(April 23, 2010) When old friends or new acquaintances discover that Jane lives at the beach, normally their first response goes something like this, “I wish I could be a beach bum like you, sipping frozen cocktails on the beach.” These statements are made, even in the dead of winter.
There’s an old adage about people hearing only what they want to hear, no matter what the other person is telling them. It seems this wise saying goes similarly for an idea that someone has about a place, versus the actual reality. Those who don’t live at the beach year-round, who have not made Ocean City their home, more often than not develop their own skewed ideal of what it means to “live at the beach.”
According to this ideal, moving to the beach has made Jane cold-blooded, given her a higher tolerance for alcohol in order to live up to sipping cocktails every day, even on a snowcovered beach, and has earned her loads of unwarranted cash so that she never has to work again — hence, the “bum” reference.
After working a 12-hour shift in the height of the summer season, Jane remembers these farces and giggles as she drags herself into bed and rests her feet and her mind for only a few hours before beginning another workday for a consecutive sixth day without a break.
But when Jane thinks about it, these misunderstandings about living at the beach are a bit excusable. It goes back to the fact that distance from a place or situation lends to enchantment. Being able to admire something from afar allows the onlooker to create his or her own scenario, dialogue and weather — which, in this case, are constant sunny beach days.
Yet with enchantment comes a challenge, which is to get up close to something admired and not have that expectation or fantasy shattered. Disillusionment usually cannot survive close proximity. Seeing things for what they are tends to wash away the silver lining. In this sense, it’s almost like having a hangover —something that seems like a lot of fun with no strings attached.
When jumping into the mix of things, Jane is prepared to come out on the other side harboring an opinion contrary to the expectation she held going into it. To have fun, to make money, to live life in a location that exists off the beaten path, things must be given up, a different lifestyle must be chosen and priorities will be shifted.
And unfortunately, sunny days must be countered by rainy, cloudy days.
But like they say, a bad day at the beach is better than a good day anywhere else.