Jelly-Fished

In all the years I've been coming to the beach I have never had a jelly-fish sting. However, respecting the contorted countenances of my fellow swimmers on those occasions when they got stung, I do not wear a swimming suit. My standard swim wear consists of a t-shirt and a loosey-goosey pair of capri-pants. Every time some one near me lets out the tell-tale howl of a jelly-fish stung soul, I say to myself smuggly, "There but for the crazy swimwear, there go I."

Until yesterday. In the space between my ankle and my capri pants, a great big jelly fish wrapped its tentacles around both legs. It also snaked a tentacle up one pant leg. I was stung with stings on top of stings. Once the initial period of smarting and throbbing subsided and the swelling and welting set in, my lower legs were swelled and lumpy and red as though I had a combination of third degree burns and hornet bites. Quite awful to see...and to feel.

I got out of the water, at least temporarily afraid of jelly fish. Spent the rest of the morning builiding a big sand foot with clam shell toe nails and a lovely red coral ankle bracelet.

Today we have a tropical storm going on, lightning, thunder, and torrential rain, the ocean is pounded flat by the weight of water from the sky. I guess the jelly fish can have the whole beach to themselves. I hope they don't take this to indicate that having stung me, they scared everyone away. One wouldn't want to encourage them at all.