Make It Happen, Boat Cap'n--at Navarre Beach!

Make It Happen, Boat Cap'n!

Somebody celebrated a birthday this week. Since she missed someone else's birthday celebration back in May, complete with a "party barge and brownies and cupcakes" per his request, she had a bright idea. Make it happen again. Boat Cap'n. Only this time there would be sandwiches, chips, and cookies. And this time the boat didn't set sail from Destin Harbor. Navarre Beach is more her style. More laid-back. Fewer people. Less expensive.

View of the bridge across Santa Rosa Sound to Navarre Beach from the Best Western on Highway 98.

She is, after all, of the age where night life is now defined by a comfortable bed, quiet, and lights out by 10 p.m. The other day she asked a couple of much younger friends to guess the year of her birth. I'll give you a hint, she said. It was the year John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States. They were stumped. She didn't think it would help to add that the year ushered in a decade of literary jewels like To Kill A Mockingbird, Catch-22, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. According to this excellent website that chronicles America's cultural history, people, especially the younger crowd, were being drawn like flies to the idea of change in that decade. No, not that stuff that's left in your pocket after you get to pay your fair share these days.

And it's not "the change" often dreaded or maybe anticipated by women of a certain age. Speaking of drawing flies, there were some sort of blood-sucking critters taking over the beach for most of the weekend. The only way to avoid them was to keep on the move or jump in the water. The birthday girl and her party did a fair amount of both...

...whenever they could convince Boat Cap'n to give up on the fishing. If the flies were biting, the fish sure weren't.

One thing that hasn't changed much since the birthday girl first moved to Northwest Florida eight years ago is the amount of development at Navarre Beach. There's no pass like at Destin or Pensacola to enter the Gulf of Mexico so there's no fleet of fishing vessels or hordes of tourists clamoring to charter them. No fancy yachts here.

Tourists who do visit Navarre (and like it) don't mind stepping out of their room to see snapped off trees in a vacant lot next to the hotel--remnants of some hurricane or tropical storm that blew by. Sunrise has a way of softening the effect.

The early bird gets a good spot on the beach too. Even later in the day there aren't any bad spots on the beach. A state park occupies a large chunk of prime beachfront property. According to a gentleman who was out early picking up what little trash had accumulated from the night before, there will soon be artificial reefs in place here for fish to hide in and for snorkelers to explore. He's been a resident of Navarre since the mid 90s and looks forward to this kind of change. A gentle tweaking of the natural beauty rather than a facelift, tummy tuck, or breast enhancement.

Locals and tourists alike enjoy visiting the Gulf's longest fishing pier at Navarre Beach. The pier is celebrating its first anniversary. It had to be rebuilt anyway after being hammered repeatedly by storms a few years back so why not make it the longest? Before the birthday girl headed back to Tallahassee (after doing a drive-by snooting of the old homestead to see if the tenants have changed anything else by landscape looting), she and the original boat cap'n stopped by the pier to purchase some coffee. It was too early for beer...


Navarre Beachside Church



...and it was Sunday morning. If it hadn't been for the biting flies and the drive-by snooting still on the day's agenda, this church without walls would have been a fine place to spend an hour or two. The wind carried the sound of worship music and prayer all the way out to the end of the Gulf's longest fishing pier.

What Drives You?

Daughter knows this song by the group Incubus quite well. I keep bugging her to play it for me when she picks up the guitar, which isn't often enough in my opinion. We usually sing together, but we've never tried the whistling bit shown on this video. Her grandpa would have loved that part. Maybe when she gets home. This weekend she is off visiting friends and family from where we used to live near Pensacola. Her 29th birthday is next week, and I remember the moment that made it all possible, Daughter-Mine. It's what drives me.

Figurative Friday--Surprise! It's the End-of-the-Weak Day

I like surprises, giving more than getting, but there was one waiting for me at the beginnning of the week. Monday found us still at home for a long weekend--thanks to SAM's understanding boss--and I was up with the sunrise, walking through the wet grass and taking in the sights and sounds of an early morning. I guess the dew slowed me in my flip-flops enough so I could spot these Green Darners, Anax junius, dangling from a palm frond. They were oblivious to me while in the midst of an extended embrace so I took the opportunity to snap away...

