I am the Pied Piper of Children and Crabs

I love Marblehead, the people, the town, the history, well just everything. The simple truth is that while I may be an Okie, born and bred, I still fit in with at least a few of the people here.

A simple story to show what I mean

Judy and I both of a deep love for the ocean and we go to the beach every time that we have an opportunity. She always looks her glamorous self when we head off to the beach while I look like every kid with a plastic pail and shovel. Now I want to make it clear that I am a grown up so I leave the cheap Dollar Tree pail at home and bring my fancy stuff with me.

We both comb the beach and water for interesting rocks and shells but while she has every guy from the age of 13 to 93 watching her I end up with this rag tag group of kids following me. I never really thought much about it until Judy pointed it out to me today.

There is actually a simple reason for this entourage of kids and it comes down to the fact that when I am at the beach I turn into a big 10 year old boy. While Judy is looking for the delicate shells and slivers of sea glass I tend to become more interested in flipping over big rocks to see what I can find underneath. Many times there are 10-20 small crabs under the rocks and they all go scurrying off to find new shelter.

Having the inquisitive mind of a 10 year old but being able to flip large rocks means that I am a real popular guy for other small urchin that love the idea of getting a bit dirty catching critters that make you scream "ouch" when they pinch you.

I do love my life here and could never imagine living anywhere else.