Ocean view, walk to beaches

WHAT’S SO FUNNY

“The world is so full of a number of things

I’m sure we should all be as happy as -- but are we?”

-- Donald O’Connor,

“Singin’ in the Rain”

Every year or two we get a visit from our friends Joe and Marie

Martin and I realize I don’t deserve to live here.

Joe Martin, a nationally syndicated cartoonist (“Willy ‘n Ethel,”

“Mr. Boffo,” etc.), is a native of the Midwest. For more than 20

years, he and his wife, Marie, have hoped to own a home in Laguna

Beach. Well, “ON” the Laguna beach, actually.

Joe’s ancestors were New England whaling stock; the sea is in his

veins, or his heart or his soul, wherever. Inside him. He and Marie,

who shares his dream, have always longed to hear the tide lapping

below their window.

When Joe first visited Laguna in the late ‘70s, it was too

expensive for a fledgling cartoonist to buy on the ocean. So Joe

created another comic strip. And then another. But each time he added

to his output, waterfront Laguna got pricier. At last, two years ago,

he made the Guinness Book of Records as the most prolific cartoonist

in the world. Unfortunately, we had another run-up.

Joe and Marie now have a home in Cape Fear, N.C. It’s the

hurricane belt, but at least it’s beachy. They’ve given up on Laguna

except as a nice place to visit.

Joe is not alone in his oceanfront obsession, nor in his love for

the Laguna horizon. You can’t put a price on a view like ours. Except

of course you can, and it’s a whopper.

My home has what is called a “peek” ocean view. I can see the

water if I stand on the couch upstairs in my office. But the truth is

I don’t stand on my couch very often. I don’t even go to the beach

very much. And that’s why I feel guilty when I dine with Joe and

Marie.

When they’re not around, I know the beach is there, just down the

hill. I can see the sunset whenever I want. Which, I guess, is why I

rarely do. When I turn off Alta Laguna to drive down Park, I look

down at the ocean and think, beautiful. Then I’m done for the day.

When I first moved here I was as dazzled by the view as the

Martins are. Now I’m capable of getting just as cranky and

dissatisfied with life as a guy who lives inland. I walk the streets

preoccupied with world events or personal trivia, barely aware of my

surroundings.

Then Joe and Marie show up, and I see it all through their eyes.

It’s true: I don’t deserve to live here. But good luck getting me

out.