Rolling Carpet

I left about a quarter after eight this morning. There is a crystal clear blue sky.

I get to the parking lot and the massage therapist is just setting up her table and the prepper is listening to something about UFO conspiracies.

I get out of my car and the air temperature is still in the 50’s but I can feel the sun and it feels good.

The tide is highish and coming down from a 6.5 that peaked a little over an hour ago. I see what at first I think are a couple surfers and then realize they are Pelicans floating on the water.

Once I reach the sand, they are still there but look to be drifting north just at the point where the very small surf is breaking. They rise up over the waves and flap their wings to prevent themselves from going over the falls. Two geese fly by as well and the wings of one of them patter against the rising face of the wave leaving marks that travel on the water and then get lost in the curl of the break.

I get in the water and it feels about as cold as it has been which is warm for this time of November.

I begin to swim and head south. The water is smooth and the morning light looks so pure and clean as it shines a new day on the water and sand.

I can’t tell if the water has actually dropped a degree or if it is just this cool morning air that makes me feel cold. I fall into a pattern of feeling cold and then focusing on the water as it slides against my skin with every stroke. I explore the coolness against my chest, shoulders , and arms. It is cool but it is very manageable. As I let my attention settle on how this all feels, I realize that I do not feel miserable. Each time I stop to take in the view, I can feel a warmth of the still water heating against my body.

About half way back up the beach as I head north, a boat stops just outside of where I am. I am pretty sure it is checking on its Lobster traps. A bunch of birds flock to the boat as though they were expecting this right about now. I wonder why this is and maybe he is not retrieving lobsters. Maybe he is throwing some kind of bait into the water? I really have no idea about these things. I work with computers and am not knowledgeable about the ways of the fisherman.

I finally reach the northern bathrooms and have remained fairly close to the shore. On the way back to the ramp that leads to the stairs I wander even closer to shore. Just as I am about to head in for good, I feel a force pass through me that takes on the form of rolling carpet and I am in the middle and the carpet is water. It dunks me under the surface just above the sandy floor. I rise to my feet and declare this swim complete.