Lake Worth Beach recently underwent a face-lift. They added undulating pathways, landscaping and benches to beautify the once seamy hang - out. Del Rey is our beach of choice, but Lake Worth was closer. Getting a late start, we took our chances that the Lake Worth upgrades would attract a better clientele.
We planted our towels and umbrella far south of the pier to escape the crowds. Backrest up, books open, we settled in for an undisturbed restful afternoon.
My relishing of the pristine sapphire sky and aquamarine sea was interrupted by the sight of a young man toking on a clear, cigar-sized pipe, slightly to my right.
That's not a Marlboro he's smoking! I'm thinking. The expectation of more elevated beach-crowd is quickly dashed.
Now my husband never takes his nose out of his Egyptian hieroglyphs book. I am more easily distracted from reading my Audubon in Florida.
Peering out of the corner of my eye, the young man in his late 20's nonchalantly puffs and passes his small glass cylinder to his friends.
I change position to capture more sun rays and notice on the other side of us, a girl of 16 struggles to light her shorty pipe with the help of a group of high school friends.
For real? Everyone around me, to the left and right of me is smoking hemp!
I ask myself:
Did I miss the legalization of pot in the Sunshine State?
The teenager keeps fighting the off-shore breeze.
Spark!
Poof!
Spark!
Poof!
The briny ocean gusts are winning.
A friend holds up a t-shirt at her face to shelter the flame. No success. After several failures to light the cannabis, it's all I can do not to shout over to them
"Maybe some one's trying to tell you something!"
But I hold my tongue and redirect the energy into my ever piercing stare. Shortly, one youth notices me. Then another and another. Each turns to meet my unflinching gaze. They know, I know what they're up to.
A wicked thought comes to mind and I go with it.
Just to rankle their nerves I reach for my phone and pretend to make a call. No sooner do I look up and they are on their feet, snatching towels and hurrying down the beach.
Wait! Don't go!
I really want to ask why the silky sand, sunshine and friends weren't enough to make their day - why did they have to get a buzz on to have fun?
But they ran from paradise.
Granted, I had my days of partying before Jesus got a hold of my heart. But none of us had the brassy boldness to flaunt it in broad daylight!
Sad that my glare made them go, it was the normal reaction. When we are exposed, we run away. No matter how good we have it.
I could not shake the regret of my handling of the situation.
I got to thinking about how God puts up with our shenanigans. Perhaps his desire to be with us prevents Him from busting us at every turn. He'd rather overlook everyday offenses just to keep the conversation open. He abdicates his right to be the Ultimate Narc and will, more often than we deserve, overlook sin just to enjoy our company. A much better strategy than mine.
It took a few minutes, but I managed to turn my attention back to Audubon's detailed descriptions of the Sooty Tern and Florida Jay and once again resume my enjoyment of
Another beach Day in Paradise - Paradise Lost.
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