"I lost my wife of 54 years," he said handing me a loaded hot dog for Sarah. The girls are rushing to eat so they can get soft serve ice cream.
We're standing in front of Beach Bites on Tybrisa Street, the main drag on Tybee Island. Beach Bites is a hole-in-the-wall ... literally! A walk up window to order food ... burgers, dogs, chips and soft serve ice cream. It's as though an ice cream truck ran into a brick wall and just decided to make the best of it.
HE ... is a 74 year old black man wearing a green sweat shirt on a beach day, jean shorts draging just below his knees and crocks with white socks. He has a sweet smile and keeps his head bent slightly down when he talks. He works the day shift for his son who opened the place.
"... and I needed something to do," he completed the thought.
"How many hot dogs did you get?," he asks getting back to business.
I tell him three, two nachos, and four Cokes. Methodically, he hits buttons on the cash register as I remind him of the food that he's prepared for us.
"I'm sorry about your wife," I say as I hand him money and he looks directly at me for a second with far-away eyes.
"Thank you," he softly says giving me change which I immediately throw in the tip jar.
"How do you like it?" I ask him as the girls line up for ice cream.
Looking at me directly again, he smiles. "Well, the scenery sho' is good. And it's better than being dead."
I burst out laughing and tell Sarah what he said. He laughs with us. The girls look at us with no understanding of the joke ... in light of his deceased wife of 54 years.
Sticking my hand through the window I tell him my name. Staring at me again, he takes my hand and introduces himself as Leo.
Sarah and the girls order ice cream which Leo makes slowly and one-at-a-time. Again he asks me how many ice creams I've ordered after he's just prepared them. Then he methodically hits buttons on the cash register. He is immediately one of my favorite people on the island.
I am a newly converted patron of Beach Bites.
Back on the beach, Sarah and I sit and talk while the girls play or ... are hit on by boys.
"You know," I tell her, "looking back at it all, there were these great moments of joy that made up my life. Now, my life seems joyous all of the time. You just have to keep at it. You know ... like Leo said."
She smiles and squeezes my hand.
It's a glorious day at the beach!
