Sunbella and the bird man 11/9/11

• I sip coffee on the balcony.  A wall of clouds hangs at the horizon.  Nothing is happening, and I'm cold, ready to go in.  Sunbella says "don't go yet" by throwing up a splash of pink-orange on the sky.  The clouds won't stop her.  She uses them as props for her rising magic show and morphs into:  a shuttlecock base; Saturn hugged by rings; a filigreed Christmas ball; a baseball with finger-grip stitching; and finally, her unadorned self as she pushes past the last cloud and lights the beach.  The day begins.
• Spent time writing on the patio overlooking the ocean.  But the sun got too hot on my face (never thought that would happen, I'm a sun addict), and minutes would pass without me realizing I was staring at Mother Ocean and no words were making it onto the page.  Back to the seclusion of my dining table for me.  Back to work.
• But the work didn't materialize, so I headed out for adventure.  Paid my first visit to Myrtle Farmer's Market at Mr. Joe White Avenue (isn't that the coolest street name you've ever heard?) and Oak Street.  Not a lot of vendors today but some awesome produce.  Bought a luscious tomato that was delish on the cheese sandwich I just ate, sweet cucumbers which made a yummy side dish, and an orange that was so pale and huge I thought it was a grapefruit.  Haven't tried the orange yet.  I'll see you again Myrtle Market!
• Synchronicity has been abundant through my journey to Myrtle Beach, and today was a fine example.  Decided I needed business cards to legitimize myself as a writer.  Went to three different printers I found in the phone book -- two were out of business, the other closed for moving.  Stopped at a Kangaroo Convenience Store to buy my Powerball ticket as I was leaving Surfside (my last stop), and at the last minute I asked the employee if he knew any printers close by.  He told me to check out Jerribob's "up the street a ways and on the left around that dollar store" because they sell mailing supplies and stuff.  I went looking, actually found it from his directions, and voila, they do business cards.  Even had a special 100 card deal for $10.  The nice lady (perhaps Jerribob herself?) is even going to email me a couple of design suggestions.  I asked for help finding a printer -- why was I surprised when I got it?  I've got to have more faith.
• Caught the bird man's act walking south on the beach.  Me, a couple kids, 30some pigeons, and three seagulls.  This was no impromptu show.  Decked out in hat, long-sleeve shirt, gloves, and armed with a bag of bread, he literally had the birds eating out of his hands.  And hat.  And off his shoulders.  And arms.  And booted feet.  He kept the human crowd captive only until the bread was gone.  The bird gang was more loyal, still scavenging for hidden crumbs and waiting for the second show when I came back up the beach.