By the Water

There was another place that came before the one I often talk about. Also a very beautiful place but different, not dry …a place by the water where colors took on a different hue. There was a road that led to the water, a simple road where bikers biked, gardeners waved, postmen walked and cars drove slowly. I often took that road early in the morning to watch the water. Each day brought a different view but it was the ones that were gray that were the most fascinating, they were the ones that made you think. I would wake in the morning to a steady pattering of rain, slowly climb out of bed and quietly dress and head out and down the simple road to the water. It was always a bit messy between the front porch and the sand but once there, it was a new universe. The sky, gray and white all the way to the horizon, the wind making tiny whitecaps as the water flowed in and out. The sound of the Ferry going across the sound, sometimes in the distance where the land jutted out, you could see a rowboat tied in bouncing against the water. On a good day, someone might take that boat out a bit to catch some fish or maybe just venture. Sometimes I’d just sit and stare out at the water, maybe with a hot cup that I brought along.
I made a lot of decisions sitting on the edge of the sand and quite a few more on the pier. The edge of the sand was where I decided I should take an adventure, not the first but certainly one of consequence. I remember the day was a gray day, cold and misty, maybe soon to be wet. I brewed hot coffee early and brought it with me in a thermos, I went down that simple road slowly to my favorite place at the edge of the sand. The mist felt good, just enough to feel, not enough to be wet. In this place you always were prepared with a slicker when the day was gray. It was high tide, the water was close, waiting for me, greeting me. I thought about how I might miss the water so I spent time with it. I watched the charcoal color flow and break in a white flurry. The stately homes with elegant gardens and fabulous views across the road behind me frowned in the gray.They would eventually recede in memory and so would the people. I didn’t spend time on it. As I sat and thought, the grey started to lift, a brightness appeared, a flock of Gulls took off, the water changed color, the homes no longer frowned and I knew it was coming, I knew what I would do.