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]
July 12, 2020 at 12:42 pm
How come you didn’t ask Edgar how he knew Chantal’s name? Great story, I had a big smile at the end of it!
Where did you take photo 18?
The “couple” because of Covid 19, haven’t had a chance to have a haircut.
July 12, 2020 at 12:49 pm
Hey Len, photo 18 is the driver of the Taco bus on the main drag here. Great caption idea for 19. I’ll use that. thanks.
July 12, 2020 at 12:55 pm
Hi Len,
Loved these pics. Ok…I have to ask…were you smoking some ‘strange stuff’ while ‘communicating’ with Mr. Edgar? Imbibing some ‘flavourful’ esoteric ice cold drink?
My favourites:
1) The paddleboarder (both)…serene, gorgeous colours, peaceful
2) Pathway to heaven…reminds me of the beaches on Longboat Key in Florida – happy memories.
3) Item #11 – is that you and Chantal? Gorgeous.
4) Item #10 – because I still use these things (ok, don’t go there; I can hear Fred’s lecture in the background, lol!) Luddites… yes, I know this club…. Great shot with the green trees.
5) Item #16 – interesting shot and caption… did Chantal like the dress or you? đ
6) How long is she going to be in that shoe store? – This one made me laugh OUT LOUD.
Ok, again I can hear Fred’s lecture as he counts the number of shoes in my closet (don’t worry, I provide my retort with a count of the number of sneakers etc. HE has too!!! đ Must be a male thing, lol. Women and shoes…it is PART of our DNA, guys just need to accept it (that and maybe a few other things!).
Where is your next adventure to?
July 12, 2020 at 1:06 pm
Kate, love your comments and glad you’re enjoying the blog. The answer to the first question is… yes and also yes.
#11 – no, that’s not us.
#10 – I’m not a Luddite, but definitely old school. For some reason, I’m attracted to phone booths. Maybe something to do with anonymity, like in gangster and spy movies.
And the dress… the dress didn’t attract me… it was the same sex relationship!
Next adventure… not sure yet. Kind of limited because of the pandemic, but we’re really falling in love with the sandy, Canadian beaches. Maybe Wasaga.
July 12, 2020 at 2:27 pm
Len, cool Edgar story. Did I ever tell you about the time I met a real-life wolfman? Sibbald Point Provincial Park on Lake Simcoe. It was an eery evening, full moon and all. I never stopped to chat, just ran like hell. Oh yeah, I was stoned out of my mind.
July 12, 2020 at 2:32 pm
Hey Bern, yes, you told me about the wolfman, and I believed you. Oh, but now I remember, I was stoned too.
July 12, 2020 at 2:37 pm
Between Len and Bern’s comments, I don’t know which one made me laugh more! Kindred folk I guess, lol! Keep on Rockn!
July 12, 2020 at 2:53 pm
Kate, if you think that’s funny, you should have seen when we were young, sleeping in the tent and having the same nightmare. Screaming in the forest. Now that’s a scary story!
July 12, 2020 at 3:18 pm
Len, you and me in our tent. And Rick in another tent, all experiencing the same nightmare on the same night. Now that’s spooky. And we weren’t even stoned.
July 14, 2020 at 5:45 pm
Great story Len! Maby you were eating some special gummi bears! đ I loved the bicycle in the laneway and the guy waiting for his wife in the shoe store!
July 14, 2020 at 7:04 pm
Glad you enjoyed, Dave. Hope you’re having a good summer.
July 14, 2020 at 8:00 pm
Len
Your story reminds me of Somewhere down that Crazy River by Robbie Robertson. Itâs got that same vibe.
My favourite photo is the couple in the water – you should be selling that photo to package vacation companies.
Sauble looked bleak – was anyone at home?
Peter
July 14, 2020 at 9:05 pm
Interesting observation, Peter. I never thought about any songs when I wrote this. Thinking more of the Twilight Zone, if you remember that.
Bleak? Not at all. But we were at a fairly private location, which we enjoyed. The main drag was definitely quieter during the week, though. On the weekend, things got busy, but the weather kind of dampened that.
August 2, 2020 at 5:52 pm
Len, just read your new blog post and realized I havenât looked at the Sable Beech ones. I like the BW shots and the two paddle boarder photos. And, oh yes, great intro story.
August 2, 2020 at 6:01 pm
John, if you go to Sauble Beach, be careful, there be strange goings on there.