William came from a landlocked state, grew up during the years of drought, where all the lakes dried up and not even Uncle Joe with the greenest thumb of them all coulda grown a stalk of corn to flowering. Needless to say he never learned how to swim.
The ocean had started its talking once when he went to the picture show. there it was glistening on the black and white screen, moving and alive like nothing he had ever seen. The prairie lands during a windstorm came somewhat close,the tall blades of grass rolling to the winds howl, but not with all that wet intensity of ocean. Miles and miles of water.
15 train rides and 21 odd jobs later he had made it to California. It seemed no matter how long he'd been in this most western state, he never quit being amazed. The women amazed them in their brightly colored bikinis. The number of lanes in the road amazed him. the building with their flat rooftops amazed him. But mostly the ocean amazed it.
It had been calling to him since that picture. It whispering his name in the roar of the trains. "William, William" Whenever he stayed too long in one of those inbetween towns saving up money for the next train ride, it started again. "William, I promise you gold." it said once in the squeak of the hinge of the screen door of the diner where he had been doing dishes. He looked up and towards the door as some customers were leaving. The ocean had never promised him anything before. It usually only said his name, in a soft comforting way, like the voice of momma rocking her child to sleep. He started washing the dishes a little more slowing waiting for more customers to make use of that squeaky screen door. "Gold" is all the voice offered when the next time the screen door was opened.
He quit his job that night, counting the savings he had kept in the pocket of the pants that he packed at the bottom of his one suitcase. Pants that never wore anymore because they had worn so thin and all the belt loops has fallen off.
$98.34 That ought to get me closer.
That night had been about 34 years ago. That next day would be his last train ride. Once he set eyes the ocean, a stormy thing of mysteries, he vowed never to leave. "William, William, william" the ocean spoke with every crashing wave.
Though william had lived at the beach in rented apartments, or motel rooms, or benches when the paychecks grew thinner, he never went more than ankle deep. He had too much respect for the ocean, he reasoned with himself.
His skin grew tan and leathery as he spent his days along the beach. He wondered about the Gold from time to time. He wondered if the gold was the sand on the beach. There was an abudance of it, it was gold colored, but he could never figure out what to do with except to relax in it. Those were always golden times. Strethching out in the warm arms of the sand with the summer ocean rising and falling with the tide. But it just didnt feel like the promise as the squeaky door diner. William was a patient man.
His first summer in California, his brownish hair had turned almost blonde because he was outside all the time, he thought for a while that that was the gold the beach had promised him, but once again, that just didnt feel like it.
Once he saw a man with a longish metal device, slowly beeping as he walked up the beach. Stopping every now and again to dig in the sand. He saw the man pocket some of the things he dug up. He curiosity got the best of him and he approached the man.
"'xcuse me, sir, whats that ya go there." he said in accent that he never lost and that no one could ever place, wasnt molasses enough to southern and all other accents were mostly lost on californians.
"its a metal detector, of course."
"you lookin for gold?"
"Of course not, the gold rush was over more than hundred years ago and that was in the mountains," He dug into his pocket and pulled out a motley assortment of unmatched earrings, old bottle caps, and a couple quarters.
"Sometimes, i find other things too," the man continued, "A fork once, foreign currency sometimes. Some of the jewelry is nice. I found a hammer."
He continued on listing a few other items.
"oh, uh, I see, Thankya, sir."
William walked away and coulndn't help but feeling a little disappointed. He walked back to his shoes a few other personal items he had left when he went to talk to the man and sat down. He couldnt figure what on earth that man would do with all those odds and ends. William was not the most creative fellow. He leaned back on his elbows and watched the waves breaking.
tbc....
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