KEVIN AT THE BEACH

a story by

Gary Cox

Copyright 1989 by Gary Duane Cox.

Contact the author at garyduanecox@mindspring.com

Go back to main page of Gary Cox's Cyber Spot.


My name is Kevin. I am four.

I'm going to the beach with my cousins Barbara, David and Steven.

Daddy says I was at the beach when I was little, but I don't remember it. Does a beach have swings and sliding boards?


There is lots of water at the beach, even more than in the bathtub.

The beach has sand too. Just like my sandbox, only even more.

The water is all on one side and the sand is all on the other side. The water jumps up and splashes the sand.

The water splashed my feet, and it was fun. Then it splashed my eyes, and it hurt. I cried.

I don't like the beach.


Cousin Barbara is big. She is taller than Aunt Carol. She sits under the umbrella and reads books without any pictures.

Cousin David is almost as big. He has a boggle board and rides in the waves.

Even Cousin Steven is bigger than me, but he likes to dig holes in the sand and pour water in them, like I do.


When you walk on the beach you make a footprint. A footprint has five toes, just like a foot. Footprints come in all sizes, just like feet.

There are lots of footprints on the beach. Some of them are big with no toes, from people who had shoes on.

If you make footprints near the splashing water, they are deeper and have water in them. But then a big wave comes up and washes them away. And the water splashes your face and it hurts.


Barbara and David and Steven made a big castle out of sand. I stomped on one of the towers and Steven got mad. Mommy made me sit under the umbrella with her.

I made some soup in my pail. It was chicken nugget soup, with pizza and gummy bears. Barbara tried some and she said it tasted very good.

She got sand on her face. It looked like Uncle Lenny's moustache. David and Steven laughed, and I laughed too.


Today it rained. The beach is nicer when it rains. There aren't so many people, and it isn't so hot. The sand doesn't burn your feet.

Barbara and David and Steven stayed inside and played a game that they read out of a book.

I went down to the beach with Mommy. We stood in the waves and got splashed. It was fun. Once the water almost splashed up in my face, but Mommy picked me up by the arms and dangled my feet in the splashing water. It tickled.

I like the beach.

Today David and Steven helped me dig a big hole in the sand by the water. We made a mountain between the water and our hole.

Once the water splashed around our mountain into our hole. The water stayed right there. It was like a bathtub.

David and Steven got some water in their pails and poured it in our bathtub.

I went to the water and filled my pail too. A big splash came and chased me. I was scared and I ran away. The water splashed me and got in my eyes. It hurt and I cried.

Then Steven fell in the water and it splashed him. Barbara and David laughed, and so did Steven.

Then I laughed too.


Today we found a fish on the beach. David said it was a sand shark. Barbara said it came too close to the beach and got stuck in the shallow water. Then it died.

Steven Picked it up by its tail and swung it around his head. It splashed Barbara and Steven and me. We got very mad at Steven. Barbara chased him down the beach. Then we all splashed in the water to wash off.

Then we saw a crab on the beach. It was walking backwards. Steven asked how it could tell where it was going. Barbara andDavid laughed. David picked the crab up. It waved its big claw in the air. I waved back and said "Hello." Everybody laughed. Steven said I made a good joke.

I like the beach!


Daddy bought a big tire and David blew it up, like a balloon. David and Steven jumped in it and rode in the waves. They bounced up and down and laughed. It looked like fun.

I got into the tire with David and we rode on the waves. We bounced up and down and I laughed. The waves looked like mountains. The cold water hit my bottom with a slap. Once the water splashed my face and got in my eyes. It hurt and I wanted to cry. But I didn't. I laughed, just like David. It only hurt a little bit, and it was fun too. Then we bounced on the waves some more. It was fun.

I like the beach!


Tonight we ate fish in a big restaurant. I ate shrimp, but I didn't eat the tails. I pulled them off just like Mommy said.

Steven ate shrimp too. David ate a crab without any shell. It didn't look like the crab we saw on the beach. Barbara said it was yucky. Barbara ate french fries. She doesn't like to eat things that used to be alive.

Mommy and Uncle Lenny ate fish that were lying right there on the plate, with fins and everything. Mommy's fish had a big eye that looked right up at her. Barbara said it was very yucky. Aunt Carol ate clams. They didn't look like clams to me. Daddy ate a big red lobster with claws and a tail and everything. Barbara said it was very, very yucky!

I went into the waves with David. He held me and walked very far out. The waves splashed my legs and my bottom and my tummy and even my face, but I didn't cry. I laughed. It was fun.

Then Daddy held me in the waves like a swimmer. I kicked my legs and splashed my arms, just like the big swimmers. Two big swimmers went past. They had rubber hats on. They looked like they were bald. Daddy waved at them and they waved back. I waved too, and they waved back at me and smiled. I swam very far--with Daddy holding on.

I like the beach!


Every day people walk past us on the beach. I don't know where they are going. Today we took a walk along the beach. We saw lots of other people, just like us. They were building sand castles, reading books under umbrellas, splashing in the waves, and lying in the sun. Barbara said they don't live here all the time. They're on vacation, just like us. If everybody is on vacation, our street back home must be very empty.

There are big high chairs on the beach where big boys, and sometimes girls, sit under umbrellas with sunglasses on. The chairs are even higher than my high chair back in our kitchen, the one I used to sit in to eat. I don't know why they need high chairs. They are very big--even bigger than David and Barbara. They are as big as Daddy and Uncle Lenny, except not so fat. David says they are life guards and they help people who get in trouble in the water.


Today we had to go home. Everybody got up early and nobody went down to the beach. Everybody packed. Uncle Lenny and Daddy carried things down to the cars. Mommy and Aunt Carol made sure everybody cleaned up the beach house. Nobody said much. Everybody was sad.

When everything was cleaned and packed we all went down to the beach to see it for the last time. The waves were still splashing, just like before. But we weren't playing in them, like before. We were leaving. I was sad. I wanted to cry. But I didn't cry. I'll see the beach again. Barbara says the beach is here all the time, even when we're at home. I'll see my cousins again. We'll all come back next year.

Goodbye beach! Goodbye Steven and David and Barbara and Aunt Carol and Uncle Lenny. See you next year.

I like the beach!


THE END