sand in my shoes...........

I am an evening beach going kinda guy- usually about 6 o'clock or so. The crowds are gone or on the way out. The sun is in a far more civilized position in the sky, much more discrete.  I have taken to wearing a big hat, I used to be a baseball hat guy, but they can get too hot, so now I am a big straw hat wearing guy.

There is nothing cool and /or hip about this hat. We're not talking a chic little fedora or a timeless Panama. It's not even a 'So out it's in" Straw Boater ( although I would kill to find one that fits my massive Irish head. My brother Rob gifted me one of those about 25 years ago- a thing of beauty!) No, this is just a big old straw hat, not a Cowboy hat (thank God) and not an Amish Hat (i used to have one of those as well) just a basic utilitarian hat.

A bit goofy looking, but it keeps the sun out of my eyes and since it's straw, it certainly breathes.  I mean God knows, I'm not dressing to impress at the beach, but I basically am one step closer to being that guy with the metal detector. Hmmmmm I wonder how much he makes in a week.

I am open minded in my choice of beaches, north shore, south shore, ocean, bay- I'll , mix it up during the week and go to a few different beaches.
Sunken meadow- Lots of walking on the boardwalk, some stroll, others run- I stroll

Smiths Point- always a party- most nights live music and dancing- always a crowd, on some nights that's a good thing, other nights I want no part of it.

Robert Moses- lots of families

I haven't been to my  favorite beach of all time this year- Sailors Haven on Fire Island, nice beach, great walk thru the Sunken Forest, smaller crowds. A wee bit o' heaven

I have brought the Kindle to the beach to do some reading and I have to say the little dickens works very nicely outside in the sun, thank you very much. I am starting to come around to the Kindle- I have been reading a ton since I got it, I'm still reading more actual books than e books, but I am developing a fondness for the little guy.

Recently I read two memoirs- the world has gone memoir crazy, everybody is convinced that their life deserves to be immortalized.

Some are wonderful , well written and insightful- You feel that as they share some of the details of their life they are giving you a new way to look at your own Life.

Most are mildly entertaining and if you're lucky you'll get a piece or two of something ' scandalous', which is usually the only reason the book got written in the first place.

The first was, ' Blood , Bones, and Butter' by Gabrielle Hamilton, which i read on the kindle. It's the story of how she became a professional chef/ restaurateur. I had read some short pieces she had written and saw her interviewed by Mike Colameco on his PBS show and found her to be funny and provocative, always a good combination.

The other was, ' Street Player" by Danny Seraphine, the original drummer with the band Chicago, which I read in actual book form. It's basically the story of a tough street kid who finds salvation in music and then at the height of his fame finds himself fired from the band he helped create. Chicago was "my" band when I was a kid. My first concert at Madison square garden, we bought about 30 tickets and rented a bus, but that's another story for another time. The opening act was Bruce Springsteen and he was , booooed! Not Bruuuuced, booed. But that also is another story for another time.

Both books were good, not great, and I came away from the Hamilton book really disliking her. There is one thing that both books shared as far as I was concerned- there are real moments of conflict in both books- Danny is fired and Gabrielle has a real 'challenging relationship' with her husband.

They tell the stories as they see them and for the first time I can remember I would love to hear the other opinions as to what happened. I want to know why the band threw him out and what her husbands take on their relationship is.

Not that I doubt the facts of what they are writing, it's just that in both books there are other voices I would like to hear from.

Look for me at the beach, I'm the guy with the hat