I did a drive-by of Roma's 80th birthday party last night. After an especially blissful day and my first attendance at an elementary school band concert in years, I stopped at Marlin Monroe's to pay homage to the self-proclaimed Queen of the island. I've known her since before she assumed the throne. She is dear to me and we took walks together after I found myself "suddenly single" and she mostly listened to me let it all out.
Then I started letting it in.
"So let it out and let it in, hey Jude ... begin ..." the Beatles instructed.
That's what I did.
I was three hours late to the party so everybody was pretty much hammered when I got there. There were hugs and admonitions and a lot of laughter. I bowed before the Queen who sarcastically proclaimed that "it's nice of you to show up. Now get out!"
There was a lot of love in the room last night.
You gotta love her though. From Homerville, Georgia, the former school teacher found her way to an island and completely transformed who is. In her sixties she wore alter tops, shorts and a bandana. In her seventies she became a tourist attraction, sitting in her over-sized chair in front of Fannies-On-the-Beach. God only knows what her eighties hold!
Standing there at one point, I smiled and enjoyed the karma of the night. It was all good. Perfect strangers came up to introduce themselves and explain they think they've found a place ... to live.
Life's a Beach!
It's funny because the phrase originates from a previous phrase ... "Life's a bitch, then you die."
Some really optimistic person knew better. Life's a Beach ... or a mountain top ... or that certain part of the city ... or whatever. It's your life and you only have the one. What do you do with it?
Roma transformed herself from a country teacher in Homerville to the Queen of an island where crowds flocked to pay homage and hear her sing the worst version of "Purple Rain" ever sang.
A lot of my friends are transforming themselves right now. It is our tie that binds. Marriages end while new relationships begin. Jobs disappear while opportunities wait to be discovered. Children leave home and suddenly there is the chance to finally be yourself. Age happens and some choose to remain young until they die ... while others just die a little more every day.
Whatever the circumstances, we're left with a choice.
Either ... life's a bitch ... or life's a beach
I don't know about you, but when I die ... it's gonna be on a beach.
