You know how they used to put those special prizes in the bottom of the boxes of Cracker Jacks?  Well… today… I felt like I was eating one gigantic box of Cracker Jacks, and I kept getting special prize after special prize.

Some days, I have to struggle to come up with an Evening Post.
But today, there are just so  many things I want to tell you about.  There were so many little happenings… here and there.  But each one seemed to feel like these little miracles.

At first, I wanted to write about  Ash Wednesday.  Then, there was a huge pyramid on the beach… among other wonders.  Like families, with lots of sweet kids.  Energetic kids from all around the world.
There were also shells on the beach.  Every day this is true, but today especially.  Coolio Shells.   Amidst all of it… I encountered a Stalker… Photo-Bomber type.

I ran into the lady at the grocery again.  She bought me Readers… which was another part of the story.  Tonight…. We had a fabulous dinner at the Lighthouse.  And so many other things.   Even the Karaoke People were ALMOST singing in key.

But….. today….   I met a Seagull.  As much as anyone can meet a Seagull, I suppose.

I was walking along the beach, just to stretch my legs. Holy smokes…this bird could dance.  In mid-air.  It was athletic, and acrobatic, and graceful, and beautiful.  It was fast and slow.  At times it would sail, and ride the wind.  At other times, that bird would make a quick move, to launch downward, or change course, and flip around.   Or stop, midair.

That gull would dive and descend, with such stealth and precision….. and lightning speed.  And then…. the full body splash into the water.  And each time, it would come up with a fish in its mouth.  A Golden Catch. It was incredible to watch.

It felt like me and the bird were the only ones  around for mile and miles on that lone.   Then…. tears come to my eyes.

I thanked it immensely.  I told it out loud of its magnificence.  I said that if I had had a camera I would try to capture its beauty.

Later in the day… I walked that same stretch of beach.  This time with a camera… to capture photos of small shell.

That gull came back.  And danced again.   That rhythm and beauty could not transcend to one still photo.  I stood and watched again.

“Praise the bridge that carried you over.”  –  George Colman

If you can’t say cheese, what can you say?

I had to go to the grocery today, for just a few items.  The part of the Grand Cayman Island where we stay, has only one small grocery.  They do a pretty good job, but it is not a Mega-Krogers.  Not even close.

So.  This afternoon I went in.  I needed dinner napkins, for one, and could not find any. So I asked the lady at the counter.  She led me to the paper towels.  That was okay.  It would work.

Next on the list… cough drops or throat lozenges.    I should give a little more information about the lady at the counter.  I was having a hard time understanding her… and she in turn… was having a difficult time understanding me.  It wasn’t a hearing problem.  Rather, it appeared to be a language barrier.   Back to Aisle Five.  I asked for Cough Drops or Throat Lozenges.   She stared at me blankly, so I made a coughing noise and put my hand up to my mouth.  She handed me Baby Aspirin.  I didn’t have the heart to put it back.

Finally, I wanted some Ear Buds.  I brought some nice head phones along with me….. but they are scrunching my glasses into the sides of my head.  So, I asked the lady about the ear buds, and made kind of a dancing move.  She took me to the refrigerated cheese section.   I can understand the first two things going wrong… but this last item went completely awry.  What could this possibly mean?

Well… for now it means we have a lot of cheddar cheese on hand.
More importantly… I think it means.. ….. The mysteries of the universe abound.

When I walk …. in those lands up north.  You know… in the wind and the snow.  It can feel hard sometimes to be out…. looking for those catches to shoot.   That is what I call them.  Catches.    People always ask me what I shoot, and I say “Everything and Anything.”  But that is the truth… it just has to catch me.  So yeah. Catches.

At any rate.  Back to Ohio in the Winter Time … it all just starts looking the same.  Over and over again.  Maybe because I have been looking at these same winters for a long time now.

But here, when I walk, I fill my film with hundreds of images.  I am around it so little that all the scenery looks interesting to me in these parts.

Oh who knows.

But this was my walk today.  Most of the shots are self-explanatory.  Except for that orange thing.  I have no ideas what the heck that thing was.

