The State of Malibu
MALIBU, CAA series of encounters
at a locals only beach
amongst the 21 miles
of scenic beauty in
the state of Malibu.
SUMMER 2O23
prologue
1.
Today I ordered a sandwich at the grocery store and while I was waiting an old guy asked the sandwich artist if the super old guy with the cane had already ordered a sandwich. He did. To make light of the situation the super old guy asked “what state is it? Haha..haha.. what state am i in?”
I thought to myself, you’re in Malibu. That’s what state you’re in. If you’ve ever been to you might be feeling the same thing i am right now, it doesn’t even need to be capitalized; malibu. it’s a state of mind that loosens the ridges of brain mass shoved between our skulls bones and it smooths out the need for a wrinkle-less body. malibu is just like the sign says - 21 miles of scenic beauty. it can’t be bottled and it’s captures don’t do it justice, you’re either lucky enough to have a seat at its sandy table and rolling shorelines or you dream about it from whatever state of america and the globe you’ve been misfortunately placed upon. i don’t know you and you don’t know me that’s what the following characters have all been given fictitious names because our encounters never needed names they simply occurred.
2.
“Bogdan” caught me on a sad day. It was also a cold summer day. I don’t remember when but it was probably towards the end of August. I remember it was a gemini moon because the waves were aggressive. I was sitting in my yellow chair with my white, purple and blue mandala-like floral pattern towel wrapped tightly around my body. I had just gotten out of the water when Bogdan came into my eye’s view. I could tell by his accent he was a scandavian man, he was chubby with a belly that bellowed out and about 65 to 70 years old. He had a small dog with him. I’m not sure what breed but it looked like a “Skip” and was the size of a dachshund. I saw the dog before I saw Bogdan. By the time our eyes met I had already let out a smile watching Skip play with the ocean’s shoreline waves. That’s when Bogdan looked at directly into my eyes with a smile and said “it’s his first time seeing the water!” I said “oh aww” out loud and finished the sentence “-how cute” in my head. Bogdan smile grew in size and he let out a chuckle in return. Something about the way he laughed made me think he might me lying but I let him have it. The two walked to the edges of my left frame and then turned around to exit, back the way they came in - out of frame right. As they did, I went back to staring longingly into the eyes of the ocean’s calm horizon. Moments later they returned in my peripherals, wandering without a place on the beach and nothing on Bogdan but a bathing suit, it made me think. This guy has no place along this beach, must have come down from one of the mansions. My thoughts confirmed what my mind had sensed - today is not the first time that dog is seeing the water. I shrugged my head to my left shoulder, let out a smile and thought - it was a pretty good catch phrase for a malibu millionaire, either way.
3.
“Niamh” is irish, looking at the skin on her face, she looks aged to her early 4Os. She has mousey brown hair with blue eyes and every day I see her she’s lined her lids with blue eyeliner. Niamh’s the cashier at the grocery store who checked me out on one of the scariest days of my life. It was the begining of the summer season, the end of Spring when we crossed paths the first time. I wondered if she’d recognize me the next I went in and if she did, if it’d be okay after our first encounter. I was alone the second time she rang me up. She didn’t say anything but when our eyes met I saw the twinkle in her eye, the kind that only shines when a vision has been met. For us, it was the recogonition of face that made an impression on each other’s souls. I knew I’d recognize her given my circumstances, she was surprised and relieved at the sight of me.
4.
“Teddy” wore a yellow sweater over a white button down shirt. He was in his early 60s and looked like the rich man he dreamt of being as a boy. It was mid-day and he was knowingly smoking a cigar while walking his dog on the beach with airpods in and a blue baseball cap.
5.
“Ivan” was white, early 6Os. He walked down from his mansion stone steps in nothing but bathing suit bottoms and walked into the ocean. Dipped his body into the cold water, swam through a few waves, walked out of the ocean and back up his mansion steps.
6.
“Maya” is a young woman, somewhere between 22 and 26, half-black with curly hair, a friendly face and a sweet smile. Maya is the best damn sandwich artist the fancy little grocery store across from the beach has to offer. During the off seasons she always gives me an extra pickle and one time she complimented my pink and blue phone bag and i told her i got it at old navy for $4... “totally random.” Even though i shop at old navy for basics often. I love her.
7.
“Bonnie” is an australian woman in her late 3Os and a mother of two. She walked onto the beach carrying a newborn in a satchel against her belly, a bag hanging from her shoulder and a two year old boy at her side, carrying his own toys. My mother and I were on the beach the day I saw Bonnie, as she passed we gave her warm smiles and welcomed her to the beach area with our own eternally woman energy. She sat her newborn in its carrier seat, got her two year old set up with his toys and walked to the wave’s edges. She turned back every few steps as she got into the water. She walked until the waves were at her waist. Her children sat patiently and politely while their mother released herself in the water <3
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