This morning I dragged myself out of bed at 4:30 am and drove down to beach and watched the sunrise over the ocean. I tried not to watch it. I tried to feel it. It does not matter what I did, or how I felt, yesterday. Everyday day is a new beginning. Wipe the slate clean. Pretend you have just been born. Anything is possible. This works until my bursitis kicks in. 
I stopped off for breakfast at a local dinner and meet one of my beach buddies, Rufus. Him and some of his friends go down to the beach at night when there is a full moon and dance around, banging drums, and howling. His hair is “perfect”.
Rufus has one thought about life, he is happy to be be alive. No politics, no religion, just the pure joy of being alive. He is the happiest person I know. I need to work at becoming more like him.
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April 20, 2008 at 2:22 pm
brandy
Love this post Ed!
You’re my kind of people. 
I was awake at 5am….but I would have traded places with you in a hearbeat….I was battling my almost 4 year who would not sleep in his own bed.
Ahhhh, tantrums in the morning. 
Your friend Rufus sounds fun!
April 20, 2008 at 7:56 pm
mandythompson
the year before we moved to New England, we lived on a small island off the coast of Georgia. i spent 3 mornings each week walking and running that beach…. watching the sunrise and dolphins rise above the water.
NUTHIN like it…………
April 20, 2008 at 8:10 pm
tam
I SO miss the beach! Next time you’re there, write my name in the sand will ya???
Ed, you’re MY kind of people!
You are a blessing to me and many!
Glad you enjoyed your weekend friend
April 20, 2008 at 10:48 pm
edfromct
Brandy, the two largest bodies of water I could find in North Dakota are Devil’s lake and Lake Sakakawea (which is man made). So you could go camping and watch the sun rise over the water. Although I might be careful around Devil’s Lake.
I found another fun fact in the Wikipedia entry on Minot.
“During Prohibition the city was nicknamed “Little Chicago”, as it was a central hub of Al Capone’s liquor smuggling operations. Smugglers used a network of underground tunnels (some of which were previously built for heating or deliveries) to transport and conceal the illicit cargo. Some of the tunnels can still be accessed.”
You might want to keep your kids out of the tunnels because who knows what may be down there.
April 20, 2008 at 11:00 pm
lovewillbringustogether
You hang out with ‘were-wolves’ Ed??
4 30 am??? UGH! – i am definielty more of a Sunset guy than a Sunrise one – as beautiful and perhaps ‘isolated’ as they are.
But each of us have our own unique qualities that make us who we are and what we can ‘offer’… and what we are meant to overcome.
I don’t believe there has ever been a better example of who a human is to be more like than Jesus Christ.
I let myself down on this almost every moment of the day, however.
Still, i am quite clear on the ‘goal’, if not the method.
Enjoy those sunrises and the warming weather in your part of the world. :18
<B
April 20, 2008 at 11:02 pm
edfromct
Tam, many of the park benches at the beach have plaques with people’s names on them, they of course pay for that privilege. The next time I go down there at dawn I’ll stencil your name on one and call it Tam’s bench.
April 20, 2008 at 11:03 pm
lovewillbringustogether
oops – :18 should be :18) – my mistook!
<B
April 20, 2008 at 11:04 pm
lovewillbringustogether
oh Gee – make that
!
<B
April 20, 2008 at 11:05 pm
lovewillbringustogether
third time’s a charm!
<B
April 20, 2008 at 11:13 pm
edfromct
Mandy, we have some small Islands off the coast of Connecticut, called the Thumble Islands. I have spent the night on one in summer. I think living on a island during summer would be great. In the winter, not so much. A rich widow has spent over 35 million dollars buying the bigger Islands so they are a tad above my budget.
I have heard of Jekyll Islands as a great vacation stop.
April 20, 2008 at 11:20 pm
edfromct
Love, should I be using <B as your handle now
If I keep calling another male blogger Love some people might get the wrong idea.
I think my wildman friend Rufus would fit right in “down under”.
Actually Rufus does look at little like Jesus. Maybe I should check and see if he can walk on water.
April 21, 2008 at 3:31 am
lovewillbringustogether
i’m comfortable with ‘love’ but you are welcome to use whatever acronym does not cause discomfort!
The symbol for a heart (not a bum – geez louise) reminds me to ‘B’ less than B (Bob).
If he likes sunshine and the beach he’d find a home here for sure!
I bet there is more than a little of Jesus in Rufus – walking on water got a guy in trouble a while back (well , that and a bunch of other ‘doctrine’ stuff) so maybe he is just satisfied walking on a beach now?
<B
April 21, 2008 at 11:21 am
tam
Stencil me in friend! I would be honored!
April 21, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Darla
I love the pic! This kind of scene is my favorite, and have spent endless hours watching things like this, over many years, and it always gives me peace..thanks for sharing your thoughts!
April 21, 2008 at 6:03 pm
brandy
Tam are we going to have a brawl over whose kind of people Ed really is?? Huh? Are we??
heehee
Ed, that is some VERY interesting stuff about Minot you found out! I love all this stuff you come up with! Seriously, you amaze me every time friend!
I would LOVE to see those tunnels though. SEE them, not go in them, just see them.
Sakakawea is the name of the Lodging here on base for visitors too. haha! I wondered where they came up with that.
Devils Lake does look pretty nice and I’ve read about it online before we came here. We are definately going to be going there for some camping this summer. 
April 21, 2008 at 7:48 pm
edfromct
Thanks for dropping by Darla. Peace is a very good word to describe the way I feel in watching the sun rise and fall over the ocean. The sound of the waves rolling in over the beach front can put me into a peaceful sleep faster than anything.
April 21, 2008 at 7:57 pm
edfromct
Brandy let me know if you find any of those tunnels. That would be a great place for some ghost stories. Maybe you could tell your kids if they don’t behave the boggy man in the tunnels will come for them.
I wonder how Devil’s Lake got it’s name? I also read where Minot is called the “Magic City”.
Ghostly tunnels, Devils Lake, “the Magic City”, do I sense a theme here?
Maybe you had better stock up on your holy water.
April 23, 2008 at 2:21 pm
alece
this was such a great post… that sunset was gorgeous. i like how you said you tried to feel it rather than see it. mmmm… so good.