What a great day!
Parked at Horseneck state beach, biked along the southeastern Massachusetts coast, cooled off on the beach, and dinner at the Back Eddy.
Going to the beach has changed since I was a kid. It has gotten a lot lighter. Back in the 1960s, the beach umbrella was a behemoth — a heavy canvas shade atop a stout wooden pole. Dad had to dig a deep hole, then pile sand around the pole to anchor it. Sand chairs were also made of wood and canvas. Then there was the cooler — a round metal canister patterned in a red pattern called "Scotch plaid." Everything was heavier than its modern-day plastic, synthetic, and metal counterparts.
I managed a poor attempt at a poem on the beach.
The radio rumbles under
the clamor of breeze and waves.
"Vanessa, Vanessa," cries a boy
just a silhouette under the intense sun.
A jagged chunk of styrofoam
lobster buoy crackles under foot.
I’m at the beach.