THE QUAHOG REPUBLIC VIBE

Written 8/4/09

Across the channel, nestled among the trees, are big old summer houses.  They stretch as far as I can see from my view here at the Quahog Republic. Sandy beaches line the shores on that side and this. The sun is bright, the sky baby blue and a whitish haze hovers above the tree line in the distance.  Sand chairs of many colors have their backs to me on the beach below.  The grownups’ heads are covered with hats and children play in the sand.  Moored boats bob lazily in water so calm.  Time slows down here on Mashnee Island.

I’m on Cape Cod but I could be in the Caribbean.  The breeze blows gently through the open window.  Jimmy Buffett’s music serenades.  A small skiff with a sail of blue glides slowly by as one with a motor speeds to shore.  The people on the beach didn’t come by car.  They arrived by boat with their gear in tow.  Things move very slowly as I see outside.  And here in my chair I catch the vibe.  A glass of wine, a pen in my hand and I relax inside.

A wooden raft 30 feet out brings me back to when I was a kid.  Jumping off, then climbing back up, rocking with the water as I lay down on those hard boards. Somehow, they didn’t seem hard then. The kids out there now are doing the same.  Some things are timeless.  

Free, with time standing still, it surrounds us all here on Mashnee Island.  New kayakers go back and forth.  Community boating is alive and well as small sails fill the channel and add to the color.  Gulls are overhead.  One catches my eye as he glides and swoops. I think he could be Jonathan Livingston Seagull.  Just like velvet, he coasts.  I’m mesmerized as I watch his journey and I can only imagine his view from above.

 There is so much activity in this lazy scene when I take the time to see.  Yet a peace abounds and infiltrates the air, erasing life’s stresses as it takes me away.  A gray haired guy stands below.  Oars in his hand, a life jacket thrown over his shoulder, he waits for someone while he sings and dances in place to ‘Rocking in the Free World’.  Reggae plays now as I feel the breeze and move my shoulders to the rhythm,   I found a gem today, for I will come back to my new island habitat.