A Morning Stroll

Smoke layered with clouds to form a strange tan morning sky. I walked along a lonely road, actually right down the middle, and took in the sights of my stroll.

A black-haired woman dressed in a black bathrobe emerged from a storage facility and twirled bird seed into the air. Within seconds, 20 to 30 crows swarmed on the ground and around the woman. She kept on dancing, and then she was gone.

A red van with white racing stripes parked in a derelict parking lot caught my eye. It was for sale. $3500/OBO…a 2000 Starcraft, with bitchin wood accents highlighting the interior. The mileage was absurdly low. Tires great. A little rust here and there but this was the Oregon Coast. I wanted that van in the worst way. I wanted to take it somewhere and let it take me somewhere.

My new driftwood fort, Fort Otter, stood tall in the tan sky. I had found some charcoal from a recent beach fire and marked up the fort here and there and wrote: “Fort Otter. Leave a message.” So far, no one had had written a word. They may not have wanted to get their hands dirty, but sometimes writing requires that.

I noticed a woman on the beach holding the leash to a small dog and standing still, expect for the obvious gestures of text messaging. She was angled to the ocean and the waves were dull green and barely made a peep. We waved to each other. I went on my walk, for a mile or so, then returned and there she stood in the same exact position, Same for the dog.

I approached her because that was the way home. She turned to me and came over. We said hello and she struck up a conversation. In short order I learned that she suffered from paralyzing migraines and rarely made it to the beach, even though she lived 300 yards away. She was on the run from a physically abusive ex-husband, and living in total anonymity and secrecy. She found this place by sheer accident, rented a room in the basement of an elderly couple’s home and was trying to start over. It felt like she hadn’t talked to anyone for a long time. I listened and we talked about the healing properties of the ocean. She said she wanted to walk on the beach more often. I told her about the fort and the charcoal. I suggested she might want to write a message. She smiled and I moved on after saying goodbye.