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Colin Higgins Italian Beach A fresh salt breeze, the crash of waves, hot white sand underfoot, sunbathers lying about lazily, these are things that remind us of the beach, but this was not what I discovered when I found myself on a beach in Capri. Instead, I was treated to rounded stones like chicken eggs in the place of sand. A breeze brought to my nose the smell of cooking pastry, the customary saline smell mysteriously absent. Not all was as foreign as the country though, waves still filled the water, yet they did not crash, they merely crept ashore. I was also greeted by the sight of sunbathers. These were not your typical American variety though, they were European… and hairy. Disheartened but determined to enjoy myself nonetheless, I boldly proceeded into the water with my friends. Much to my chagrin I has stepped on coral and had managed to score my feet as one would while melding two pieces of clay together… Christmas Surprise Christmas morning is a happy time for young children. I awoke on one such day; I was a ten year old boy, skinny and relatively pale due to months inside. As I looked around my room I became elated with a glance at my calendar; I had realized it was Christmas. I scrambled out of bed and into my brother’s room to wake him up, even though the sun hadn’t quite risen from its slumber yet. Nathan didn’t seem to mind as he rubbed his eyes and brushed brown hair out of his field of vision. With the two of us together, the rest of the house was awoken with surprising speed. As we all settled down in a circle as was our custom; we handed out the presents in a haphazard fashion. My mother decided that we should all open our gifts at once that particular morning, and on the count of three we descended upon the packages like hyenas to an antelope. After the paper had been ripped away, my excitement shifted to confusion, and then to anger with two successive blinks of my eyes. Granola bars, I had received granola bars as a Christmas present. I looked to my siblings and saw their similarly crestfallen expressions… Airport Fun Airports are busy places, with all the coming and going, the flashing lights and warning signs, the crazy moving sidewalks. They are also sometimes scary places, especially so to a twelve year old boy. That is where I come into this story. The place was Chicago O’Hare; the time was one o’clock in the afternoon. My flight from Burlington, Vermont had been delayed due to mechanical issues and I was an hour and a half late for my connecting flight. Did I mention I was traveling alone? As I glided along on the mysterious flat escalator, I was slightly unnerved, slightly intrigued by its constant motion. Making my way to the line behind the ticket counter, I felt confused, scared, angry, and a jumble of other emotions. A mother and her two children, both younger than me, noticed me standing behind her alone and asked me where my mommy was. I answered her unsteadily, slightly wary of strangers, but feeling that I could trust this person. She helped get me to the front of one of the lines and I was eternally grateful. The bored worker behind the counter asked me my destination. I responded and began to relate my tale of woe. He didn’t seem at all interested in my quandary and quickly typed on his keyboard. Seconds later a ticket was printing and he handed it to me. He gave me instructions on where to go and what to do. Once I arrived at gate B34, I stood in another line, waiting to get my boarding pass. A young, attractive red haired female was the ticket taker. After handing her my ticket, she informed me that my flight wasn’t for six days and that I wouldn’t be able to board the current flight…
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