Mermaid Volleyball
A California Surfer’s Mystery
I grew up summers on a Maine coast white sand beach with a full set of parents, a full set of grandparents, and a single grandmother who knew everything about the beach. They were my beach elders. As kids, we mowed lawns and collected bottles for ice cream money. We hunted for pirate treasure, and among us guys, not often, but we talked about sighting whales, sharks, and mermaids. We saw lots of sharks, but we never saw a whale at our beach, and none of us ever saw a mermaid.
Many years later, a mermaid guy from California stopped by. He was a year younger than I was. He had sculpted 50 jewelry mermaids; they were all beautiful. I asked, “Why?” He said he’d always been looking for one, especially during his surfing years in California. I said, “So did you see one?” He said, “Never.” I said, “So why mermaids?” He said, “The form is so pure, so sleek, so beautiful. Mermaids are elegant. There isn’t a woman alive that hasn’t dreamt of being a mermaid. Plus,” he said, “I’m really good at sculpting mermaids.”
My next question was, of the 50 mermaids – which one? He said, “Without question, the mermaid with the volleyball.” I asked why. He said, “ It’s action, it’s alive, shows the form better than any of them, and a pool filled with two teams of mermaids and a net is not totally improbable. One look,” he said, “and you can see, hear, and feel the action.” I said, “So this one is your most popular?” He said, “Absolutely. I make hundreds a year. Women love them because the mermaid possesses some level of magic that is transferred to the wearer.” I said, “Make me six.”
A long time went by. They didn’t come. I thought, “He’s just old enough, maybe something happened. He’s my age, anything is possible.” Then three months later, they arrived with a note, “Sorry it took so long, I’ve recovered!”
