JUNE9

June 9 — Rocks, Salt Water, and Terrace Talks

Note: review this draft.

We went to another beach today: Plaža Kaštelet.

We took an Uber from the tuk-tuk area near the fountain. Our driver, Shareen, arrived quickly, and we headed along the coastline. During the ride, I tried to ask her what the body of water around Split was called. I kept searching for the right way to explain what I meant: the cove, the bay, the big circle of water surrounding the city. Even after trying to translate it, I could not get the question across. Sam thought she was being rude. You know what? She probably was.

When we got to the beach, I realized there were two distinct coves divided by a rounded peninsula jutting into the water. The entire beach was rocks. Rocks and more rocks.

I tried making a joke to a couple of Croatians that, in a thousand years, all of this would become sand. They looked at me strangely at first, but eventually picked up on the fact that I was joking.

I wandered toward another rocky outcropping extending into the sea. Ahead of me, a group was making its way toward the tip. Two girls were nestled into the rocks as I passed them.

“Comfortable?” I asked.

They laughed.

I continued toward the end of the outcropping and caught up with the group. They had stopped near the edge and were debating whether it was safe to jump. We exchanged some information, and they asked where I was from.

“America,” I said.

They were trying to decide whether the water was deep enough. I looked down and said, “It looks deep enough. I’m going to jump in.”

They commented that this was a very American thing to do.

I jumped.

It was everything I had hoped it would be: extremely salty, refreshing, cool, and exactly what I needed. Two of the girls jumped in after me, followed eventually by a hesitant third guy. I asked one of the girls how to say “three” in German. Oh yeah, did I mention that they were German?

I counted to three in German. I have already forgotten how to say it.

Eventually, most of the group jumped in. We swam for a while and then started climbing back onto the rocks. I got up without much trouble and made my way toward the highest point of the outcropping.

One of the girls was trying to climb onto a particularly jagged, barnacle-encrusted section of rock. I reached down to help her. As I grabbed her hand and shifted my weight backward, I slipped. While repositioning my foot, I caught my big toe on one of the sharpest edges of the rock.

The rock sliced into the spot where the base of my toenail meets the center of my toe.

I stepped back and saw blood in the water.

Luckily, there were no sharks. Also luckily, we were standing on a rock, so even if there had been a shark, it would not have been able to climb onto land.

The girl saw the blood and started to panic.

“It’s okay,” I said.

“No, it’s bad,” she said.

“No, seriously. It’s okay.”

I grabbed her forearm again and helped pull her up. She made it safely onto the rock: no blood, no cuts, nothing.

We started retracing our steps toward the beach. She offered me a bandage, which I accepted. Despite the cut, the jump had been completely worth it.

The Mercedes Guys

Toward the end of the day, Sam started talking to two random guys on the beach.

One of them was jacked and intimidating, like he had fought in the UFC and could punch you once and instantly end your day. The other guy had a more slippery salesman energy.

We started talking, and the jacked guy mentioned Mercedes. The conversation turned to electric cars, different Mercedes models, and their travels. They were on holiday and seemed to be making their way up and down the Croatian coast. At the time, it was actually a good conversation.

Later, Sam told me that the Mercedes guy did not exactly work for Mercedes. He worked at a Mercedes dealership. Apparently, he had also been trying to flex his car, whipping out his key like, “Check this out.”

A little much.

The other guy was calmer and much easier to talk to. We talked about jumping into the water and how the salt might be good for your skin or help clean cuts. He had a very relaxed energy.

Afterward, Sam told me he was glad he had not made an offhand comment that could have landed badly before getting to know him. It was a good reminder that you never know much about the people you meet until you actually talk to them.

Terrace Talks

Later that night, Sam and I chilled on the terrace and shot the shit for a while.

We talked about life and everything he has going on right now. He is thinking about buying a house, and he opened up about his parents and some of the things he is trying to work through.

I could relate to a lot of it. I told him about how I treated my parents when I was his age, how they treated me, and some of the lessons I learned from figuring out those relationships over time.

I tried to encourage him to trust himself and work through the problems in his own way. That has worked out well for me, even when the process has been difficult.

There is a lot on his plate right now, but I am praying for him.

He is going to do great.