ocean drive and friends
It had been a long and difficult week in Miami. I’d arrived on Saturday
night and, after a quick dinner in the hotel, I went to bed. In the
morning I woke up, had breakfast at the pool, had a swim, watched some
English football, then took an Uber down to South Beach. I wasn’t sure
where to head to, so I set my destination as the Art Deco Welcome Centre
right in the heart of Ocean Drive. The driver’s name was
Jean-Christophe, originally French, but had lived all over the world,
and was in Miami for some business reason that I couldn’t quite grasp.
As we approached the art deco centre there was a lot of traffic, so I
asked JC to drop me off right where we were. I hopped out and
immediately found myself staring into a cool, dark, beautiful bar. I
wanted to walk in and order a beer, but it was 11am and I was meeting a
friend and his wife, so I thought it best to resist for at least one
hour. I walked down Ocean Drive and back up through the bright colours
and overwhelming sounds… people were eating breakfast at tables on the
pavement and many were wearing bikinis. I had just landed from -10
degrees in Boston, this was like a different planet. Young men and women
in revealing outfits were asking passers-by to go into their particular
establishment of employment and I felt increasingly tempted to have a
drink, so I decided to head away from Ocean drive and down to the beach
for a little while. I was astonished by the beauty of the water, the
sand, the people… the warmth of the sun and the light in the sky. I sat
on the beach and admired all that was around me but within a few minutes
this British skin of mine started to burn and I realised that I needed
to move on rapidly. My friend had made contact and was still waiting for
his wife to get ready, and they still had to drive to the beach. I went
to the bar.
I entered the bar through the back entrance, the same one I had seen when I had earlier exited the taxi, and walked through the cool, dark room to the bar. As I was pulling up a chair, a waitress was collecting drinks form the bar and gave me a few looks as if I was a known and wanted criminal that had just walked in off the street covered in blood. She left and a gentleman appeared and shouted out ‘come to the front, man, no one will serve you here.’ ‘ok, but I was hoping for some respite from the sun and heat’ I replied. He looked at me like I was speaking a language heretofore unknown by intelligent life forms on planet earth and accordingly chose to ignore me. I followed him to the front and sat at a chair, that was placed mostly in the sun, which he had pulled away from the bar for me. Two bar ladies immediately asked me what I would like to drink. It was still morning, so I ordered a corona with a slice of lime, which seemed more like a breakfast drink than anything else. One of the ladies handed me an ice-cold Corona and I turned to face the street, with a smile on my face, and watch people pass by as I sipped the beer and enjoyed the warmth and light of Miami Beach.
Ocean Drive is a crazy place and at midday people who are barely dressed are dancing in the sun and acting as if they are in a disco at peak dance time. Interestingly, when the afternoon twilight sets in, most people look depressed and tired. When the night arrives, the lights come on, and a second wave of hysteria takes over the boulevard.
I ordered a second Corona and my smile grew larger. I messaged my friend who had recently moved to Miami to find out where he was, but he was still waiting for his wife to get ready. Our plan was to meet at the beach. At this moment one of the bar ladies placed a shot in front of me. I asked what it was.
‘Sex on the beach’ she said with a naughty smile. ‘Are you from London?’
‘I am from England but from the Manchester area and then I lived south of London’ I replied.
‘Ah, you look English.’
‘I am sorry’, I said.
At this, both bar ladies laughed and the one who gave me the shot asked ‘can I make you something from my country?’
Which is your country?’
‘Cuba.’
‘I am in trouble now’.
She offered me a coconut mojito but I opted for Strawberry instead. I started to worry that I might be silly drunk when my friend arrived. His wife and he were not drinkers so it would be extra painful. The mojito flowed in a stream of pure joy as the sun blazed and the Miami day reached a brilliant white brightness. Bar staff as well as random people in the street danced to the sound of music blaring from large speakers set up in every free space imaginable. Beautiful people walked by en masse and punctuated the pavements with colour as palm trees reached up in an attempt to touch a deep blue sky.
I asked for the ‘check’, as the Americans say (and I wonder if I will remember the terms and expressions of my home country when I return there) and I left to meet my friend who said he’d be there in five minutes. I am always early for everything and other people are always late. I was even born two weeks early. Nevertheless, I thought he’d be on time. Five minutes passed. Ten minutes passed. I asked where he was. He said that the five minutes was actually how long it took by car and they were walking. Sitting outside of the art deco centre on Ocean Drive was not a bad place to be. It reminded me of Santa Monica, California, where I had recently been, but there were no homeless people. It made me a little uneasy, wondering where all the homeless were and what might have happened to them. The unemployment numbers need to be kept down, right?
