Secret Morning

 

Would you like to know a secret place to watch God painting?

The sun rises in the east over the Atlantic Ocean here in Myrtle Beach, bringing with it glorious mornings to fish for photos. For $1 each my husband and I got our wrists stamped (in the shape of a starfish) by a man wearing an orange Hawaiian shirt that opened up the shop at the Surfside Beach Pier; he wished me luck.  We walked out onto the wooden walkway at 6:02 am and I prepared my camera.  The lights on the pier were still on, and the sky lightened from dark to purple.  A mallard duck landed on the sand facing the shoreline, and seagulls, crows and pigeons flew over and occasional roosted on the handrails.  I wondered...do the pelicans sleep in? 

The sky changed to lavender, pink and coral. A lone fisherman pulling a cart of fishing gear approached; his name was Bud, and retired here from Maryland to enjoy the mild weather. We chatted a bit, and shared stories of the Bay of Fundy and Prince Edward Island after he learned I was from Maine.  “I go fishing every day,” he said, “Because I can.”

The sun started as a bright orange yellow sliver and expanded rapidly to a sphere; the only sound was the clicking of my lens.  A woman in a pink shirt appeared from the row of houses towards the shore, and two boys with surfboards headed into the waves.  The lights from Myrtle Beach twinkled from across the beach.  Morning had broken, and my catch of the day was the sun.