Long Beach

Behind the Painting

Wake up early and take a train from Brooklyn. You’ll be at the ocean in just over an hour. Get off at the Long Beach stop and walk a few short blocks toward the water.

Take off your shoes to cross the boardwalk. Feel your feet on the warm sand. Push a surf board out against the waves. Wait for the wave. Paddle paddle paddle. Fall down a few times without ever standing up.

After you’ve been humbled by surfing, you can lay on the beach on a perfect summer day. Fall asleep to the sound of crashing waves. stirred only by the occasional seagull cry or piercing lifeguard whistle.

A boy runs to the water pulling his dad by one hand, carrying a fire truck in the other. A girl sits just past the waves, drawing in the sand with driftwood. Cargo ships and the occasional sailboat fade to blue in the distance.

The water is cool, but it’s not cold. Everyone is swimming out into the surf, diving under the breakers, bobbing with the waves, letting the water push them up and back to the shore.