I approached them from different angles, curious about which one was male and female and what they were called, besides dragonflies, of course. That bug collection assignment in the fifth grade wasn't a total waste of time. Yes, Mrs. Whatever-Your-Name-Was--thank you very much--these are dimorphic insects, meaning that the two sexes look different from each other. That's helpful. The male in this case is the one in the upright position with the blue abdomen. He has the end of it inserted behind the female's head. This dragonflies-for-dummies article describes the insects' life cycle and has some excellent photos but doesn't include a lot of details like why the dragonflies resort to such an odd method of making babies! You should check out this National Geographic article if you're not satisfied with the basics. Dragonflies have such complicated mating rituals that scientists are still scratching their heads over what it all means. This isn't exactly an embrace. The male has the female's head pinned with special claspers on his tail so he can get down to business and also so she can't bite his head off. Of course, evolution provides the explanation for this strange, "ersatz heart" position. Doesn't it always? The dragonflies and damselflies apparently have this courting and mating thing down pat. The article says their time on earth--more than 300 million years--gives them an edge over other creatures, considering their diversity and distribution, and that they have had plenty of "time to figure all the angles on sex." Good for them! I'm glad I'm not an insect.    

Since I'm human, I get to enjoy things--like brilliant colors and stained-glass patterns on sunlit wings.

We surprised Daughter the day before the dragonfly sighting with a homemade cake--white chocolate with cherry topping--some flowers, balloons, and a card with two poems inside. Here is one of them, full of clues about what else she can expect:      

Look under the rug

Peek under the bed






Where is the darn thing


The birthday girl said






I don’t want a present


But it must be here somewhere






Is it something round?


Or will it be square?






If it’s stashed somewhere small


A piece may be pok’n


But if it’s too tall, it may be brok’n






The parents look sly


And say, Daughter… Truly Spok’n










Happy Birthday,


Dad

Can you guess what her surprise was?

She picked it out, and we brought it home the next day, a few hours after the sun rose and the Green Darners flew away.

Happy Birthday, Secret Aging Man!

An Ode to the "Old-But-Young-At-Heart" Chap

from Daughter (photos c.1994)

You're a jolly good fellow, Daddy-O!!

You deserve the best

Oh, don't you know?

You may think your life

Has been misspent,

But there you're wrong.

You did your best,

And with good intent.

Don't let the past be a bully

Who taunts and beats at you.

But, instead, stand up for yourself--

You're still strong at 52!

I want you to know

How proud I am

Of who you are

And what you've done!

You haven't lost anything at all--

You've already won!

You have a family

That loves you

And a God who provides.

We're the rocks

That stand firm with you

Even in the highest of tides.

So, just remember,

You're admired and loved

More than you know.

You may be old,

But you're young at heart...

As the "old" saying goes.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY-O!!

I LOVE YOU!!!!

NOW CHEER UP, YOU OLE COOT!!!!

Disclaimer: Let it be known that Walk2Write is neither responsible nor liable for the content of this post or the opinions expressed therein.

Tribute to Another Lady

Now the bright morning star, day's harbinger,
Comes dancing from the east, and leads with her
The flow'ry May, who from her green lap throws
The yellow cowslip, and the pale primrose.
Hail bounteous May, that dost inspire
Mirth and youth and warm desire,
Woods and groves are of thy dressing,
Hill and dale doth boast thy blessing.
Thus we salute thee with our early song,
And welcome thee, and wish thee long.

John Milton
"Song: On May Morning"




Happy 91st birthday to my beloved's mother, Valena Mae Walker, who raised two fine sons and two lovely daughters in southern Illinois. I'm more than just a little fond of her "baby boy." We celebrate your many years of love, service, and devotion to your family and community, Valena. In Milton's words, we "salute thee" and "wish thee long."