My husband and I recently escaped the brutal winter in Boston with a trip to Turks and Caicos. We spent most of our time on Grace Bay, a long stretch of beach where the resorts are located. On one windy day though, we drove to Long Bay Beach, known for kiteboarding.
We walked down a long sandy path to get to the beach. When it came into view, we saw dozens of kiteboarders gliding over the turquoise water and bright colored kites flying in a dazzling blue sky. The scene was breathtaking. There was one kiteboarder who jumped so high and stayed airborne for so long that I swear he was flying. He kept zooming by me, leaping into the air and then turning around and doing it all over again. I couldn’t stop watching. I sat down on the stairs where I had a clear view of him. An older woman was sitting on the other side of the same step. Keeping our eyes on the ocean, we started to talk about what we were watching and the beauty of the day. She was as mesmerized as I was.
At one point a big gust of wind came and blew off the woman's hat, revealing she had lost all her hair. A while later she had to move to the shade. Her daughter-in-law came to help her up and virtually carried the woman because she had so little strength. I've been thinking about that woman a lot since meeting her. If her hat hadn't blown off and if she hadn't had to move to shade, I never would have known she was sick. She was so happy to be where she was. She was just a pleasure to spend time with. She had so much she could have been complaining about, but had nothing but positive things to say. When I left, I saw her sitting in the shade and went to say goodbye. She remarked how strong the kite boarders have to be to control a kite in the wind, but to me, she was the strongest person on the beach that day.
We walked down a long sandy path to get to the beach. When it came into view, we saw dozens of kiteboarders gliding over the turquoise water and bright colored kites flying in a dazzling blue sky. The scene was breathtaking. There was one kiteboarder who jumped so high and stayed airborne for so long that I swear he was flying. He kept zooming by me, leaping into the air and then turning around and doing it all over again. I couldn’t stop watching. I sat down on the stairs where I had a clear view of him. An older woman was sitting on the other side of the same step. Keeping our eyes on the ocean, we started to talk about what we were watching and the beauty of the day. She was as mesmerized as I was.
At one point a big gust of wind came and blew off the woman's hat, revealing she had lost all her hair. A while later she had to move to the shade. Her daughter-in-law came to help her up and virtually carried the woman because she had so little strength. I've been thinking about that woman a lot since meeting her. If her hat hadn't blown off and if she hadn't had to move to shade, I never would have known she was sick. She was so happy to be where she was. She was just a pleasure to spend time with. She had so much she could have been complaining about, but had nothing but positive things to say. When I left, I saw her sitting in the shade and went to say goodbye. She remarked how strong the kite boarders have to be to control a kite in the wind, but to me, she was the strongest person on the beach that day.
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