An enormous spout of splashy water came fountaining up – and up – and up –
Every once in a while, the amount I miss the beach almost clobbers me down onto my knees. I miss the sounds, the waves, walking in the sand, the sun, the smell of the ocean, the fishies, the fresh seafood . . .
And I miss seeing the whales jump and dive and splash around like little kids in the backyard pool . . .
The first time I ever saw whales was when my then-BF and I moved to Maui in 1966. He and I and some friends were standing on a cliff overlooking the west side of the island.
They were watching the waves to see if they were any good for surfing. This, I would soon learn, would be a daily habit of said BF, as a committed surfer – making me one of the ‘surf-widows’ on the island – women on the beach, waiting, waiting, waiting –
And there, suddenly, almost right under the cliff we were standing on, an enormous spout of splashy water came fountaining up – and up – and up – it was almost cartoonish.
All of us spontaneously raised our arms to the sky and hooted and hollered and jumped around, as if someone had won the Grand Pris or something – it was astounding how the energy LIT us up. We were all of us energized as if we’d stuck our fingers in gigantic light sockets!
As the whale – whales – it was a whole family pod! – leapt and splashed and played and dived – we stood there for at least a half hour watching them, cheering and hooting and clapping.
I’ve never since seen as fantastic a display – it was as if they did it just for us.
One day I’ll go back to Hawaii. And maybe I’ll stay.
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WHALE TAILS
© Angela Treat Lyon 2024