For some reason, yesterday I started thinking about Michigan--it must have been the euchre. The above photo views Silver Beach at dusk, the main attraction in St. Joseph Michigan for good reason. I spent 3 summers working there as a waterfront lifeguard and part-time part attendant.
This is a good place to walk and swim and to be young and, I expect, to grow old. The citizens of St. Joe must usually deal with controversy, and it usually involves the waterfront. There are been long and chilly winters filled with hot town hall meetings regarding the color of the pavilion rooftops, or whether pavilions should even be built on the beach. The pavilions were built, and were painted blue. My favorite waterfront story has to do with the sculptures that now stand in random places on Silver Beach.
These sculptures came from the mall in Benton Harbor due to some legislative fluke. I know this from my days as a park attendant. There were more disputes about what color to paint the sculptures--some liked 'em silver, some liked 'em blue, etc. But they've been there now about six years, so I guess there was a resolve. The local art museum even sponsors a beach sculpture walk--which I suppose they wouldn't have done if the sculptures had remained at the mall.
There are many more stories--the racoon I found on the end of the pier eating a giant salmon at 10 a.m. one August day, the stormy triathlon I life-guarded for in a miniscule motorboat driven by St. Joe Sailing School students who were determined to make me seasick, the lost children we reunited with their parents with our megaphonic beacons of sound, the long, cold swims of lifeguard training and buoy arranging, and the never ending story of the sky and horizon, which was an important part of my favorite Lake Michigan story: becoming engaged at sunset on the breakers.
And thus euchre is a profound game of memories and Michigan.
7 comments:
Mrs. J, beautiful and dreamy, as ever... thanks for the mems. (remember the Ben and Jerries in the bus stop at two AM? ... and watching Dracula in The Van on the beach post high school graduation? - it was the first time I ever held Fr. WB's hand...)
oh dear, now i am homesick for that piece of midwestern heaven. Remember when you would lifeguard and mom would drop me off and i would hang out by your stand? thanks for watching out for me. i love you.
In September of 2004 we discovered Michigan. Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore (on Lake Michigan) provided our best family vacation to-date.
None of us had ever seen such scenery. The hilly hardwood forest covering thousands of acres began to burst into fall color while we were there. We lumbered down a dirt road notched out of the forest and then parked the van. A short trail through the thick woods suddenly brought us onto a beautiful untouched beach that stretched for miles up the coast. No condos, no high-rise hotels, just an invigorating mixture of fresh mountain air and cool sea breeze. A combination we've never experienced. We could have stayed and played forever.
Huck, those were precious times.
Boo, how could I forget? You were what, 9 years old and looking so forlorn playing by yourself until I could take you home. I wonder how many people thought you were lost? Always so patient, just willing to be with us.
Tim, welcome and thanks for commenting. It's easy to picture your family there and I hope you all get to go again. Fall is definitely the best time; the lake is still warm and the black flies are gone.
You are beautiful. I miss you. Can't wait to see you again.
I must say, your writing takes me there instantly, baby. That cool August evening is etched in my memory forever. I love you.
Hope this isn't too mushy for the blog police. By the way, Grant and I are the current euchre champs! (5 point games don't count)
Dearest Mr. J.
I just remembered another euchre rule: 5 point games actually count 4 times over. Which makes Mrs. J/Kandid Kiwi the best euchre team in New Mexico at least.
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