Listening At Windows

 

Window to my world

Some of my recent time has been spent laying FLAT OUT on my couch a few feet away from the window, facing the sea, and coughing. This was annoying. But things seem to have changed for the better today, and I am ready to be in the sunshine rather than coughing at it.

You can learn quite a bit just by being near a window. Listening at windows was something our mother discouraged and would not tolerate. But I had such a terrific view today, and was such a captive audience, that I really cannot be blamed for what I heard. 

Some of what I heard was the usual chatter between mothers and fathers below me on the sand. It consisted of directing their children, scolding their children, scolding each other, and then scolding their pets.

"Don't climb those granite steps, Gerald! You'll break something!"

"No Jennifer you may not have any more snacks. You'll throw up!"

It was sort of like The Christmas Story when everybody told Ralphie "You'll shoot your eye out!"

 In between conversations I could focus in on the clothing the holiday-makers were wearing. This is extremely interesting, and I make note of it to my daughter back home. She is a good dresser, and appreciates hearing about the fashions her mother is witnessing in St Ives. Some of the fashions are really quite lovely. The ladies often wear long flowing sundresses that are very flattering and flowery. Over these dresses there are often long, camel colored soft jackets with brass buttons. Plus terrific looking sandals that also have brass buttons.

The men who walk beside these well-dressed happy ladies look pretty happy themselves.

It was warm out there, so just about everybody wanted to swim or to sizzle. The swim suits ('bathing costumes') came in a variety of sizes and types, today. Some of them consisted of enough material to be called decent. One, however (as somebody's sister would say), had barely enough to cover the subject. That one was admittedly shocking (I mean, this isn't the Riviera). But the man standing next to the woman in the shocking bathing costume looked, well, pretty doggone happy.

But there were other dramas of the day that I wished I'd not witnessed. As two men walked beneath my window, one of them said to the other, "I've been having affairs."

"You what?" the friend said, in genuine concern. And then they were gone. 

My oh my. No wonder my mother discouraged listening at windows. This is a wonderful holiday spot and I love it dearly; but there are some hard things around the edges.