Shakib Meets the Sea

I grew up in Southern California. I have no memory of my first encounter with the ocean. Not so Shakib. On Saturday he met the Pacific.

How do you prepare someone for such an event? It's rather like arranging a blind date. You know they're going to fall in love, so you set things in motion and let nature take its course.

Having risen to 102 degrees earlier in the week, the weather turned cold and cloudy on Saturday. But none of that mattered. It was love at first sight, goose bumps and all.

What a treat it was to watch Shakib's wonder at the strength of the waves and the vastness of the ocean!

At one point he asked "Is there land out there?" I said, "Yes, Japan and China." That put things into perspective.

We brought along his friend John who introduced him to all of the rites of beachdom -- frisbee, football, sand sculpting, and of course, burying each other.

I fear his mother's reaction when she sees the photo of her son up to his neck in sand. Will she misunderstand? Nah. The ecstatic look on his face says it all.

It was a day of firsts: Shakib's first glimpse of live girls in bikinis, his first beach bonfire, his first s'mores, his first sandwich that actually included sand, his first time in a swim suit, his first time being knocked off his feet by a wave, and his first gulp of salt water.

I told him that salt water in the eyes, up the nose, and down the gullet was a local rite of passage. He's now an official Southern Californian.

What do we do for an encore? For blind date number two?

Disneyland anyone? 

Sorry I can't post the close ups...