The rest, I knew right away.  It has been a while since I’ve been to The Snail Races… but I sure do love seeing those.  Fast and furious, I’ll tell you.  But that is all I have today.  Scenes from a walk.  I’ve been short on creative  interesting stories lately.  So this will just have to do in its steed.  Tonight.

I don’t want to be interesting. I want to be good.  —  Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

I had some really interesting conversations today.  With a few different people… more than a few actually.  And each individual brought a much different story, or conversation, or insight into my day.

But one thing that I heard a few different times….  is that each and every one of us are…. at times… faced with a problem, or a challenge, or a hardship.

It seems to me that life is a process of meeting and solving problems. And in doing such…. in unraveling the answer, or figuring out a solution…. we test and develop our spirituality.  We find in ourselves… some sort of courage, or vision, or compassion.  Fortitude.  It is truly at those times when we become great…  (  if only for a moment  ) ….. not in spite of our problems, but because of them.

I don’t know if you pray or don’t pray.  Or if you think higher thoughts about life… and call it something completely different.  But perhaps we should not focus on praying for a life that has no problems.  That would be fruitless.  As I learned, (once again today) …. we all have problems.

Rather than pray for a life that is problem-free…..maybe instead …. we should focus on having a life which is solution-full.

Instead of walking six blocks around…. to avoid walking underneath a ladder…. we should simply go over… and move the ladder out of our path.
Or climb up… to the next floor above…. and see what’s might be there.

We live.  We learn.  And we grow.

The trouble with life isn’t that there is no answer, it’s that there are so many answers.  —  Ruth Benedict

Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence.  —  Erich Fromm

Are these people with the quotes just aimed to confuse me?  —  Polly C Kronenberger

What about this day?  Some parts were soft.  Some parts were hard.   I mean, the weather here is like paradise. Just like paradise.  So it doesn’t feel quite right  to complain about anything.

BUT…. we had to take the kids to the airport this morning, and put them on a plane…. northward home.  On our drive into Georgetown, we stopped and got some Jerk Chicken for lunch.  We asked…..”How do you prepare your chickens?  And the guy said…. “Nothing special.  We just tell them straight out that they are going to die.”

At any rate…. back to the kids leaving the Caymans.  This was sad.  So sad, in fact…. we cried at that dang airport.  We are goofy…… I know.  We will see them in a week…. I know that too.  Yet it was very difficult.  Especially for the Mary.  The Nanny.

And away they went.   Homeward bound.

It was a great week with both of them, and they are such a joy to be around.  They both caught colds…  which was a drag.   We went through a lot of tissues.   I wonder if  you know how to make a tissue dance?    You put a little boogie in it!

I am always asking them “What If” questions.  Like… where they would live if they could pick anywhere in the world.  Or what they would want to do, if they could have any job they wanted.  Favorite desserts…  Favorite Musical Artists…. those sorts of things.

At this age… I am still wondering what I am supposed to be when I grow up.  I think I might even want a job cleaning mirrors..  … .. It’s something I could really see myself doing.

So tonight… as I sit and write… I am trying to cheer things up a little bit.  It is a good thing I knock this thing out my my computer.  The only other thing I had around was a dull pencil?  And I am NOT going to write with that.  It would be pointless.

Another day is beautiful.

They always  are…. IF we are able to take notice.  But here, the surroundings help make it easier to find the good in the day.  It makes it a lot easier to find the beautiful.   You know the drill by now… sun, sail, sand, surf.

And of course, warm.

This morning, we started out on a high note indeed.  We enjoyed a very good visit… with some really fine friends.   I like a sweet morning such as that.

Then a little later …. were relaxing on the beach, and overheard that there were some reef sharks near the main dock.  I ran to the dive shop, bought a snorkel and a mask (my old ones needed to be replaced anyway)….  and then mad a dash for the water.

I love to swim with fish in the ocean.  (In fact….I miss Magoo, and have been on a quest to find him… since we first met.)  But today, I was pretty psyched about seeing some Reef Sharks and swimming with them.

