Great Shape! Inc. likes to encourage story telling. Our volunteers rely on stories to spread the word about our projects and to encourage literacy in Jamaica.
13 year old Hana is today’s featured blogger.
A Crabby Day by the Sea… a true story:
The waves pounded the shores and sun shone bright in the sky that Summer afternoon. Hana, in her tie-dyed tankini waded knee deep into the surf. She brushed the hair out of her face and picked up her boogie board. “Here goes nothing!” She said cheerfully.
Hana ran out into the sea, dodging waves and kelp. She lay on her board and paddled out as far as she could touch. “Perfect.” She observed, spotting a wave coming toward her. She turned and braced herself for the incoming seawater.
Suddenly, “WHOOOOOSH!!!” The wave propelled her forward, racing her toward the shore as fast as a skateboard. Hana shut her eyes as salt water sprayed in her face. She smiled. When all of a sudden, the giant wave she had been riding a moment before overcame her and collapsed on top of her. Pushing her downward toward the ocean floor.
Hana couldn’t see or hear anything, but she knew she needed to get to the surface fast. When the wave passed by, she kicked of the sandy bottom and pushed downwards, shooting herself toward the world above. When her head broke through the water, she coughed and spluttered, gasping for air. She didn’t realize until then how much seawater she had actually swallowed. Suddenly, Hana felt something small and hard in her mouth. A surprised look on her face, she spit out the foreign object.
Hana squealed in disbelief to find a small crab fall out of her mouth and back into it’s home turf of the sea. Disgusted, Hana sprang back onto her board and paddled as fast as she could toward the shore.
When she pulled herself out of the water, she ran up the sandy hill, panting, looking for her beach blanket. Soon, she found it and quickly found a bottle of water. When Hana told her mother the story of what had happened, she had expected her to be as surprised as she had been. She expected her to feel sorry for her. But instead, her mother laughed. Hana scowled, “It’s NOT funny!” She insisted. But her mother kept laughing. “I am NOT going back in the water today!” She informed her family, and wrapped herself in a towel.
Now, whenever Hana goes back in the ocean, she avoids the bigger waves. For fear she will once again swallow a pinchy little crab.
The moral of this story is that you should always be careful when you are boogie boarding. Because it displeases the crab to be in your esophagus just as much as it displeases you.