"Blowin' In The Wind"...

Taking an old friend down to the beach toward the end of July. We're heading out for Oak Island, which is at the southeastern tip of North Carolina near Southport, at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, just above the South Carolina line. 

My friend Clyde used to live on Oak Island with his wife - both wonderful credit union members.  They had retired there to the beach and were pretty sure it was as close to heaven as you could possibly get in North Carolina. 

Lots of folks agree with Clyde about Oak Island, which shelters three beaches - Long Beach, Yaupon Beach, and Caswell Beach.  Bright white sand with warm, delicate breezes; a casual, shorts and flip-flops sort of crowd; with a "slow-to-the-point-of-stopping" pace; and fine, "just-off-the-boat" seafood [served any way you like it, as long as you like it fried!]. 

Sea oats, sea turtles, and seashells.  A "nothing-much-to-do" kind of place. Yep, pretty close to paradise. Truly one fine place to live happy....

Never been to the beach with Clyde before and won't be going again. This trip is one of those "bucket list" visits - last time, last chance, last call.

This trip is about taking care of Clyde....

Big shoes, well worn...

You see, Clyde took care of all kinds of folks in North Carolina during a distinguished career in mental health, serving a clientele of unusual folks, different folks, often difficult folks. His work required inexhaustible patience and compassion, without any easy answers, nor simple solutions. "Victories" most often were temporary, frequently fleeting.  

Clyde stepped up time and time again to give voice to some of our most vulnerable citizens in North Carolina and to give their families comfort - and hope. If "Serving others" is the universal sign of greatness; then Clyde was most definitely a great man.


But Clyde, as it sometimes happens, outlived all his immediate family and all the folks who were closest to him. At the end, Clyde had no one left.  He ended up just a box forgotten on somebody's back porch. Y'know, sometimes life is really hard.  

When told about it, I asked that they send his ashes to me. And, Clyde's been sitting on the floor of my office now for the last six months... waiting to go back to the beach. 

When we get to Oak Island; plan to head out to the beach with Clyde around sunset, pour a little champagne toast and then.... set Clyde free and let him go home. 

And, of course, let him enjoy that bright white sand... and those warm, delicate breezes.... for one last time.