Friday, December 18, 2020

Island Christmas!

Cap’n Eddie’s Christmas Catamaran

 

 

Sapphire crystal ocean liquid white-capped waves gently caressing snow-white powdery sand at beach’s edge hardly evoked thoughts of Christmas…at least, not at first blush.

Cap’n Eddie adroitly sailed his tiny twenty sailor-member catamaran expertly between swaying palm tree sentinels as the calm breakwater quickly dissolved under two foot hostile Caribbean seas with angry waves lashing the stone dikes of the receding harbor as seeming hurricane-force howling winds tore foam from tortured waves. White teeth flashed in a perpetual smile of genuine warmth as the miniscule craft bobbed like a kid’s fishing cork, climbing impossible crests only to out-of-control careen down slippery mortal troughs. At least, such was the perverted view from the would-be teak floor of the devil-craft to a tried and true land-lubber!

Two miles out, seemingly, a full month, I fully expected to see Normandy, Cap’n Eddie dropped anchor. Half, for sure, of his would-be snorkelers already suffered seasick nausea, hanging over the side of the clone of the infamous “Titanic”, for absolute sure, each “sailor” ex-pertly freely and copiously feeding the local tropical fish population---as long as the food held out! Oh! Boy! Did I hear somebody even think the word: FOOD! Gang way! Gang way!

The sadistic “Captain Bligh” laughed as he gleefully handed out goggles, breathing tubes and fins as he deftly issued diving instructions to a wretched mass of humanity too sick to any longer reason up from down. What did he say? Mate! That guy talked fast and, with a voodoo accent.

Finally, somehow, at long last, slipping through the silvery surface on the lee side of the vessel into neck-deep coolness offered a hoped for, though short-lived, slight relief from the queasiness brought on by life aboard ship, as it were. Face plate clean, after three tries, success! Flippers treading water, breathing tube in place, and, clear, for now, both eyes keenly searching the choppy water for any unfriendly, hungry, lurking sharks, praying fervently not to spy a dorsal fin, all seemed finally ready for that first view of the obfuscated underwater waiting world.

Brilliant! Spectacular! Awesome! Beautiful! Amazing!

Perfect silence enveloped reality and swept away any remnant of the outer world as the diver was abundantly rewarded for his courage with a delightful greeting from Neptune in a plethora of infinitely-colored rainbow hues visually exploded in the undersea panorama. Unending arrays of incongruous coral designs decorated the sea’s sand-bottom landscape in an eerily quiet world as countless tropical fish species effortlessly meandered the gentle ebb and flow of the undulating sea. Rhythmic reflections and shadows of surface waves traversed the soft sand bottom, offering a touch of comforting solace to the surreal experience.

Viewed from above, tethered to the earth, preferably to terra-firma, denied ascension into the cerulean heavens and normally barred from the ocean depths, only a reflective veil could be discerned while just beneath the masked surface, a bit of heaven, itself, existed on it very own--- just awaiting adventurous souls with spirit enough and boundless courage\ to take the plunge.

 

Jesus’ sacred word admonishes: Fear not! Follow me!

Miss not any adventure which is life---go forth and see!

Amen!

 

Merry Christmas!

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