You may be wondering

How'd that big, second anniversary of TAB's first death go?

OK...

rather, as OK as it could possibly have gone.

I guess.

Sandwiched between episodes of snarfing too much, tasty food, I took a positively epic walk on Nantasket. What's the big giveaway that we're now in summer/Beach Season? At 8AM on a cloudy weekday morning the place was hopping.

There were families whose very young, sugared up, fizzy children spiraled around, making Franz Kline-ish figure eights in the sand.

There were groups of young women and packs of not-so-young babes, ensconced in those ubiquitous folding camp chairs. The big difference in these gangs? The young women chatted, the old ones read.

I passed couples of all ages, walking big ecstatically happy pooches.

As I strolled, stopping to snap pics or just wave gaze I saw a metric fuck-ton of my old lady sisters bare footing through the incoming tide.

There were surfers standing by – possibly waiting for the water to rise, to come a little closer or waiting for more statuesque waves. They’d be in for a long chill and hang. We only get ankle slop around these parts, 'cept during and right after major storms. I hear tell there's better action up around Swampscott and down at Horseneck Beach near the Rhode Island border. //shrugs// All in all, if you want big wave action, you gotta go west, young human, go west.

An aside - did you know that Gidget is a term? It's not just Sally Field and Sandra Dee's cool TV and movie character's name. Gidget is a contraction of the words girl and midget. It’s what female surfers, especially the shorter, less robust ones were called – gidgets.  

It became more name than term when screenwriter Frederick Kohner named his young title character this. She was actually based on his daughter who, back in the ‘50s when surf culture was strictly boys only, decided that she wanted in. Kathy Kohler Zuckerman still surfs (!!!) and was inducted into the Huntington Beach Walk of Fame in 2011. 

By the by, Kohner, his wife and their youngest daughter came to the US in 1936 from Nazi Germany. Yup, they were immigrants escaping monstrous inhumanity and, had they stayed, almost certain death. Sound familiar?

Meanwhile, back at my day spent in soothing, distracting activities – after the walk, I went to the movie palace to see The Incredibles II. Loved it ‘cept for a couple wee annoyances such as:

• the joint was PACKED with squirming kids.
• my soft drink became a foaming fountain the absolute second I unscrewed the lid. 
• The captioning unit worked great BUT there was a shit-ton of dialogue for an action adventure cartoon. I couldn't read and watch at the same time. OBVS I've got to see this again, here at home.

Afterward, in my continuing effort to avoid thinking on that awful, two years past day I painted, read and napped. I did my level best to avoid reading the news but, ya know, the horror show is pervasive.

The next fat, ugly bad anniversary is July fourth – my hero's very last day. Jen, Oni and I will head outta town – maybe Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Wallis Beach. Maybe we'll go to Plum Island or Crane Beach OR just wander around Salem. We'll distract each other.

It'll be good to have company.