So snorkely  I did.  And snorkeled, and snorkeled and snorkeled.  I looked high and low, deep and shallow, near the dock and away.  I could not find a Reef Shark.  No way, no how.

I saw a lot of Terrapin, Queen Angle Fish, Parrot Fish, and many others. I might have seen a Horse-Eyed Jack… but there were a bunch of fishy-fish out today.   But…. no Shark.   And that’s the way the snorkeling can go.

Tonight, we were having yet another nice dinner with the kids at Tukka.  And it hit me.  Today is Friday the 13th.  I think…. all of a sudden…. that  …. perhaps…. I am glad I did not see the shark.  Or more to the point… that it did not see me.  But I always love to see more of our beautiful family and our beautiful friends.  Anytime.

The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. –Ralph Waldo Emerson

This morning I went on a little excursion, all to own.  One on the stops…. was to a place up the coast called The Wreck of the Ten Sail.  It was beautiful and quiet, and as I looked out at the water, I could only imagine what might have happened that day…. when those great ships went down.  The ocean on this day is calm, and still… as oceans go.  I am the only one out here, as far as my eye can see.  I like to be this way sometimes.

But out to sea.  I do know what happened.  Wreck of the Ten Sail is a historic shipwreck event.  It happened a long time ago here….  off the East End of Grand Cayman Island.  In fact, it was about this time of year….. on February 8, 1794.

Ten ships that were part of a convoy on its way from Jamaica to the United States and Britain.  The big-man on campus was Captain John Lawford, of the British Royal Navy.   You see, the Brit Navy had just captured a big French frigate.  They took charge of that French ship and named here the HMS Convert.  So Lawford was supposed to lead a convoy, with that new ship…. and go from Jamaica to Britain.

After sailing for nearly 24 hours, Lawford believed they had already passed Grand Cayman Island. So… sleepy John went to bed.  BUT…. before nighty-ight, he gave the direction to change course to the north.  But you know how impatient people can be at the back of traffic.  So six or seven merchantmen ships… that were way in back ….. moved ahead of the leading ship and without notice of the Convert’s watch.   And low and behold…. into the reef they crashed.  It became sort of a pile up.

And…. wouldn’t you know…???  It was a very  stormy night.    Once the ships crashed…..a bunch of local residents braved the stormy waters.  They made their way out to the reef.  I imagine by small boat.

So… those whacky locals  rescued the ships’ crew and passengers.  Of all of those, on all of the ships…. only eight from the convoy did not survive.   That’s some snappy-jack-good saving, I’ll tell you.

Of course, all the crew was very angry and upset when they had hit the coral barrier.  I guess you could say they had Reefer Madness.

And that’s pretty much the deal.  You can see the sight from shore… of some shipwreck out there.

At any rate, as I sat there this morning, I could almost imagine the all of it.  So many years ago.

Yep.  That’s how it all went down. Way back in 1794.

We had plans, dag nab it.   But… as the old saying goes… that is the way the ball bounces.

The choppy-waves-ball bounced right on top of our plans today.  Our scheduled journey was going to be a submarine excursion.  We were to dive down to about 100 to 150 feet, and explore a shipwreck and more.  I was pretty dag-nabbin’ excited about the whole deal.

Well… the old rough waters got the best of the boat.  So they cancelled our outing.  Okay.  Fine.  We regrouped and had a great day.   Golden.  Since we had made the drive down to Georgetown, and already braved the Cruise Ship crowds, we did some shopping, and grabbed some lunch.

It was fun.  Interesting.  A little scary at times.  But good.  People on cruise ships can be scary at times…I have come to find out.  Yet… we maneuvered through.  We even learned some things about Cricket.   Not much… albeit.  The sport looks very confusing.

Later… on our way back up to the East End, we stopped at a little shop that made mostly soap.  Nice smelling bars of soap.  So….we bought a lot of the stuff.  In fact… we have enough bars….we could build a jail cell.  And tonight….   I took a shower with some Lime and Coconut Soap.  I smell great….. and with a nose like this… I would know.

Finally tonight… dinner with our pals Jan and Colleen.   Great food, fun, and company…. from start to finish.

