Not as pleasant as one had hoped.
The wind was so ferocious that we needed sunglasses and hats. But the hats blew off and the little ones got sand in their eyes and we were blown all the way back to the bach.
Even the roads in the little town were heaving with sand.
Look at these pictures. It looks so calm but these pictures don’t reflect the wind at all.
So we had a quiet day. Writing and reading and playing games.
Here is an experience I had in the airport in LA.
Talking to Strangers
✈️I was in an airport bar the other day. As you do. And was chatting with the bartender, as you do. We were talking about how bartenders hardly get to talk to anyone in the bar anymore; absolutely everyone in her section had a phone and was totally focused on it.
Your job has changed. I said.
Yup. I just dispense drinks now, she said, flicking a stray lock of wild pink hair out of her eye.
As we spoke my eyes were caught by movement next to me as a young man slowly lowered his phone, listening to our conversation. His eyes rose to mine with a smile of relief.
Within seconds we three were chatting like old friends. Where was he going? Oh, London. I love that dirty old town. What about you – off to New Zealand. That has always been on my bucket list. I have never understood bucket lists. Family in London? No, just a vacation. Two weeks. Awesome. You will love it.
💺We chatted on (the only ones in the bar who were talking by the way) and we had collected two more bar staff listening in and smiling. Making remarks as they passed. Then my eye caught the man next to the young man who laughed as he set his phone down and joined in and we discovered he actually came from London. But had a farm in LA and was building a house somewhere exotic and one thing led to another and soon the whole curve of the bar had laid their phones face down and I was catching eyes and waving people into the conversations with a question.
All it took was a tiny eye contact to start a conversation. Just a tiny raise of the head from
the phone and a querying eyebrow. A smile.
The young man left first – I wish I had met you four hours ago, he said, leaving for his plane. I offered my hand, he faltered a minute then took my hand and shook it with relief. Picked up his phone and his bag and waved himself out.
🛺I left a while later, after talking wine with the couple from Alabama and chatting with the London man with the farm whose wife loved all things natural – he carefully wrote down my web address so she could get in touch about her chickens.
The people paused as I gathered my bag. Calling out goodbye. Salutes. Handshakes. (I do love to shake a good hand). Offering hand sanitizer with a laugh. I turned away. Sensing the breath caught in midair. The moment of indecision as they watched me leave then reached for their drinks and grabbed their forks and turned back to their phones.
🍺I glanced back to see the bartender wave one hand goodbye as the other hand pulled a pint. We exchanged raised laughing eyebrows in acknowledgment of the outbreak of conversation.
And I was gone.
Talking to strangers is cool. Don’t you think?
But it is hard to strike up a conversation with a stranger who has their head buried in a phone.
I used to write in bars so no one would talk to me!!
C
The Kitchen's Garden 
26 responses to “Extreme wind on the Beach”
The NZ coast looks wonderful but when it’s that windy you just end up with sand in places you don’t want.
I love random conversations, sometimes simply pleasant encounters but every so often they turn out to be synchronicistic encounters with a person or bit of information which is meaningful.
Beautiful beach, even with the invisible gale force winds! I am so anti-phone. I will be the only person sitting and waiting anywhere who does not have their phone out with head buried. It really irritates me when I see couples, both with phones out, and their kids on various devices. I wonder if this is their life at home as well?
Those beaches remind me of the wide sands of Castricum an Zee in North Holland, where I spent many a frozen childhood holiday. The little cafés that stay open for the residents (not the temporary seasonal ones) have high glass screens around them so that the coffee drinkers and friet-eaters get some relief from the Arctic wind and blowing sand whilst still enjoying the winter sun.
Those little cafes sound nice. Nothing like that out here. I guess this is not a holiday destination! Just a really broken down corner store and a cosy club that you can smell from down the road. ( that old chip fat smell!! ) very local.
I loved this post! I do NOT have a smart phone- I have a simple flip phone that I can use for placing and receiving phone calls. I refuse to become face planted while the world has so many wonderful and better miracles! There is a time and place for smart phones, but NOT at the dinner table etc! Good for you! More folks need to do this!
Not my phone, but a book. I’ll read when I’m out in public, keeping my head down and staying to myself. I think a lot of that tendency comes from working in such a public place that I have to remind people that “Hey” is not my name. Back in the day when Black Friday actually brought good deals, I talked to a LOT of people on line, waiting to get into the shops. It was a social experience as much as a shopping one. Now, at the end of the day I like to become blissfully anonymous and disappear into the background to people-watch or read my book.
Yes! In the old days we took books ( or writing) when we went out to eat alone. You must deal with a lot of people ( and animals each day) – I totally understand why you would want time alone!
Loved this post. My husband gently teases me that I make friends everywhere we go. It’s not difficult and just as you described. Put down the phone and make eye contact and smile. It’s still a very wonderful world out there. Take a deep breath and let it flow.