SURFIN’ SAFARI SUMMER THREE - DAY SEVEN - July 9, 2021

  



We are in a new phase of family support that opens up surfing possibilities on Thursdays.

My sister-in-law is supposed to show up in the morning and spell me for the day, but instead materialized around 4:30 p.m.

Help is help.

When I assumed all domestic duties upon Anna’s diagnosis I soon learned that, if you really want a clean floor, you’re going to get down on your hands and knees to achieve it.

When it comes to Alzheimer’s caregiving, and spouses, no matter who is stepping in to assist, somehow, in the end, and always, the spouse is it. We can’t get paid people in here for a few hours to do this and, believe me, it’s no mystery. 

After eight hours of following an agitated patient around the house, I was gassed. Nevertheless, Shirley has a big personality and a lot of stuff and the place gets crowded so I limped out to the Marina at 5 p.m.

Serenity Now!

Anna is no longer on the Safaris, at least not physically. But she is so attached to surfing for me that I cannot engage it without thinking of how her brother showed me the ropes or of all the patient shoreside waiting she did over the years at beaches from Todos Santos in Mexico to Cayucos in chilly Central California.

I didn’t surf.

That’s right. I flopped onto the board and dove in, but the warm water seemed cold, the calm currents threatening, and I got out.

That has never happened. It takes a lot of work and equipment to get a Safari rolling and to stop at the water’s edge is a bit self-defeating.

But it was no defeat. It was more a reminder of the gusto, brio, joie de vivre, devil-may-care, ne’er-do-well, caution-to-the-wind, and other foreign expressions or hyphenated forms of daring behavior it takes me to get in there.... especially under the circumstances.

On Thursday, they could not be summoned. I went for a run to the Venice Pier and back instead; preferring a trace along the water’s edge to a full, frothy embrace.

Sat on the board with a Tecate, studying my partners -  the waves -  marking the sun’s descent, and came away unbowed because, I have learned over many Safaris, these staid endeavors are somehow surfing, too.

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