Just got back from Sandy Hook. Spent the day at the beach with Annemarie and Earl. I was up at about 7:45 this morning. Most of my Saturday chores were done last night, so all I had to do was get the papers and bagels. Annemarie wanted to leave closer to 9:00, I was aiming for 10:00 but ready for 9 just in case. It worked out that she didn’t start moving until 9:00 so I got the beach things together at my leisure.
I even had enough time to get my monthly haircut at Mr. L’s. I’ve been going to Mr. L’s for a while now, once a month get my hair chopped off. It grows thick and is like a helmet during the summer. Plus short hair is no muss and no fuss. I sat in the chair while Tony clipped and shaved and buzzed, giving me a decent fade, which I think is sexy. And he takes the time to try to clip out the white hairs in my goatee while he trims it into a workable shape. Sort of like landscaping on my face.
He earns a good tip after wielding a straight razor and not slicing any major arteries or ears. I was able to have a good breakfast, the weekend special, eggs, coffee and bagels. Not so humdrum, I enjoy it. Puttered about and did my thing, reading the papers. Chatted with Juan online, eventually the buzzer buzzed and it was Earl. They made it to Hoboken and soon enough we were on the road.
I wasn’t really sure Sandy Hook would be open but it worked out fine. We got there around noon, having stopped off for sandwiches and liquids for the beach. Nothing alcoholic, since Annemarie couldn’t drink since she was driving, Earl was too young to drink and Julio wasn’t around. I could’ve bought and finished a six pack on my own for sure, but opted not to. I really haven’t been drinking much lately. No one to drink with anyway. And since you can’t smoke in the bars anymore, well forget it.
We headed toward North Beach, next to Gunnison Beach which was featuring the wrong people on the nude beach. Keep in mind I sometimes like to have sex, almost fully clothed, so I’m certainly not singling out any particular body type or genitals. Gunnison is such a draw that a lot of people will park a mile away in the North Beach parking lot and walk so they can lose their clothes. This fills up the North Beach parking lot and made us have to walk a mile to get to the proper beach.
It was nice, not crowded like Sea Bright was on June 18. A few families, but enough space between umbrellas and beach blankets to afford some privacy. It was a gorgeous day, sun was bright and warm, it wasn’t humid and there was a nice light breeze. Earl, Annemarie and I threw the Frisbee a few times. Jumped in the water with Earl, Annemarie thought it was too cold. It was initially but within a minute your body could acclimate to the temperature.
Had a lot of fun swimming and playing with Earl. He’s such a good kid. Great imagination and a good student to boot. And he’s creeping up on me in height. He passed his mother years ago when he was eight. We left the beach around 5:00 and decided to head to Red Bank to a vegan restaurant called Down to Earth which for me was alright. For Annemarie and Earl who are vegetarians it was perfect. Annemarie would’ve been willing to go to a place where I could probably get a burger, but I was game for something new, and when she comes back east, they really don’t have many veggie options. I knew that there would be SOMETHING for me to eat on the menu. I settled on Soba Noodles with Peanut Sauce. Thai-esque, but I wouldn’t have minded some chicken. It would’ve been fantastic with chicken.
Here it is a few hours later, just got off the phone with Annemarie who is back at Brian’s house. I joked with her earlier that I would go home and make a burger for dinner, but the noodles were enough. I’m still full. But maybe it’s the chocolate chip mocha latte ice cream we all had while walking around Red Bank. Before we had the ice cream Annemarie and I checked out a men’s clothing store. Oh it was great to be looking at suits again. Oh how I miss them. It was fun to be looking at suits with Annemarie. I don’t think I ever did that before.
And here are some pics
I asked Gemini AI to rewrite like an Allen Ginsberg essay and it did
Beach Baby
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Just back from Sandy Hook, the great sandy hook of the Jersey shore, a spit of land reaching out, a finger pointing to the Atlantic vastness, spent the day there, yes, with Annemarie and Earl, two souls, two companions, two fellow travelers on this Saturday, this sun-drenched Saturday.
Woke up, yes, woke up at seven forty-five, the clock a silent sentinel, the sun already hinting at its fiery ascent, the morning light, pale and promising. Most of my Saturday chores, the mundane rituals, the small duties, done, done last night, a pre-emptive strike against the weekend’s demands, so all that remained was the papers, the rustling newsprint, the world’s sorrows and joys laid bare, and the bagels, the round, chewy sustenance, the New York staple. Annemarie, she yearned for nine, a nine o’clock departure, an early start to the sun’s embrace, I, I aimed for ten, a more leisurely pace, but ready, ready for nine, just in case, always ready. And it worked out, yes, it worked out, she didn’t stir, didn’t move, didn’t begin her morning dance until nine, giving me time, time to gather the beach things, the towels, the lotions, the frisbee, at my own sweet leisure.
