old-fashioned way.
The old-fashioned way was when you use your feet to dig down in the sand and feel for the clams with your toes.
Mac picked up one of the rakes. “I can’t do it with my feet anymore; it’s too hard on my arthritis,” he said.
We worked in harmony for about an hour. Between the two of us, we filled up a bucket. Since the tide was coming in, we decided to get in the boat and go for a little ride up Point Judith Pond, a large salt pond with South Kingstown on the west side and Narragansett on the east. It starts up in Wakefield and goes all the way down to Galilee Harbor, which opens up to the Atlantic Ocean. There are several small islands in the middle of the pond, and two larger islands, Harbor Island and Great Island, on the east side of the pond.
We headed up the pond, passing several boats and some enormous, beautiful homes on the shoreline. I was glad to see, though, that some of the small original beach cottages still remained.
Mac shook his head in dismay, “I can’t believe some of these homes. It used to be all small summer cottages along here. In the last twenty years, people have snatched them up, torn them down, and built these large year-round monstrosities.”
“I noticed that, too, Mac. It’s more built-up since I was last here.”
He said, “Well, I guess some people would call it progress, but I liked it the way it used to be.”
“It’s still beautiful, Mac. I see there are a lot of osprey nests on the poles.”
“Oh yes, in fact, some people deliberately put poles up in their yards hoping that osprey will build nests in them.”
As we continued up the pond, we saw a lot of other beautiful birds including egrets, cormorants, mallard ducks, mute swans, and, of course, sea gulls. We passed by a few of the summer camps for kids located on the pond. We went around six small sailboats and watched instructors teaching campers how to sail.
“Meggie, did you know that ospreys mate for life?”
“No. That’s romantic,” I said. I thought to myself, I’m such a loser. I’m twenty-eight with no boyfriend. Now I find out even all the birds have mates.
As if reading my mind, Mac asked, “Did you leave a boyfriend at home?”
“No. I had a boyfriend, but he broke up with me and is dating someone else.”
“Well, honey, his loss is some lucky guy’s gain. You’re a beautiful, sweet girl, Meggie; I’m sure there is a great fella out there for you.”
“I hope so. How did you meet Marie?”
He looked at me with a twinkle in his eye and said, “Well, the day I met Marie was the luckiest day of my life. It was just after I got home at the end of the war. I was a Seabee in the Navy during World War II.”
“What’s a Seabee?”
“Well, the Seabees was a nickname given to our battalion of construction engineers. We built airfields on islands all over the Pacific, among other things. Anyway, a buddy of mine’s sister worked at the Veterans Hospital, and she wanted him to come to a benefit they were having for the disabled vets. He bought a couple of tickets, and I went along with him. It was a dance. They had a big band and a buffet, with every kind of food you can imagine. I was still trying to gain back the weight that I had lost overseas, so I headed right for the buffet. All the people working the benefit were volunteers.”
“As I approached the table, I saw this beautiful girl serving food. She stopped me in my tracks. I just had to look at her for a while and appreciate her beauty. She had shoulder-length, shiny dark hair, and lovely, big blue eyes. I always told her she had blueberry eyes. She was a petite little thing with a big warm smile. I had dated different girls before the war, and a few since I got back, but I never had the kind of reaction I had when I saw Marie. A feeling of warmth and happiness came over me. I had been home from the war a few months, but when I looked at Marie, I finally felt that I was really home. I knew instantly that she
The old-fashioned way was when you use your feet to dig down in the sand and feel for the clams with your toes.
Mac picked up one of the rakes. “I can’t do it with my feet anymore; it’s too hard on my arthritis,” he said.
We worked in harmony for about an hour. Between the two of us, we filled up a bucket. Since the tide was coming in, we decided to get in the boat and go for a little ride up Point Judith Pond, a large salt pond with South Kingstown on the west side and Narragansett on the east. It starts up in Wakefield and goes all the way down to Galilee Harbor, which opens up to the Atlantic Ocean. There are several small islands in the middle of the pond, and two larger islands, Harbor Island and Great Island, on the east side of the pond.
We headed up the pond, passing several boats and some enormous, beautiful homes on the shoreline. I was glad to see, though, that some of the small original beach cottages still remained.
Mac shook his head in dismay, “I can’t believe some of these homes. It used to be all small summer cottages along here. In the last twenty years, people have snatched them up, torn them down, and built these large year-round monstrosities.”
“I noticed that, too, Mac. It’s more built-up since I was last here.”
He said, “Well, I guess some people would call it progress, but I liked it the way it used to be.”
“It’s still beautiful, Mac. I see there are a lot of osprey nests on the poles.”
“Oh yes, in fact, some people deliberately put poles up in their yards hoping that osprey will build nests in them.”
As we continued up the pond, we saw a lot of other beautiful birds including egrets, cormorants, mallard ducks, mute swans, and, of course, sea gulls. We passed by a few of the summer camps for kids located on the pond. We went around six small sailboats and watched instructors teaching campers how to sail.
“Meggie, did you know that ospreys mate for life?”
“No. That’s romantic,” I said. I thought to myself, I’m such a loser. I’m twenty-eight with no boyfriend. Now I find out even all the birds have mates.
As if reading my mind, Mac asked, “Did you leave a boyfriend at home?”
“No. I had a boyfriend, but he broke up with me and is dating someone else.”
“Well, honey, his loss is some lucky guy’s gain. You’re a beautiful, sweet girl, Meggie; I’m sure there is a great fella out there for you.”
“I hope so. How did you meet Marie?”
He looked at me with a twinkle in his eye and said, “Well, the day I met Marie was the luckiest day of my life. It was just after I got home at the end of the war. I was a Seabee in the Navy during World War II.”
“What’s a Seabee?”
“Well, the Seabees was a nickname given to our battalion of construction engineers. We built airfields on islands all over the Pacific, among other things. Anyway, a buddy of mine’s sister worked at the Veterans Hospital, and she wanted him to come to a benefit they were having for the disabled vets. He bought a couple of tickets, and I went along with him. It was a dance. They had a big band and a buffet, with every kind of food you can imagine. I was still trying to gain back the weight that I had lost overseas, so I headed right for the buffet. All the people working the benefit were volunteers.”
“As I approached the table, I saw this beautiful girl serving food. She stopped me in my tracks. I just had to look at her for a while and appreciate her beauty. She had shoulder-length, shiny dark hair, and lovely, big blue eyes. I always told her she had blueberry eyes. She was a petite little thing with a big warm smile. I had dated different girls before the war, and a few since I got back, but I never had the kind of reaction I had when I saw Marie. A feeling of warmth and happiness came over me. I had been home from the war a few months, but when I looked at Marie, I finally felt that I was really home. I knew instantly that she
Similar Books
