I am sitting on a wooden stool, on a pier, overlooking the Cooper River, in downtown Charleston. The weather is a whooping 75 degrees with a breeze light enough for short sleeves but cool enough to not be dripping in sweat.
I can feel the rays soaking into my skin. I smell stinky fish. But stinky fish never smelt so good. The sounds of families conversing reminds me of my own and brings me back home. There is a man admiring the Cooper River Bridge with his daughter reminding me of my dad and my first visit to The College. Another man, possibly homeless, playing guitar and singing. He feels alive and free.
The glistening of the water shining in the corner as of my eye, is mesmerizing and calming. Every few minutes a boat will pass by and give me a moment to take a break from my paper and admire the happiness and freedom in such a small moment in time.
There are people everywhere. Couples, families, friends, tourists, men looking for wives, and one women with her 4-year-old son.
He is so cute, he's looking for dolphins and so far, has seen two. They've been here looking into the horizon since before I got here, so I imagine they've been here a while.
The little boy is eating chocolate ice cream out of a cone, but I can't see much of it going into his mouth, mostly on his face, hands, and shirt.
His mom is young, enjoying looking for dolphins just as much as the boy is. Still content, the mother says "Rider, 10 more minutes and then we have to go to the airport".
As a dolphin emerges out of the murky green water then slowly vanishes back under, the mom and boy run to guess where it would pop its fin up next. The second that fin pops up all the children run to the best viewing location and all gather around waiting not-so-patiently for the next fin.
A little girl comes strolling on her pink scooter down the wooden platform straight for the young boy. She's come ready to hunt for dolphins.
On my other side there are two girls- maybe late 20s- they look "so Charleston" in cute little brunch outfits. They asked some lady to take their picture in regular picture mode and in portrait mode because they are "those people" they said.
Anyway, back to the little boy and girl. They have become mini marine biologist running up and down the pier, surely not distracting me, rather helping me write this thing.
They are disturbed my the little boys mom, "okay Rider, time to go to the airport!"
They say an innocent, naïve goodbye, and the boy gets in his stroller as his mother pushes him back up the wooden platform. The little girl followed behind until she realised the boy could no longer see her and then scooted back down the wooden platform sad that her new friend had left.
Now a new family is here. A mom, a dad, and a little girl. The little girl saw that shiney grey fin emerge "a shark! Or a dolphin! I don't know".
It's crazy that something as simple as sunshine, water, or a dolphin can make everyone happy. Something so simple.
If this happiness is brought to all who skip class, I'm skipping every day.
