Well, well, well...
You'll never guess what I found this morning during a beach clean-up service project. Yes, I did pick up some lovely seashell specimens including a perfectly intact scallop shell (!) and a peachy-colored sea snail shell which is just too cute. But the real prize of the day was a large mussel, sealed tight, lying on the sandy shore with three baby mussels clinging to its "beard". For all those who don't know, mussels are delicious with red sauce - not that I'm going to eat this one. He wandered too far from the sea and I'm wary of pollution in these waters... but that doesn't mean it won't make a fun science exploration!
Okay, okay. I owe you an explanation, right? I was out doing a service project with friends from a local chapter of the Catholic Newman club. We were joining a wider effort at reducing waste on the beaches by picking up trash and recyclables and sorting them accordingly. However, my eye picked out the most beautiful seashells just as easily as it found the stray pieces of colored plastic and weathered styrofoam. It was inevitable - I mean, just how often to I get down to the ocean? Make no mistake, I did my part in cleaning up the beach, and I enjoyed every second of it.
After our hard work, we Newmanites were rewarded with CLIF bars, reusable tote bags, and an envelope stuffed with coupons to local businesses. Not bad for a morning's work, eh? So we headed to Finbar's, a local Italian restaurant that took its name from a parish in Brooklyn populated thickly with Italians. That begs the question, who is St. Finbar???
I run a quick search on Catholic Online, only to find out that, as suspected, Finbar is an Irish saint, who hails from Connaught and was educated at Kilkenny in a monastery where he earned his name, meaning "light-haired". St. Finbar is the patron of Cork since he founded the monastery that grew into that city, after being ordained bishop. The only Italian connection of his that I can see is in relation to his two legendary visits to Rome. There you have it, the mystery of Finbar's solved. But I digress...
The establishment of Finbar's was homey and classy all at the same time. The food was delicious and the service down-to-earth: I met the manager personally and shook his hand, since we were the first customers of the day. Will I be back? Maybe when I have a little more jingle in my pockets - that's not to say the menu is overpriced, however. It is perfectly reasonable for the quality of food served.
Well, my day wasn't over yet. Next, I visited the cemetery with my mother and little brother. We went to tend the gravestone of my paternal grandmother, bringing fresh-cut homegrown pink and yellow roses. It had been a long time since I had visited that particular cemetery on a Saturday, and the green expanse was accented by colorful flowers and various family members paying their respects. To use an odd expression, it was like seeing the cemetery come to life, as people shared their memories of the deceased and laid flowers over their graves. Kneeling beside my grandmother's headstone and praying for her soul, I felt all the memories come rushing back. I was only six when she died, but I do have fond memories of her that I can pass on to my little brother, who never knew any of his grandparents. It was windy in the cemetery though the sun was shining, and we all shivered a bit in the cold, sending us scrambling for jackets and scarves.
After that excursion, I had a productive group meeting for a school assignment at a coffeeshop, then finally returned home to inhale some of my delicious seafood soup from yesterday + a little Panda Express chicken, courtesy of my benefactor. I practiced a few sweet, meditative songs on the piano and retired upstairs to be tackled with a sudden urge to do a little wedding research. All in all, a very full day. But I think I'll sleep better tonight, don't you? After all, life is too short to die.
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