By Georgia Osten
4th of July always conjures up ideas of family, beaches, hot dogs, homemade ice cream and fireworks. If you’re lucky enough to actually live at the beach, believe me, it can be very exciting. This year the crowds were bearable, at least down at our end of the beach. We had no thoughts of leaving the beach for this holiday. We had just returned from a mid-week venture to Las Vegas to meet up with family. A lot of fun, a lot of losing money, and a lot of trying to keep cool in one of the 5 swimming pools at the hotel. 110 degrees in the shade! It was great to get back to the cool weather here at home.

A 4th of July would not be real if we didn’t spend the afternoon with long-time friends, The Motleys. They’ve been hosting the annual event ever since I can remember joining this family. They used to live across the street from Mama & Bop over on Cove Drive in a modest little open concept cabin. Gloria’s B&B was next door to them, and Murray was on the other side of them. All the kids, now grown up with grandkids or soon-to-be grandparents, remember those days when coming down to the beach was simple. Activities such as crab/crawfish boils on the beach, going out in the evening to find fiddler crabs or seining all day, searching for hermit crabs, fishing or swimming. No fears at that age – sharks, bacteria – never a concern.

The storm changed the geography a bit over on Cove Drive, and some of the residents are no longer with us. Mama & Bop’s house washed away and the kids sold the property to the Motleys. Their new house is not an open concept anymore, but rather a rambling 5-6 bedroom which easily sleeps their growing family, no more sleeping on the floor wherever you can find a spot.

The welcoming arms and hospitality are so warming, taking you back to cherished times. You can picture Silver sitting on the deck, legs stretched out in the sun, another book in her hands. Or look, there’s Bop on his deck taking pictures or there’s Mama fussing at beachers for driving too fast.

At the Motley’s 4th of July event, Bop was always the person asked to lead the Pledge of Allegiance. As tradition will have it, Luke will wait until we arrive to ask my husband, Bop’s oldest son, to lead the Pledge. Time goes by, we get older, newer family members take over, but we always take time to appreciate one another and reminisce. Hopefully, you were fortunate enough to enjoy your family, friends and most of all Freedom!

(This article published 7/6/2015)

GO’s Sand Bucket is only one beach bum’s journal of life at the beach, probably something each of you can relate to. Please feel free to email me with your thoughts, visions and/or feelings of just exactly what the beach means to you.

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