Sea and Sky...

Today I joined thousands of New Yorkers on a lovely field trip out to Coney Island. The train ride there put me in an extremely good and thoughtful mood. It seemed as though many of New York's beautiful people made it out there. I love people watching and it was certainly a feast for the eyes. All different shapes and sizes, colors, moving in all sorts of manners, talking, laughing, singing. It was simply wonderful!

It was good to see Coney Island alive again. Though ever-present was the looming horizon. Old buildings that once stood tall, were reduced to empty lots. Boarded up windows of vacant buildings were painted and decorated to mask the reality that the end is near.

I walked along the beach for some time. It was good to be by the surf. I cannot really explain the connection I feel to sea. I feel it tugging me to it. Recharging me and filling me up with a mysterious energy. Perhaps it's from my mother's blood flowing through my veins?

The Siren Music Festival was going on. So many people were enjoying the music. Though instead of going to a concert, I felt more drawn to sitting out in the sun and reading, enjoying the ocean rather than throngs of people. I saw my stranger there, in the crowd. We locked eyes and were moving towards one another when the current of the crowd pulled us apart.

Along my walk, I found some shells. Some were from crabs and others were from mussels. As soon as I took them back to the boardwalk, they began to crumble as they dried out. I marveled out how delicate these remnants of sea-life were. Eventually, a pile of crumbs and dust was in my hand and the wind swept away the fragments. Returning them to the beach from whence they came.

Against my better judgement, I braved a ridiculously long line to get a hot-dog from Nathan's. I was thinking about Jean Yates the entire time. I was inspired by her blog post about it. Though I paid the price with an upset stomach all the way home. But it was tasty and completed the trip to Coney Island.