Despite not fully understanding the language, I could make out the familiar sound of a mother gently guiding her child away from the hazardous rocks. The boulders were piled up neatly at the base of the steep, flat rock wall. The cliffs surrounding the bay are one of the few forces of nature that can tame a part, albeit a very small part, of the sea. The water threw itself in vain against the formidable cliff which caused a violent eruption of sea spray. The cool, refreshing mist hung in the air, and fleeting flashes of rainbows glittered as the sun’s rays struck it. The saltiness of the ocean overpowered the pungent scent of lemons which haunted the village.
The scattered sun danced over the waves of the rocking ocean as the residents of Vernazza frolicked around the gigantic watering hole that is the Ligurian sea. The mother’s admonishment of her child transcended the need for translation as did the life affirming laughter and sounds of jubilation echoing off the cliffs.
I took a large gulp of crisp, cheap beer, and carefully placed the glass bottle on the ancient stone pathway which ran the perimeter of the bay. Back in Charleston, there is no way glassware would have been permitted around this much stone, water and kids. However, Vernazza seemed to have the magical quality of things not quite making sense, but working out anyway. The walkway was built by some presumably very busy enslaved Romans about two thousand years ago. I thought that they would be disappointed to see my lazy, slovenly, modern sitting on it doing nothing productive.
Feet protruded from my cuffed pant leg, and my toes tickled the surface of the sky-blue, crystal-clear water. I was so caught up in my rapturous feelings of joy, fulfillment, and yes, even happiness, that I briefly entertained the idea of trying to walk on the water. I assume this is what Jesus did before he had the same bright idea. Instead I turned to TJ, and said “Alright, I’m going in”.
I shed most of my clothing, chugged my beer for warmth, and stepped into the water. I was only disappointed for a brief moment when my foot broke through the surface of the water rather than being magically stopped. Although, I guess Jesus never got to do what I was about to do. So that’s pretty cool.
I clumsily dove into the sea like a seal with one flipper, but that did not matter to me. The salty ocean voided the gravity of both space and time. At that moment, I felt the world drop out. The salt, the contentment, the beer, the friendship, the hot, the cold, the colors, the vivaciousness of it all was a small slice of infinity. Unfortunately, time caught on to my scheme. It propelled my body upwards through the sky-blue water towards the sky-blue sky.
I dove upwards much more gracefully than I had downwards, and broke through the surface of the atmosphere gasping for air. I wiped the droplets of water from my eyes, and looked up at the rainbow caused by the mist of the relentlessly crashing ocean. I noticed with the new eyes of a new man the scene over which the ethereal, misty rainbow was imposed. The homes which dotted the cliffside surrounding the bay were painted as green as the grapevines, as purple and orange as the forlorn fall sky, and as blue as the ocean which cradled me. I got it. At that moment, I got it. I got it all.
Millerwiller 