Driftwood: Part 1

The next day he got up early and headed to the restaurant. A different crew was working but it didn't seem to matter since it was a buffet. A pretty young waitress with a name tag that said "Marta" came by and asked, "Coffee?"
"Yes, please."
When Nick returned to his table with a heaping plateful of food, he inhaled the delicious aroma of the coffee. "Oh, does that smell good." He mumbled to himself.  He lifted the cup to his lips and sipped. "Oh that is good stuff." Nick sampled portions of most of the foods on the buffet. He had all week to try everything else. He'd had rice and beans before but never for breakfast. They were ok; a little dry. The plantains were very tasty and sweeter than he anticipated. The eggs were scrumptious.

After returning to his room to change he headed out to the beach. He sat on a chair beneath a palm tree and applied sunscreen. The waves were rather large and he ran out to the ocean and dove into a wave just as it started to fall onto him. For the next two hours, Nick splashed about in the ocean, jumping into waves and acting like a kid. He noticed a few times how the undertow would pull him further out. It wasn't tremendously strong but something to be mindful about.

When he returned to his chair, there was a family coming out to the beach. They were obviously American. They exchanged greetings and discussed where they lived. Then the family went out to the water. Nick sat for a moment in his chair. He looked down the beach and saw the log. It seemed to be inviting him back for a visit. Nick walked over to it and said, "Hello there, my friend. How are you today?"

He sat watching the family. He could hear the little ones squeal with delight over the crashing waves. Nick felt like a piece of driftwood.  He had been tossed about and thrown up onto a piece of land he didn't recognize.  He didn't know where to go or how to get back.  So he just sat soaking in the sun and quietly spoke to himself.  "Why is it the waves keep crashing in but my Gwen died? The waves don't care. They just throw you around.  The whole world doesn’t care. Only a few individuals even noticed. Everything else in the world just keeps going. Some day it will be me that is gone and the world won't care."

Nick said these things but he wasn't sad. He wasn't feeling sorry for himself.  They were matter-of-fact statements. Nick was trying to come to grips with his place in the world. He was beginning to realize how small he was in the grand scheme of things. He pondered why some people seem to think they are so important. The reality is quite the opposite. We really are passing vapors. "In a few thousand years from now, no one will even know I existed." He thought.

Nick found himself wanting to be remembered for something. He wanted his life to matter. Suddenly, words that his sister always said came to his mind. How did that go again? The greatest way to spend your life is by investing it into something that will outlast it. Something about that seemed right. If life is fleeting, how can you find meaning? He invested into his family but now they were grown. Where does he invest himself now?

He felt thirst in his throat and decided it was time to return to the room. His muscles protested when he stood and his back reminded him of his age. "Oh, it stinks to get old!"

Nick's heart felt lighter as he walked back to his room.  Though still louder than he preferred, he was pleased the air conditioner was finally making a difference.  He lay on his back on the bed and just stared up at the ceiling.  The ceiling fan spun quietly.  He missed his wife.  Would the hurt ever go away?

He arranged to get a ride to downtown Jaco.  He waited by the front gate next to the front desk office.  The car came and he hopped in.  "Where you want to go, mister?" the young man asked. 

"I don't know.  I just want to get something to eat and to see downtown Jaco." 

"What kind food you like?"

"I should try some more Costa Rican food but to be honest with you, I'm dying for some pizza."

"Pisa?"

"No pizza."

"Si, si, pisa.  I know a good place.  You buy by slice."

"Ok then.  Let's go."

"Pura vida!"

"Pura vida?"

"Si, it mean pure life in espanish." 

"Pure life, huh.  Well then pura vida."

"Pura vida!"

"What is your name?"

"Gustavo.  Call me Gus."

"Hi Gus.  My name is Nick."

"Hello Neek."

Gus deposited Nick at The Pizza Shop.  It was New York style pizza.  Oh, that's just what the doctor ordered, Nick thought.  He ordered a slice of sausage and a slice with everything on it.  He chatted with the gentleman there who was from New York.  He looked like a surfer dude and did briefly mention how good the surfing is.  The surfer dude was the owner and his name was Joe.

Nick asked why he moved to Costa Rica and opened a pizza place.  Joe said he didn't open it but did buy out the previous owner.  It was going downhill when he and his friend purchased it.  They worked hard to build it back up.  The two of them sat at a table there on the sidewalk and watched people pass as they talked.  Occasionally, someone would walk up and look at the pizzas that were ready for purchase.  Joe and Kevin, Joe’s friend, visited once to do some surfing for vacation.  They liked it so much they were planning to return before they even left Costa Rica.

As Nick was finishing his second slice, Joe asked how long he was going to stay in Jaco.  Nick said 5 more days.  Joe took a step away and said, "Hang on a sec."  He came back with a newspaper and handed it to Nick.  Nick took it from Joe and opened it.  He was happy to see it was in English.  "Tico Times?" Nick asked. 

"Yeah Costa Ricans call themselves Ticos.  There are so many Americans here they have their own paper.  Anyway, I thought you might appreciate how things are around here.  Plus there are some touristy deals in the want ads."  Nick thanked him for his hospitality and started walking up the street to no where in particular.  He remembered he needed to get a ride back to the hotel so he crossed the street and waited for a taxi to drive by and hailed it.  The cab stopped and he told the driver the name of the hotel and got in. 

Nick wasn't in a talking mood during the drive back to the hotel.  He kept thinking of the driftwood.  Driftwood is taken from where it was and is tossed about and then thrown upon land.  It is in unfamiliar territory.  While he wasn't a person that had to control everything in his life, his life did have order to it and he had been comfortable.  Not any more.  Also, driftwood shows the scars of the trials it has endured.  Nick didn't think he showed any scars but his heart felt the wounds of the loss of his wife. 

After he showered, Nick looked in the mirror at his back to see what the sore spot was.  As he suspected, he missed a spot with the sun screen and he had a red 2 inch by 3 inch swath on his right shoulder blade.  There were also other much smaller marks where he didn't properly cover his back with sun screen.  He grumbled to himself, "Isn't this just great?"