My friends arrived and it felt great to see them. After knowing Justin for over twenties years in different countries it felt wonderful to be meeting at Miami Beach. We hugged and joked and walked to the beach as I teased him for carrying a brand-new sun umbrella for the beach. It still had the tags on because he is such a nerd and doesn’t notice those things. We blundered down to the golden beach and sat down amidst a million beautiful people… we were like two thorns amongst roses. His wife took a photo of us that I think captures our hopeless nerdiness but also shows two people comfortable with their age and how they are and simply happy to be where they are at that moment in time.
to be continued...
I entered the bar through the back entrance, the same one I had seen when I had earlier exited the taxi, and walked through the cool, dark room to the bar. As I was pulling up a chair, a waitress was collecting drinks form the bar and gave me a few looks as if I was a known and wanted criminal that had just walked in off the street covered in blood. She left and a gentleman appeared and shouted out ‘come to the front, man, no one will serve you here.’ ‘ok, but I was hoping for some respite from the sun and heat’ I replied. He looked at me like I was speaking a language heretofore unknown by intelligent life forms on planet earth and accordingly chose to ignore me. I followed him to the front and sat at a chair, that was placed mostly in the sun, which he had pulled away from the bar for me. Two bar ladies immediately asked me what I would like to drink. It was still morning, so I ordered a corona with a slice of lime, which seemed more like a breakfast drink than anything else. One of the ladies handed me an ice-cold Corona and I turned to face the street, with a smile on my face, and watch people pass by as I sipped the beer and enjoyed the warmth and light of Miami Beach.
Ocean Drive is a crazy place and at midday people who are barely dressed are dancing in the sun and acting as if they are in a disco at peak dance time. Interestingly, when the afternoon twilight sets in, most people look depressed and tired. When the night arrives, the lights come on, and a second wave of hysteria takes over the boulevard.
I ordered a second Corona and my smile grew larger. I messaged my friend who had recently moved to Miami to find out where he was, but he was still waiting for his wife to get ready. Our plan was to meet at the beach. At this moment one of the bar ladies placed a shot in front of me. I asked what it was.
‘Sex on the beach’ she said with a naughty smile. ‘Are you from London?’
‘I am from England but from the Manchester area and then I lived south of London’ I replied.
‘Ah, you look English.’
‘I am sorry’, I said.
At this, both bar ladies laughed and the one who gave me the shot asked ‘can I make you something from my country?’
Which is your country?’
‘Cuba.’
‘I am in trouble now’.
She offered me a coconut mojito but I opted for Strawberry instead. I started to worry that I might be silly drunk when my friend arrived. His wife and he were not drinkers so it would be extra painful. The mojito flowed in a stream of pure joy as the sun blazed and the Miami day reached a brilliant white brightness. Bar staff as well as random people in the street danced to the sound of music blaring from large speakers set up in every free space imaginable. Beautiful people walked by en masse and punctuated the pavements with colour as palm trees reached up in an attempt to touch a deep blue sky.
I asked for the ‘check’, as the Americans say (and I wonder if I will remember the terms and expressions of my home country when I return there) and I left to meet my friend who said he’d be there in five minutes. I am always early for everything and other people are always late. I was even born two weeks early. Nevertheless, I thought he’d be on time. Five minutes passed. Ten minutes passed. I asked where he was. He said that the five minutes was actually how long it took by car and they were walking. Sitting outside of the art deco centre on Ocean Drive was not a bad place to be. It reminded me of Santa Monica, California, where I had recently been, but there were no homeless people. It made me a little uneasy, wondering where all the homeless were and what might have happened to them. The unemployment numbers need to be kept down, right?
My friends arrived and it felt great to see them. After knowing Justin for over twenties years in different countries it felt wonderful to be meeting at Miami Beach. We hugged and joked and walked to the beach as I teased him for carrying a brand-new sun umbrella for the beach. It still had the tags on because he is such a nerd and doesn’t notice those things. We blundered down to the golden beach and sat down amidst a million beautiful people… we were like two thorns amongst roses. His wife took a photo of us that I think captures our hopeless nerdiness but also shows two people comfortable with their age and how they are and simply happy to be where they are at that moment in time.
to be continued...
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