Mount Pleasant Magazine July/August 2018

37 www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.ILoveMountPleasant.com | www.BestOfMP.com feature that we accept and celebrate our differences, rather than trying to compete. A recent experience of my own, actually, made me feel that way. It all started when my youngest daughter, Pauline, wanted to do something special for her birthday. I tend to stay busy fishing for the family, so I decided I would spend the whole day with her. But when I asked Pauline what she wanted to do to celebrate (I’d been thinking maybe a flight around the various Charleston waterways) she replied that after watching so many humans travel Shem Creek on those long boat things I mentioned, she wanted to try it, too. I was flabbergasted. “But we can just float along without any kind of boat!” I told her, as if she didn’t know. “Why would you want to use what humans use?!” “I don’t know,” she said. “It looks fun, and I want to feel what they feel.” Hmm. So the day of her birthday, after she blew out a candle stuck in fish guts and made a wish, we headed to Coastal Expeditions to rent two of what we learned are called paddleboards. Pauline was flapping with excitement the whole time, and I was just amused at the clerk’s face. I suppose he’d never leased a board to a bird before! Once we had our boards, we were off. I saw a bunch of humans getting onto their boards a little ways down the creek, so Pauline and I followed. As far as I was concerned, the whole thing was already a hassle. After all, without the boards, we’d just plop our feathered rear ends into the water. But we finally made it out there. I was shocked at how little room we had – everywhere I looked, I was surrounded by teenage girls in two-piece swimsuits, hipsters in sporty tank suits and tourists in pineapple print shorts. “Scuse me,” I bellowed, but they didn’t speak pelican, of course, so they kept crowding me out. I caught a glimpse of Pauline, expecting her to be just as ruffled, but, to my amazement, she was smiling. “This is fun!” she declared. “Aren’t you having fun, Daddy?” I furrowed my feathered brow. “Fun? I can hardly move. The creek is small, and it’s so thick with paddleboards that it’s pointless. We’re more on a sea of fiberglass than water!” “Oh, Dad,” Pauline sighed. “The point isn’t to move; we do that on our own. The point is to see how humans live! Look how happy they all are. It makes me happy to see them!” She gestured with her wing. I looked. She was right. Everyone was laughing, sipping from soda cans, shouting to their neighbors and talking about the beautiful day. I DON’T TRUST YOUR EYE CARE TO ANYONE BUT THE BEST! Readers of local magazines and newspapers have voted The Vision Center at Seaside Farms the BEST year after year. 843.388.6200 www.seasidevision.com 1956 Long Grove Dr., Ste. 1, Mt. Pleasant, SC • Eye Exams • Contact Lenses • Eyeglasses • Injuries • Sunglasses • Disease management Brad Bodkin, OD, MS, FAAO Ellesse Boiwka, OD Becoming everyone's favorite Happy Place for a reason... We can't wait to pamper you. Mention this ad and receive 10% off your first visit*. 708 S Shelmore Blvd Suite 103 Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 843.697.5552 aestheticloungechs.com (*not valid with any other offers)