Welcome to the Atlantic Lake

I started writing yesterday outlining my arguments for a proposal to change the name of the Atlantic Ocean into the Atlantic Lake. It was just so peaceful and calmed that if it wasn’t for the fact that you couldn’t see an end on the horizon, it could have easily be confused with any big lake. Who could have thought that this lovely and peaceful body of water could do harm to anyone or any property anywhere? It was peaceful enough to cuddle with. Well, this morning I stand corrected. The Atlantic OCEAN is back with the same attitude that it wakes up most mornings. A body of water that feels as if it was tied by heavy ropes and that was always trying and wishing to break it’s boundaries. It’s just there beyond the sand, roaring and frothing with the desire of becoming larger and overtaking the land just beyond its reach. After all, we call this planet Earth, even though more than 70% of the globe is covered by OCEAN. I bet you it resents that. Hopefully it’s threats will not be rewarded, even with the help of global warming.

We are almost back to our routines after the trip to Norfolk and after spending time with friends over the weekend. Having Susan, from Hendersonville, NC, with us even beyond the weekend was refreshing as we were able to converse at length about so many topics that this multi-faceted friend brings along and also able to include her in our walks to the post office and other aspects of our busy beach life. She promised to become the 4th reader but only time will tell.

Normalcy however has a way of not staying long enough for us to really get used to it, and as it is normal for us, we are in the midst of packing for our next trip out of town. I have to admit that I’ve failing miserably at my responsibility of ‘controlling all the fish in the Atlantic Ocean’. I’m sure, they must be going completely wild by now.

When you stop to think about it, packing is an activity that forces you to reduce your ‘stuff’ to what really matters most to you. As I’m preparing for our next three-week trip, I’m thinking of all the stuff that I would likely miss. Originally I had about two suitcases worth of stuff, but as I only want to deal with a carry-on, I have been forced to leave a lot behind. Amazingly, the laptop and my camera are making the cut. They have become part of the essential stuff that I’m willing to go through hoops to have by my side. I realize that this is probably not an AARP-approved behavior but I hope my three readers appreciate that I’ll be lugging them along.