18) The Beach 17) The Phoenix
Imagine what would happen if people started loving and
caring for their neighbors down the road.
Wars would go away, we could party every day,
I would help to lift your heavy load.
But first we have to find a way to lift our mind and
put us in our orbit once again.
So let’s start grinning and together start spinning and
realize everything is one.
Earth will stay in orbit if we just go for it and
reach for that feeling deep inside.
When we pull it out, everyone will shout, and
the world will stay spinning in the
pride we found and shout so loud to
Keep on spinning on,
Keep on spinning on
Keep on spinning on and on.
Keep on spinning on
Keep on spinning on
Keep on spinning on and on.
Malcolm Mohil
"Spinning"
The next Saturday was gorgeous. The sun shone through scattered cumulous clouds. There was a slight breeze blowing from the west, carrying with it the scent of the sea.
Malcolm arrived at Jack's house a little before 9 AM. Jack ran out to greet him as he climbed out of his car.
"Hi, Malcolm! I'm ready to go!"
"Hello, Jack. Me, too. Let me talk to your mom first."
Malcolm went into Jack's house to tell Carla they were leaving. She gave him a big smile and said how much this meant to both of them. She gave her son his backpack, a good-bye kiss and wished them both a good day.
As they were driving towards the beach, Malcolm couldn't help notice how happy Jack seemed. He'd never seen Jack with such a big smile. Jack was even whistling.
"Do you like music, Jackster?”
"Yeah, I do. I listen to the radio a lot."
"Do you play any instruments?"
"We have a piano my mom used to make me take lessons on, but I don't like to play it. My teacher made me play classical music, which was boring. I wasn't able to play very well, so my mom let me stop."
"I understand. My mom made me take piano lessons, too. I didn't like it at the time, either. Then I started playing guitar, which I really like."
"You play guitar!? Oh, man, that’s sooo cool! I want my mom to buy me a guitar, but she doesn't think I'll play it so she won't buy me one. I really want to learn."
"Well, maybe I can teach a little someday."
"I'd like that."
"Remember though, you won’t get very good unless you practice.”
They arrived at the beach a little while later. They gathered their things and headed towards the shore. There were a few people walking around and wading in the water.
"What's your favorite thing about the beach, Jack?" Malcolm asked as they strolled along the shore.
"Um, I think it’s the ocean. I like looking out towards the horizon and imagining what’s on the other side."
"What do you imagine?"
Jack became very serious and his eyes began to tear.
"I used to imagine there was an undiscovered island full of monkeys and snakes I found. I then would pretend I was there while I was playing on the beach. All the animals were my friends and we would run around and play."
He paused to think if he should say what was on his mind and decided he could trust Malcolm.
"As I looked out when we first got here, I imagined my dad was on a boat just beyond the horizon coming to pick me up and take me to the island."
Malcolm reached out his arm to put his hand on Jack's head. He wanted to comfort Jack who obviously was sad.
They continued to walk down the shore, picking up interesting objects like shells and strange shaped driftwood.
"What's your favorite thing about the beach, Malcolm?"
"Well, I think it is the smell. I love the scent of the sea: salty, fishy and fresh. It reminds me of growing up, of surfing and playing in the water."
"Where'd you grow up?"
"Near Los Angeles. In a city called Santa Monica. I grew up right near the ocean. I spent many days of my life playing at the beach. Basking in the sun, swimming in the water, meeting bums who were very nice and full of stories. It was great. Then I moved up here about five years ago."
"Do you miss where you grew up?"
"Sometimes I miss it, mostly my childhood, but I wouldn't want to move back. There are way too many people and there's way too much pollution. The ocean I used to swim in is full of sewage, trash and nasty chemicals. It’s in very bad shape. The people have destroyed the water. The fish swimming there have tumors. I hate to think what it’s doing to the people."
"That's sad."
Malcolm looked at Jack and said, "It’s sad, but it doesn't need to continue. You're lucky, Jack, because you're part of a generation that’s going to change the world to make it a better place to live. I want you to remember something. Don't ever let anyone tell you you can't make a difference in the world. If you want to, Jack, you can help our only home get better."
"And so can you, Malcolm."
Malcolm looked at Jack and smiled.
"We both can. Agreed?"
Jack reached out his hand and Malcolm shook it.
"Agreed," Jack said.
They spent the next hour building a sand castle. When they finished, Malcolm asked Jack if he was hungry. They decided to take a lunch break. They sat above the castle to chew on food and to chat about their lives. They were being warmed by the sun and teased by the waves of the rising tide slowing washing away the castle.
When they finished eating, they walked further down the shore. After walking for a while they came across a seagull which was tied up by a nylon chord. They approached the bird slowly, unsure if it would try to fly away. When they realized it was helpless, they decided to try to unwrap the chord.
"OK, Jack. We need to be very gentle with the bird. We don't want to scare it too much or hurt it. I think it'll be all right once we remove the chord."
"I'm nervous, Malcolm. What if it bites me?"
"I'll talk to it and tell it we're only here to help. I'll ask it to not bite us, OK?"
Jack nodded.
Malcolm sat down a few feet from the bird.
"Hello, seagull. I'm sorry you've gotten tangled up. I think we can help you, though, if you'd like. We need to hold onto you so we can unwrap the chord, OK?"
The bird was tired of struggling. It looked at Malcolm as if it seemed to understand so he crawled over to the bird. He held out his hand for the bird to inspect and slowly reached out to hold onto its body. The bird struggled a bit but soon relaxed resigned to being eaten, or maybe it sensed help had arrived.
"OK, Jack. Do you want to free the bird?"
“Yes.”
"Then crawl over here slowly and untie the chord from the bird."
Jack approached and put out his hand like Malcolm did. The bird reached its head to sniff. Jack got scared he was going to be bit so he pulled back his hand and yelled.
"She won't bite you, Jack. See how calm she is? She knows we’re here to help her."
Jack got more confident and this time when he reached out his hand, he didn't withdraw it when the bird stretched its neck to sniff. He began to unravel the chord from the bird, frustrated at first at the tangled mess but soon began to find patience as he loosened it more.
"Hey! I have an army knife in my bag. It has scissors I can cut the chord with!" Jack exclaimed when he remembered this.
He pulled out his knife and began to cut the chord.
"Good thinking, Jack!"
"This makes it much easier."
When he cut all the chord loose, Malcolm placed the bird back on the ground. She stretched out her wings to practice flapping them. She screeched in excitement as if to say, 'Thank you!' to Jack and Malcolm and then took off into the air. She circled over them for a while, screeching loudly before flying off in the distance.
Jack and Malcolm were in awe at what they just did and witnessed. They watched the bird as it disappeared.
"Good work, Jack. That bird would have died if we didn't untangle her."
"I've never done anything like that before. I feel so, good!" Jack said with a big smile. "My mom isn't going to believe it."
They stayed at the beach for a few more hours, playing and talking before heading back home. When Malcolm dropped Jack off, he ran into his house to tell his mom about his day. She was very proud.
Malcolm drove off, feeling proud as well. He was proud not only for helping the bird, but for helping Jack. He felt this day was going to have a profound impact on Jack and knew if this were true, Jack would be treating his classmates a little better. As it turned out, Malcolm was right.