Inspiration

"You can't wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club."

Jack London

Besides having other things to do, AntiJen says she hasn't been inspired by much of anything worth writing about lately. I've got to agree. My well of ideas has dried up like the water around Atlanta.

Perhaps I'm just in a post-Christmas funk. All that joyful activity is bound to lead to a kind of blah new year beginning, isn't it? Try as I might, I just can't get excited about boxes of Valentines that were put on sale next to the Christmas leftovers. I might not feel this way in February, but right now I long for a simpler, doily and red construction paper kind of holiday.

I guess I should just face facts. My life is pretty boring. There just isn't a lot of inspiration in my days' routines. Another, more experienced writer might be able to tell an interesting tale about the number of times a week I go to the grocery store. Personally I find it weird ...

In contrast to most days, I awoke this morning to my sister Jean whispering for me to get up. It was 6:30 am. "Come watch the sunrise with me," she said. The only reason my eyes would even open at that hour is because (I should be embarrassed to admit) I did nothing but sleep and eat and sleep yesterday. Obviously I'd rested enough in the last 24 hours. I got up, dressed quickly and headed into the fog.

Jean has decided after living here for six months, that she needs to seek out new vistas. There is a lot of country between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans - she's going to see it all. Well, at least she'll see the part that runs along I-10 corridor. I think I know the feeling. I've "been there and done that." Unlike me who moved away from home at 18, Jean has never lived too far from Jacksonville. It's probably time for her to explore the world.

More than people or things, I think she'll miss the beach more than anything else. She's made a small section of the Jacksonville coastline her own little sanctuary. It's really quite fun to watch her dance and sing praises as the waves lap at her feet and the gulls move out of her way.

Alas, the fog was so thick this morning, it was impossible to see the sunrise. And even though there have been reports of right whale sightings in the last few days, we couldn't have seen them if they had been swimming right along the shore. We think we saw a school of dolphins jumping and playing in the surf but the dark spots on the gray water might have been pelicans!

Normally the ocean, the tide, the shells, the birds, something beachy would provide me with writing inspiration. But today everything was pretty gray; it's hard to write about gray. Even my mood was a little gray. I realized I how much I'm going to miss my baby sister. I have to wonder if after testing out her new wings, if she'll ever feel like returning to her roots. Those thoughts are way too deep for that hour of the morning.

As we headed back to the car we passed a few warning signs, signs we probably should have paid attention to BEFORE we went seaside. Swimmers were told to use caution because of riptides. Fishermen were told to fish only in a defined area. And all beach goers were told, in words and pictures to beware of tsunamis.

Yes, tsunamis. Should anyone be strolling along the Mayport beach and see a gigantic rogue wave coming towards them this sign clearly says it all. Run for your life!

Look at the little man trying to out run the waves! First of all there's no high ground for him to run to. And, secondly, even if there was, if you look at that the man and take note of the size of the wave, you can tell he's doomed.

I have to laugh. Jean has lived in Florida most all of her life. She's dodged hurricanes, redneck neighborhoods and a diet of chicken and dumplings. I would venture to say, her chances of experiencing an earthquake and tsunami in Jacksonville are pretty slim. But guess where she's moving ... California? I wonder if they have tsunami signs at Coronado Beach?

Still looking for inspiration,

Merry ME