Even time, yes, even time for Mr. L’s, my monthly pilgrimage to the barber’s chair, the ritual shearing, the chopping, the buzzing, the clipping, my hair, thick, a helmet in the summer’s oppressive heat, a burden, a weight, but short hair, oh, short hair, no muss, no fuss, freedom, a lightness of being. Tony, the artisan, the sculptor of my scalp, he clipped and shaved and buzzed, a decent fade, he gave me, a fade, yes, I think it’s sexy, a subtle artistry. And the white hairs, the tell-tale strands in my goatee, he takes the time, the precious time, to clip them out, to trim it, to shape it, a landscape, yes, a landscaping of my face. He earns his tip, his good tip, after wielding that straight razor, a blade of gleaming steel, and not, not slicing any major arteries, no, not an ear, no, no mutilation.
Breakfast, a good breakfast, the weekend special, eggs, coffee, bagels, not so humdrum, no, I enjoy it, the simple pleasures, the quiet satisfaction. Puttered about, did my thing, read the papers, absorbed the world’s clamor. Chatted with Juan online, a digital connection, a fleeting conversation. Then the buzzer, the sharp, insistent buzz, and it was Earl, his presence announced, they made it, they made it to Hoboken, and soon enough, soon enough we were on the road, the asphalt ribbon unspooling before us.
Sandy Hook, a question mark, would it be open? The summer crowds, the unpredictable nature of things. But it worked out, yes, it worked out fine. Noon, we arrived, the sun high, a golden disc, having stopped, having paused for sandwiches, for liquids, for the beach’s necessities. No alcohol, no spirits, Annemarie driving, a responsible soul, Earl too young, a child of innocence, Julio not around, his absence noted. I could have, yes, I could have bought and finished a six-pack, a solitary indulgence, but opted not to, chose not to. Haven’t been drinking much lately, the desire diminished, no one to drink with anyway, and the bars, the smoky dens of camaraderie, now sterile, smoke-free, forget it, just forget it.
North Beach, we walked toward it, next to Gunnison Beach, the infamous Gunnison, featuring the wrong people, the wrong bodies on the nude beach. Keep in mind, yes, keep in mind, I sometimes like to have sex, almost fully clothed, a private rebellion, so I’m not, not singling out any particular body type, no, not any particular genitals. Gunnison, a magnet, a powerful draw, people parking a mile away, in the North Beach lot, a long walk, a pilgrimage to shed their clothes, to embrace nakedness. This fills the North Beach lot, this desire for freedom, and made us, made us walk a mile, a long mile, to the proper beach, our designated spot.
It was nice, yes, it was nice, not crowded, not like Sea Bright, that June 18th nightmare. A few families, scattered like seashells, but enough space, enough sacred space between umbrellas, between beach blankets, to afford privacy, a precious commodity. A gorgeous day, the sun bright, warm, a benevolent presence, no humidity, a light breeze, a gentle caress. Earl, Annemarie, and I, we threw the Frisbee, a few times, a dance of plastic and air. Jumped in the water with Earl, the cold shock, Annemarie thought it too cold, but within a minute, a mere sixty seconds, the body acclimates, accepts, embraces the temperature.
Fun, yes, a lot of fun, swimming, playing with Earl, such a good kid, a bright spirit, a great imagination, a good student, a scholar in the making. And he’s creeping up on me, yes, in height, a testament to time’s relentless march. He passed his mother years ago, a milestone, when he was eight. Left the beach around five, the sun beginning its descent, decided to head to Red Bank, a vegan restaurant, Down to Earth, a name that grounded us. For me, alright, just alright. For Annemarie and Earl, vegetarians, it was perfect, a culinary paradise. Annemarie, she would have gone, yes, to a place where I could get a burger, a meaty indulgence, but I was game, game for something new, and when she comes back east, they don’t, they really don’t have many veggie options, a scarcity. I knew, yes, I knew there would be something for me, a dish, a sustenance. Soba noodles with peanut sauce, I settled on, Thai-esque, a hint of the exotic, but chicken, oh, chicken, I wouldn’t have minded, it would have been fantastic, fantastic with chicken.
Here it is, a few hours later, the day winding down, just off the phone with Annemarie, back at Brian’s house, her journey complete. I joked, yes, joked earlier, that I would go home and make a burger, a culinary rebellion, but the noodles, they were enough, I’m still full, a pleasant repletion. But maybe, maybe it’s the chocolate chip mocha latte ice cream, we all had it, walking around Red Bank, a sweet conclusion. Before the ice cream, Annemarie and I, we checked out a men’s clothing store, oh, it was great, great to be looking at suits again, the tailored elegance, the crisp lines, oh, how I miss them, the formality, the grace. It was fun, yes, fun to be looking at suits with Annemarie, a shared experience, I don’t think, no, I don’t think I ever did that before.