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Small Surprises

We took possibly the last trip to the beach for the summer the weekend past. It was plan made late Friday afternoon for the following night. The return to such spontaneity became possible only recently after a long hiatus. I had forgotten what it was like to able to take such trips on a whim. They came to be associated with a much younger age, the time of dreaming impossible dreams and seeing everything crash and burn - that was the way my life at the time turned out. But that is not to say, there was no redemption or even good things that came form the ashes for charred dreams. Just that life went in a direction I had not anticipated. Many things from that period have turned into relics that don't belong here and now. 

Interesting and unexpected experiences happened on this trip too. The sea was calm like a swimming pool and I could float on my back. The following day, it started to rain while I was in the water and I could see a school of fish riding the waves. We were all together in an infinite body of salt water, depending on who died first, one would be food for the other. Relative to the ocean we were just insignificant - the difference is one of us has to plan for retirement and the other does not. 

The Thai place we had dinner was quite extraordinary and yet it had not shown up in any reviews. One in the downtown area, I insisted on walking past the well-reviewed restaurants and to the part of town that was a bit run-down and unloved. This place was warm and welcoming run by a middle-aged couple. The food was well-balanced perfection. On the way back we were drawn to some loud music coming out of a park by the waterfront. It turned out to be a an Caribbean festival - bright, colorful and the air redolent with the smell of spices I love. The tickets were sold out but it was all open air and not hard to see the stage from out the park. We stood there with others who like us had to been able to make it in. 

The day ended with stopping at local grocery store to pick up some food for breakfast. We found some really nice coconut and guava jelly cake, yet another small bit of perfection on a trip that might have never even happened. We watched Satyajit Ray's Teen Kanya that night.

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