating what we wanted when we wanted, sitting at stone tables in the circle with the ocean behind us and happiness all around us.

A few peaceful hours on the beach on Saturday, luxuriating in the sun, the sound, the ease; popping into the ocean to cool off and returning to the sand to dry off.

So simple, so beautiful.

We checked in with Kevin on Sunday before we left, and the news was not good. Sarge's brain is literally under assault and sometimes he has violent episodes.

Sunday morning it took two cops and a few nurses to subdue him. They moved him to a medical center.

That news weighed heavy on our minds as we drove home. Still, we kept the conversation light, laughed a little, and stayed positive.

Got home to the cats with love and relief. Missed them deeply, they missed us. Watched THE PATS play a terrible game and get their asses handed to them. First game of the season.

We were given a gift. A gift of having the resources to be able to go away. A gift of beautiful weather in a favorite spot, surrounded by loving family members. A gift of appreciation for the delicate beauty of life and being together in peace and happiness.

Sarge has brought many things to all of our lives over the years. Positive things, always.

Now he inspires us with his strength and determination as he fights fiercely.

He inspires us with his upbeat attitude.

Being around Sarge made an exceptionally beautiful weekend even more beautiful.

We spent three nights and two and a half days at Old Orchard Beach in Maine.

It did us a world of good.





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