So the point of all of this…. is that we were able to regroup.  Easily.    Regardless of the situation…. our attitudes are our choice.  Thankfully, we chose to be happy, and content.

That really shouldn’t be that difficult, when you are on an island, in the middle of the Caribbean, with a group of people you really love.  If I can hang on to this…. when I get back to the day-to-day of things….  when it is 18 degrees outside… and I have a flat tire….  and I have to be in an appointment in five minutes… and my phone just lost its charge……   Yep… if I can hold onto this notion of going with the flow….. it will be golden… or even yellow….

…. like a Yellow Submarine.

Sometimes, when you get away from home, and get out of your normal routine, you begin to think about things differently.

There are moments when you may find yourself sitting and contemplating everything… or absolutely nothing at all.   It could be the very profound, or perhaps something on the complete other end of the scale.  But the time for slowing down, and thinking, is definitely there.   I attribute this to the water, or more to the point, the vastness of the water.

When something is great, and so much larger than ourselves… it can make us wonder.  About who we are, where we came from, and how we fit in to all of this.  This.  Which surrounds us.

Why do I matter?  Or more succinctly…. do I matter?  Where I am going?  What am I doing?   Learning is finding out.  Sometimes it means finding out what we already know.

Obviously, those are the more profound questions.  But sometimes… it is little things…. like… “How did all these cats get on this island?”  “Where did One-Eyed Willie die?  If Brian Williams exaggerated… and got six months….  does that mean FOX News will be run off the air completely?  Just how big is a reef shark?  When did shade become a commodity?

And on and on and on.

So, at times like these, it may not be so important that we get immediate answers.  It just me be that we ask these things because they needed to be asked…. and nothing more.

This was a pretty full day.   Beautiful.  Warm. Sunny.   And …. well…. just really good.    We all had our own things we were doing.   Mary and Haylee took a dive class together.  Levi and I did a little sunning and shell-hunting.    But mid-afternoon, I had the opportunity to snorkel.  I like to snorkel.

So, off I tread out toward the ocean.  I find a decent place to stand,  about waist deep or so, and begin fixing my mask and snorkel.  Well…. let me back up just a minute.  I can’t see the nose on my face without my glasses.  And of course, you can’t really wear your glasses when you are swimming out into the ocean.  And therein lies the problem when you are trying to fix a snorkel mask.

I was jerking around with it…. trying to get the snorkel attached to the head strap… when something bumped my leg.  I looked down, and saw a beautiful silvery white fish, about 6 or 7 inches long…. circling me.  It was cool.   And then, the next thing I know…. this little fish…. started bumping into my knees and thighs… and rubbing against me legs.  Like a cat.    I laughed out loud… I thought this was so coolio.  But it was pretty relentless.

Finally it dawned on me…. maybe I was standing in its space.  Maybe it had fish eggs around… or something.  So I apologized… and moved away.  I just swam over about 5 or 10 feet.  And then… a couple of seconds later…. guess who came back.  Whitefish.  Or… as I was calling him… Quincy Magoo.

I think he liked me.  Or… like Magoo… he just couldn’t see who he was running into… and thought he had found his long lost mother.  FishGod only knows.

But all that friendly-fish activity, stopped me from the frustration of trying to fix my snorkel.  I have long wind…. and I’m a good swimmer …. so I just put on my mask…. and snorkeled with out the air apparatus.  It was very different, and very fun.  I dove down deeper along the bottom a lot.   Both at the shallow and the deep… I saw some great fish… the entire time I was out.  Very great.

And there you have it.  What could have been a completely exasperating ordeal with the mask and snorkel… turned out to be a completely unique experience.  It was a lot better in so many ways.  That is what I wish I could do in all of life.  Oh….. to let go of expectations, and let moments…. simply be….. moments.   For really, that is all we have.  This little minute, right here, right now.

Thanks Whitefish Quincy Magoo.  Just like the cartoon character of the same name … that short-sightedness turned into great luck.  A good day for sure.

And one of my favorite…. favorite… all-time quotes….