DOLPHINS

August brings, in these parts, a silent desperation. It quietly haunts you. You know the cold winds and frigid conditions are right around the corner. I moved my family to this beach town a few years ago.

We escaped the very harsh conditions of Upstate New York. The only problem is we didn’t go far enough south. While the beaches of southern New Jersey are idyllic, the Winters are still much too harsh and the Springs just never seem to arrive until almost Summer.

Anyway, I decided to make the last days of Summer the best days for me and my boy. School for him was right around the corner. I said, “Grab the blanket out of the garage. I made us breakfast. Let’s go sit on the beach and watch for dolphins.” He had a special affection for dolphins. He, like his Dad, loved all things water. No matter how many times you are lucky enough to see one, a pod of dolphins swimming by is so primitively exciting.

His hopes seemed a bit desperate this day. Maybe he was feeling the pressure like I was, that late August brings. He kept repeating “We have to see them today, Dad, we just have, too!”

Trouble is you could not predict when they would move down the beach. I asked four or five lifeguards if they noticed a pattern. I got five different answers. Dolphins were not what they cared about when they did not have their eyes peeled on swimmers. Bikinis may be, but not…