It Feels Like Fall Has Fallen.

SUNDAY SESSION:Looking north to Lost Winds from Riviera.

Somehow like a swtitch it happens and Fall begins.  Its colder at night and the sun sets a little sooner each day.  There is that dampness that lingers,  climbs over everything and doesn’t let go until late in the morning.  The full suits go on and sweaters are packed in the top of the bag for a trip to the beach. 

I like the light in fall; its soft, sleepy and slow.  Its not really a haze in the air but that everything seems heavier.  Summer tans start to fade and if you are anywhere near the beach, the smell of the ocean is closer.  The sharpness of summer is gone and I’m always kinda glad.

 

FiveBlocks

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Tunnel Vision.

Freedom is waiting at the end of this tunnel.  Soon it will be June and a lot of people will pass through here on their way to summer; it begins just past the concrete where the sand is hottest.  Sandals will be flicked off and put in a bag or a back pocket.  The biggest decision will be whether to sit to the right or the left.  Lips are licked for the salt that is already there and at the berm, most likely, a wave from family and friends will decide if the day is spent closer to tower four or to lost winds.

 The right or left at the beach today replaces the right or left at the stoplight yesterday.  There are no laptops or schedules other than when the legs and back are too hot to stand it any

 

                     “…no laptops or schedules…”

 

 longer.  Then it’s just over the feet, up to the waist or all the way in.  All the way in, arms out, floating down to the coldest water at the bottom and then rising up to the warm top layer.   More salt on the lips, on the teeth, in the eyes, and in the nose as well.  No one really seems to mind and everything is almost dry before sitting back down on a warm towel.

 

Cranky, worried and upset going into the tunnel and whistling a tune, coming out the other side.  A nap, a good read and a swim or two.  If it’s done right and you think about it, there is no reason why there shouldn’t be light at each end of the tunnel.

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Beach Glass Glamour

 Bring up “Beach Glass’ in a conversation and you need to be ready.  The husbands’ “hrmphhhhh” and the wives’ “whoaaaaaa” will un-doubtedly  bring out the home collection in jars, boxes and maybe the latest cull from a jeans pocket.  Any novice that lives within 5 miles of the beach will tell you that whites and greens abound, all shades of blue are difficult to find and more likely you’ll find a mermaid than the “holy red”. 

 

There can’t be a dashboard, a kitchen sill or a bathroom toothbrush drawer that doesn’t have some kind of beach glass on display.  Most of the time it shines nicely in the sun, reminding us that a walk on the beach is just steps away but then there’s Scott and Elsa Harrison of San Clemente that are working hard to make it more than that.

 

“We were in Hawaii last year” Harrison says, “at this farmer’s market in Kona and I saw this beach glass bracelet…they wanted a ton for it and as I looked at it I thought I could do way better than that”

 

For the last year or so Harrison estimates he and Elsa spend about 20 hours a week hunting, drilling and assembling the beach glass into bracelets with pure silver wire.  Friends were naturally the first recipients and it seems that the Harrisons won’t have a shortage of friends to supply their unique, one of a kind bracelets.  Right now he has 3 designs: the “twist”, the “bangle” and the “bead”.    

 

We took our dog for a walk to Riviera on Memorial Day and spied the Harrisons from our usual spot on the old log next to tower four.  They moved back and fourth up the beach right at the shore line, intent on mining their molten sandy prize.  We watched them for a good 45 minutes before I couldn’t stand it any longer and made my way to ask what was up.

 

He showed me his technique with a homemade rake and basket tool and we philosophized on the finer points of beach glass hunting.  Elsa came by on a return sweep and showed me the product of their efforts.  At one point in the beginning of my conversation with Harrison I realized I knew him.  I explained to Elsa that we had gone to Concordia Elementary and hadn’t seen each other since we graduated from San Clemente High School in 1982.

 

Elsa stood back looking at Harrison as if it were the first time she had seen him.

 

“Wow, you’re old…and you look just like a triton with that rake….well you look like him in every way except for the abs…”she said playfully, smiling and laughing widely.

 

Harrison looked at her and pretended to jibe her with his beach glass rake, adding a “hardy harr harr” before giving up.  Elsa was already in the sand with one hand, another few morsels of glass for the project and Harrison, a little jealous, was right after her to see the score. 

 

You can call Harrison at home and talk to him about the “Sea Glass Designs” bracelets he has for sale.  Bracelets are $45= USD each and you might ask about his tye-dye t-shirts and sarongs for summer.

 

Scott and Elsa Harrison  949-361-9862

 

 

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