Every night, we take Daisy for a walk next to the beach.  (Dogs aren’t allowed on the sand, so we walk on the sidewalk next to it.)  Actually, we do this at least three times a day, and each time it’s a different experience.  In the morning, around 7 am, the sun is rising and most of the people we see are walking or running for the exercise.  (We are constantly amazed that people do this in the oppressive heat, but the sidewalks are crowded with them in the morning.)  There are also a few people sitting by themselves on the beach, mostly meditating or at least staring out at the ocean.  In the afternoon, we see the sunbathers and swimmers.   In the evening, around 9 pm, it’s cooler and noisier.  Then we see the revelers, as Fort Lauderdale Beach at Las Olas Boulevard is pretty much a bar/restaurant scene for many blocks.  The noise is mostly from the competing bands in each bar.   Throughout the day, we also see a few homeless men.  They are always pleasant and especially anxious to pet Daisy. 

A few nights ago, we were walking along the sidewalk by the beach with Daisy and came upon two men.  One had no legs and was in a wheelchair.  His friend was sitting beside him on the low beach wall.  As always, these guys are attracted to Daisy.  The man in the wheelchair asked Daisy to “sit” and she did.  Then he asked her to “shake hands” and she did.  (The pictures above are not from this encounter as I did not have my camera at the time, and probably wouldn’t have asked if I could take a picture if I had it.)  The two men laughed and thought this was cute, so we had Daisy do a few more tricks, such as her “dance.”  The man sitting on the beach wall turned to us and said, “This just gives me chills to see the three of you so happy.”  We don’t know this man’s story, but we do know that our life is probably quite a bit happier than his.  It’s easy to get annoyed with various events, but situations like this put things back into perspective.  We are truly blessed to be living our dream.  These men knew nothing about the beautiful boat we are living on and the experiences we are looking forward to, yet they saw two people and a dog who in that moment were happy.  We named the boat Seas the Day with that very thought in mind - seizing each day, hour, and minute and enjoying it. 

It’s easy to walk by the homeless and not give them much thought.  Previous experiences have usually been seeing them out of a car window at intersections in Minnesota or Ohio, bundled up and holding signs asking for money.   These men are different.  They asked for nothing from us other than the opportunity to play with and touch a friendly dog.