He was looking right into my eyes. Or rather looking right through me, like I was transparent or in a different dimension. A young man, sitting on a bench in front of the old driftwood sided general store. Blue eyes. As blue as the icy bottom of Lake Huron. I could hear scratchy music coming from an old gramophone. The air seemed heavy, with the musty, decaying smell of dead seaweed, but I was not afraid. Actually, something was drawing me towards him, like some kind of connection.
As I approached, I could see that he was wearing old fashioned clothes and an old battered gob hat. âHow dee do, Len?â
Huh! âHow do you know my name?â I asked.
âOh, just a lucky guess. I get these feelings. My name is Edgar. Glad to meet ya.
âWhatâs that thing youâre carrying hanging from your neck?â
I replied, âA camera,â Which I would, of course, carry with me, while on an early morning walk along Sauble Beach.
âThatâs a camera?â he asked, âHow come there are all those buttons on the back, and whatâs with the window?â
âThis is a digital camera,â I replied.
âDIG—I—-TALL? Iâve never heard that word,â he explained.
This was getting kind of eerie, and I was feeling a little troubled, like when you find yourself in a cemetery at 2AM. âEdgar, it was nice talking to you, but I have to get back to our cottage. My wife will be getting up soon, and I have to get fresh coffee ready for her.â
âNo problem Len, say hi to Chantal. Maybe Iâll see ya later.â
I did return later. I was curious, as the morning seemed so surreal. Almost like a dream where images and feelings melt into each other.
I went into the general store and asked the young man behind the counter if Edgar was around.
âEdgar?â he exclaimed. âNo one here by that name. Unless⊠oh shit! The only Edgar Iâve ever heard about is my great-grandfather, Edgar Hepworth.
âHe was a sailor on the steamer âJames Carruthersâ, which sank close to here on November 11, 1913 in the âBig Stormâ. He was washed ashore and died in my great-grandmothers arms right on that beach over there.
They had built this store.â
And that was my vacation at Sauble Beach.
Posted from Sauble Beach, Ontario, Canada [Click on any photo for the slideshow. Please leave comments at the bottom of the page]
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