I think my wife's description of the event lacks somewhat in communicating the gravity of the situation being described. I will attempt to, perhaps, clarify:
It was a sunny day in June (hey, one year ago -- imagine that) in Carpinteria and we were enjoying the day at the beach with the family. And I mean, the WHOLE family -- Mom and Dad, their 10 children, their 10 children's spouses (of which my wife is one), and the 50+ grandchildren and great grandchildren.
It was mid-afternoon and our youngest son (of whom you may have read in an earlier post) was pretty well tuckered out and sitting under the beach umbrella wrapped in a towel and being watched over by misc. family members giving us a chance to hit the waves together.
After a while we started getting the hang of the boogie boards and were getting pretty good at judging when to kick-off to catch the wave at just the right time. About that time a wave-of-unusual-size was headed our way. I shouted at her to start paddling. What ensued was a comedy of errors that will remain a part of family lore for ages to come:
We misjudged the wave and as a result ended up both being put in the figurative 'washing machine.' When the spin cycle had finally finished I stood up and gathered my board and began heading back out for the next round. Strangely, so did Misty. We were about belly-deep in the water. Then came the realization of her current state of undress. She stopped, looked around, and crouched down a little further into the murky water. As her body appeared to shrink, her eyes became as big as saucers. "Oh my gosh, honey!! I think I lost my bottoms!" Shear terror went across her face and she verified her predicament.
She then instructed me, in no uncertain terms, that I should go back to camp (as we were camping there) and get her other pair of swim bottoms.
Now, I, being the practical person I am began looking for the missing article -- After all, these were part of a rather expensive swimming suit. I looked around, wading in this direction and that, while Misty screamed frantically to "GO BACK TO CAMP!!! GO BACK TO CAMP!!!" The noise of the surf couldn't compare to her shrill screams of horror as her head bobbed in the surf and she worried that the next wave might flip her head-over-heels and expose her to even more humiliation.
After several minutes I gave up the search and began heading back to camp to retrieve the coveted bottoms that she had requested. Meanwhile, she's still screaming.
It was the incessant screaming that caught my brother-in-law's attention as I was now dashing through the sand to get back to camp. Not being one to ignore a person in distress (unlike some people I know) he told my sister --who just happened to be wearing a pair of shorts over her own bathing suit-- who came to the rescue running through the surf, wielding her own shorts over head and shouting (amidst laughter) -- I've got Bottoms!!!
It was a sunny day in June (hey, one year ago -- imagine that) in Carpinteria and we were enjoying the day at the beach with the family. And I mean, the WHOLE family -- Mom and Dad, their 10 children, their 10 children's spouses (of which my wife is one), and the 50+ grandchildren and great grandchildren.
It was mid-afternoon and our youngest son (of whom you may have read in an earlier post) was pretty well tuckered out and sitting under the beach umbrella wrapped in a towel and being watched over by misc. family members giving us a chance to hit the waves together.
After a while we started getting the hang of the boogie boards and were getting pretty good at judging when to kick-off to catch the wave at just the right time. About that time a wave-of-unusual-size was headed our way. I shouted at her to start paddling. What ensued was a comedy of errors that will remain a part of family lore for ages to come:
We misjudged the wave and as a result ended up both being put in the figurative 'washing machine.' When the spin cycle had finally finished I stood up and gathered my board and began heading back out for the next round. Strangely, so did Misty. We were about belly-deep in the water. Then came the realization of her current state of undress. She stopped, looked around, and crouched down a little further into the murky water. As her body appeared to shrink, her eyes became as big as saucers. "Oh my gosh, honey!! I think I lost my bottoms!" Shear terror went across her face and she verified her predicament.
She then instructed me, in no uncertain terms, that I should go back to camp (as we were camping there) and get her other pair of swim bottoms.
Now, I, being the practical person I am began looking for the missing article -- After all, these were part of a rather expensive swimming suit. I looked around, wading in this direction and that, while Misty screamed frantically to "GO BACK TO CAMP!!! GO BACK TO CAMP!!!" The noise of the surf couldn't compare to her shrill screams of horror as her head bobbed in the surf and she worried that the next wave might flip her head-over-heels and expose her to even more humiliation.
After several minutes I gave up the search and began heading back to camp to retrieve the coveted bottoms that she had requested. Meanwhile, she's still screaming.
It was the incessant screaming that caught my brother-in-law's attention as I was now dashing through the sand to get back to camp. Not being one to ignore a person in distress (unlike some people I know) he told my sister --who just happened to be wearing a pair of shorts over her own bathing suit-- who came to the rescue running through the surf, wielding her own shorts over head and shouting (amidst laughter) -- I've got Bottoms!!!
3 comments:
Okay. LOL out loud. First of all, who knew you two were pretty dang good writers?? I mean, ain't that many folks I know could handle a story like this. And second, I'm surprised you didn't confuse people yourself, with that bald pate of yours bobbing around in the surf . . .
Misty! That is truly funny. I love both of your renditions.
I still am kicking myself that I missed the whole thing...I think I had been too far up the beach to hear the screams. It was the best story to come out of that trip!!
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