Bubbly Lobsters

Hello everybody!

This past week was very exciting for me. I got the opportunity to work the Hull Illumination Festival. I always love working the Better Beaches event each year because I get to connect with so many people from so many different communities. At this particular event, there were a lot of Coast Guard and military families. As they chatted over sodas and ice cream, I blew bubbles and fish printed with their kids. I love watching families that are as loving as the ones at this festival. In that moment nobody waned to be anywhere else. As a matter of fact neither did I.

Playing "pop the bubble"

The little boy in this picture is named Michael. Michael's dad works in the Coast Guard and doesn't get home as often as most of our fathers do. However, Michael looks at his father like he's superman and could do anything. I used to look at my grandfather that way especially after I found out that he fought in the Korean war. Our military are our superheroes. By definition, superhero means "A type of heroic stock character, usually possessing supernatural or superhuman powers, who is dedicated to fighting the evil of his/her universe, and protecting the public".  Not all superheroes wear capes and have supernatural powers. Some are just ordinary people who go out of their way to do extraordinary things.

some more kids captivated by the bubbles

The rest of the week, I worked for All Access going out to Spectacle Island each day. I was so happy to be at Spectacle this week because it was about 80000 degrees outside. Spectacle means swimming and in the hot, humid weather the water feels amazing. If you know David Coffin, he makes sure everyone gets into the water whether they brought a swimsuit or not. Up in the fields, Damani and I played football with Blackstone Academy. I got to see my bestfriend Louis who is 5 years old and loves giving big hugs. My favorite part about All Access is that each year the kids will come back and some will point at you saying "hey I remember you". It puts a smile on my face every time because who doesn't like being remembered?

On Friday, I worked over at Atlantic W(h)arf (if you worked on the mural you know why the "h" is in parentheses). The Ollie came to spend the day fishing, fish printing, and drawing with us. Just as we were handling out boloco burritos and gulping down ice cold waters, Brianna pulled up something BIG in the crab trap. A couple of the SBNH counselors ran over curious as to what was inside. through the crowd we watched as Brianna held up the giant lobster like a trophy. never in my life had I even dreamed of seeing a lobster this big. Sadly we had to toss it back into the ocean because it was too big to keep.

Brianna with her prize lobster

Until the next big catch,
Patrice Haney