There is nothing more appealing to me than a day at the beach. There is something medicinal about the sand and saltwater that this Pisces finds delightful. The Florida Gulf Coast beaches offer its guests a ray of activities to keep any visiting family satisfied. You can horseback in the water near the causeway. You can set up a hammock in one of the many Water Oaks that line the coast. You can buy ice cream from a push-cart vendor, soar in the sky on a bright yellow parasail, or have “Sex on the Beach” at any of the nearby Tiki bars.
However, collecting shells and looking for sea creatures has always been my favorite “at the shore” pastime. I love the soft, white sand, crystal clear water, and all the incredible marine life. For decades my daughters and I have spent hours in the surf searching for unique gems while on summer vacation. Recently though, my husband and I got lucky showing our grandson how amazing the Gulf can actually be.
We were at a new beach along Anna Maria Island. It’s a lovely, little local spot called “Bayfront Park.”
It was a beautiful sunny day, and the beach was packed with families barbecuing and picnicking. We managed to find a super spot to make our comfy nest for the day. It was amazing. Jeremy was barely out of the truck in the parking lot, and he was already making new friends. There’s nothing better for an only child than finding an entire family’s worth of kids to play with. The more, the merrier, we DeMarco’s believe. The more eyes and digging hands makes for a “sun-tastic” day.
Miraculously, we managed to see a pod of dolphins and a school of baby Grouper swim by. Then, with our goggles in the deeper water, we found a mountain of sand dollars. Not to mention, we dug up several good-sized crabs and a starfish, the kids, named Patrick like on SpongeBob.
In my 30 years living in Florida, I have never seen so many sea creatures alive and in-person without either being in an aquarium or a souvenir shop. Let us not forget that these creatures are living beings, and despite what we humans think, I believe they too have souls and deserve to be treated with kindness. So, when all the kids wanted to keep everything they have found, I had to step in and say, “No!”
Yes, despite my husband’s embarrassment of all of my Disney references, I went into an entire speech on how Nemo didn’t want to end up in someone’s fish tank. Ariel and all her underwater friends had family that cared about them. Nobody wanted to be netted up and used as a pet, food, or even worse, a knick-knack on someone’s shelf. Lucky for me, the children understood what I was saying and gently released all their captives.
Sure, by the time I was done preaching to the youth, I had every adult laughing their butts off within listening distance. But I didn’t mind. Patrick and all his little buddies were safe, back in the sea for another day, and I felt swell. Until I was left alone daydreaming, what if?
What if, as we were packing up to leave the beach, we suddenly noticed Jeremy was nowhere to be found. Joe and I were sure we had just seen him playing with the same kids he had been playing with for hours in the same place they had been playing together all day. But now, everyone except for Jeremy was present. Terrified, we started searching for him. We all searched for him. Everyone on the beach was looking for him. We check the water and up and down the coast. We checked the bathrooms and the roadway. We looked in locked vehicles, and up and down the street, all around the parking lot. Jeremy was nowhere to be found.
No one, including Joe and I, could figure out where he could have gone. How on earth could he have disappeared so quickly without a trace? Then, oddly, as my thoughts shifted and my mental image changed, I saw my grandson standing frozen under a glass dome in what appeared to be some type of display case. Under the glass dome engraved into the wood pedestal Jeremy stood on, it read, Earth 2021!
Just then, Jeremy ran up to my chair and woke me from my “daymare,” and I realized, “Wow. I am still on the top of the food chain – at least for now.”
Laugh on. Peace out!
Lisa DeMarco is a columnist for Villages-News.com
