Lately, I've fallen in love with Tybee Island again. As someone who has lived on this clump of sand for over two decades you might think I would have grown weary of it or its lost luster. If anything my love of the east coast's eastern most island has deepened immensely. I love it now more than I ever have and it's becoming blurry with St. Martin which is the other island that I love so much.
It all started when I was a kid and Mom and Dad would stuff us in the car and bring us to the island and I can still remember the excitement of seeing the ocean as we rounded the big curve ... diamonds sprinkled from the sun danced on the sea. The little boy in me remains very much alive over such sights.
Years later, I would visit my folks from Louisville where I was living and leave everyone to drive out to Tybee. I would go to the old "Veranda Restaurant" with its view of the ocean and the "Texas Tower", drink coffee and write. Those first books came from a journal that I'd started but the ocean taught me to turn stories into song like things.
At this time Mom and Dad lived at "The Landings" which is like yuppie/retiree Disney Land for golfers, yachting and tennis players. Everything about the place is wonderful. I would leave it at daylight every morning and drive to Tybee or the Redneck Reveria as it was called then. People dress really nice at "The Landings" ... or 598'ers as they are referred to here but there are girls in bikinis on Tybee. There was no competition whatsoever for me.
When I wrote "Running with the Dolphins" it was really just a love letter to this place. Matt Hutton gave Tybee the best description ever ... which I stole and used it throughout the book ... "it's Mayberry on Acid".
Gordo, of the Samuel Adams band ... who play damn good live music on the island ... calls it "Mayberry by the beach" which is true ... but there is some sprinkling of fairy dust of some kind that transforms it all into something else.
There is a craziness to the place. I know ... most islands have it ... as my friend Jane Fishman once told me "Micheal it's an island, everybody is either running to, or running from, something."
I've been to a lot of islands. Tybee is different from them all!
These days a lot of people ... the Tybee City Manager, the City Council and other reprobates are trying to change it. For example, another city went out of business and we bought all of their stop signs at bargain prices. There are frigging Stop Signs every three feet on this island! You can no longer camp on the beach. Building a fire will get you a life sentence. Taking your dog on the beach is a $300 fine. The police no longer drive you home if you drank too much and they will even arrest YOU if your bicycle got drunk.
But in spite of such things ... well ... it remains magical.
Last night I sat with arms of love wrapped around me, surrounded by people I love dearly, with Chelsea my daughter freshly back from Europe (and styling white). Stars danced on the water. Italian shots made us all fill warm. Sam Adams played music. A harmonica appeared out of nowhere and Dedra sang the blues.
It was all ... spectacular.
An incredibly wonderful evening!
When I came home I was warm and tingly from the night.
Then it rained.
And I walked out on the beloved back deck, blew Fran's thousand shades of green covered in the blankets of darkness a kiss ... and danced.
