Pirates’ Luck
Written by Drusilla on August 20th, 2014
(Dictated by Dru to Art)
Last Sunday Art could feel I was suffering from cabin fever and suggested we go for a drive. But what the San Diego Bureau of Tourism doesn’t want me to tell you is, “If you live in this town for forty years you will run out of interesting places to drive to.” If we go south we’ll be in Mexico where I don’t feel comfortable because I’m not fluent in Spanish. If we go east we see mountains, then miles of boring desert. If we go north we have to get beyond Los Angeles, which means traffic, traffic, traffic. And if we go west, it’s wet. In a way, living in San Diego is like living on an island: It takes some effort to get away from it.
But Art was right: I did need to get out of the house. So, while he stopped at Rose’s Donuts, a place for real milk-and-ice-cream shakes, I sat in the car and wrote down a game we could play. I’ll confess: If Art wouldn’t play this game with me, I was prepared to guilt-trip him. But surprisingly, he thought it was a great idea— which shows that, as soon as you write a blog about someone’s not wanting to play games, you make yourself a liar.
The game had to be as much of a mystery to me as to him, so my rules were specific but totally arbitrary. Here’s a sample: “Go to the nearest freeway and head east for eight miles. After exiting, take the first left and go straight for three miles, wherever that takes you. Take a right and keep driving til you spot a live horse. Stop, get out of the car, and just look around for five minutes without talking.”
We did all that, then climbed back in the car and followed more of my written directions. After various left and right turns— improvising when we hit dead-end streets— we found ourselves in East County, a nation-state of San Diego, located approximately in the 1870s. The rules required we pull over, stop, take out paper and pencil, and write down everything we could remember seeing at our prior five-minute stop. Then we were to compare our lists. Every time Art read off something he’d seen, I crossed that off my list, and vice versa. The upshot? I saw nine things Art hadn’t and he’d seen eleven things I hadn’t. That made him the winner– and a peaceful evening. We named our new game “Pirates’ Luck.”
*****
At night before I fall asleep (even before cancer struck), I’ve always experienced a few moments of panic: “What if I can’t sleep?” Often I recall the details of the day just passed to find something interesting to think about while I wait for the sandman. This time I chose “Pirates’ Luck.” By replaying our drive— like so many adventures we’d enjoyed in a car over the last 45 years– I hoped I’d find a good night sleep. It worked!
Filed under Family & Friends, Life Matters | Tags: cancer, Games, San Diego
Great idea!
Come visit my ranch!
See, Drusilla! Those creative juices are STILL flowing. I just bet you can write a novel that centers around this Pirate’s Luck game. Are you up for the challenge? Of COURSE, you are. It could even be a novella.
Love you, sweet Theta,
Liz Katz
Tampa Kite Tales
I love this game!
Hi Dru,
What a great idea! Sounds like a really fun outing, and it made for a peaceful night. We miss you at St. Paul’s. Blessings,
Joan
While it may feel like an island, there is always the beach. I hope you and Art join Bob and I. No matter what happens or how busy things get, we go down to the beach at the end of Marine Street every day year round. The only consistency is that the location of the beach never changes. We never know what we will see. Today, waves were huge and we saw the best surfing we have ever seen. And, a beautiful sunset with a long green flash as the sun went below the horizon. Not long ago we saw a pod of dolphins swimming within feet of the shore. Several of the dolphins rode in together on one wave and we could see their bodies in the wave. We have seen whale spouts as the whales migrate south in the winter months. I’ve come to learn about the gulls. They give birth around May. The parents take turns getting the food while the other parent waits with the baby gull. There is lots of vocalizations as they change roles and the other goes out to get food. When the babies are old enough to fly, they are brown in color and look bigger than their parents. They are taken to the beach by their parents and things get really crazy as they hone in on potential food sources of beach goers to feed their ever hungry young. All the while, the parents keep close watch on the young as they teach them how to get food. One day, the water was particularly calm. We watched as about twenty adult gulls took about as many young gulls out onto the water. They all landed on the water. After a few moments, all the adult gulls flew off to shore where they kept a close eye on the young as they had to figure out how to get airborne off of water which took up to twenty minutes for the last one to figure it out. The social network of the gulls is amazing. If one is in trouble, they all show up. So, while the area we reside may feel like an island. The more I sat and observed, the more I found there is much to see that fascinates and marvels my senses. And what an island it is!! We head to Marine Street beach most every evening around 5 or 6pm for a dip in the water, a game of cribbage and to watch whatever activity of changes on the beach occur. You are welcome to join me/us any time. Just bring a couple of beach chairs, an umbrella, and sunglasses. See you soon . . .
Druey, remember the car game “Take Me Where You Please”?
Love you, love your stories
Absolutely love that game. I am going to steal it.