I once called this place "Mayberry on Acid" and in many ways it is. There is a cast of characters that rival Andy, Barney, Opie and a whole lot of Otis' who live on this clump of sand. Unlike the fictional North Carolina town, the people who call Tybee home all seem to have this neighborly and celebratory spirit. We wave, smile and speak as we stroll or bike by each other.
Music, parties and bars are everywhere and it is easy to spend an entire day stumbling from one to the other and it will be a full day (right Whitley?) Friends sit on their porches and decks entertaining other friends. It is a place where it seems everybody really does know your name.
This against a backdrop of sunshine dancing on the ocean, sea breezes that rarely ceases, lush sub-tropical vegetation and glorious Marshes that provide the four seasons of the year. Whichever direction you face, the view is almost certainly drop dead gorgeous!
Dress is causal here. Black tie means a colored tee shirt. Shorts and flip flops are preferred by virtually everybody. Bathing suits and bikinis are dominate. There is an emerging "clothing optional" movement on the island and skinny dipping takes place on a daily basis.
There are five churches on the island and one meets in a Bar, has a Bar Band, serves breakfast and allows smoking. If you prefer your religion more restricted, there are Baptists, Catholics, Episcopalians and Methodists who have buildings that you can contribute to. Or ... you can just choose to go to the beach and worship there. There are sad little holy docks to host personal services with wine.
It is an accepting place. The serious make fun of the not-so-serious while the not-so-serious make fun of the serious. Somehow a balance is achieved and this karma has settled on the island. Nobody stays mad with anybody for too long.
There is a rich history of jokes ... both practical and otherwise. The sign in front of City Hall once proclaimed that Elvis, freshly back from the dead, would be performing at 4:00. The emerging "Clothing Optional" movement once plastered "Clothing Optional" bumper stickers on every crosswalk and most every door on the island. A dumptruck full of white rock mysteriously appeared in front of City Hall one day. "Take Penn with you!" "Free Henry!" "Camp Locklear!" ... the list goes on an one.
Salt hangs in the air ... the ocean is constantly singing its song ... choirs of mussels perform twice each day ... egrets decorate trees ... Palm Trees dance in the breeze ... sand dunes provide romantic settings for consumated love ... beach swings allows older couples to remember ... seagulls are in charge of waste desposal ... wet sand is the stuff of which castles are made!
Any of these things could make a place special and Tybee has them all ... but ... there is an acceptance here that is rare. Rarer than rare. Holy is what it is.
Births and deaths, marriages and divorces, jobs beginning and ending, sickness managed or sucummed to, people coming and people going ... they are all received with a laid back welcome. It's just life. It's the way it is. You can't force the tide to come in or to go out ... it happens the way that it is supposed to happen.
Tonight there is a party. It might rain but nobody cares. There will be live music and way too much food and drink. The "Clothing Optional" movement may conduct a hostile takeover of the swimming pool. Some will jump off the dock into the tidal creek. Others will find dark places to hide from the gathering to kiss or consumate or just talk. Community will be achieved. Funny smells may linger in the air. Dancing will occur under the stars ... or the clouds.
It doesn't matter.
Any excuse for a party on this island. Where people love each other deeply.
And tonight ... I'm the excuse.
