The Brunswick is magic in lots of ways. Some slip right under your nose.
It’s Thursday night and the energy of anticipation has gripped Old Orchard Beach, Maine. The weather, always iffy here, appears to be primed to deliver an extraordinary weekend for our Independence Day celebration.
The new NorthEnd Bar on the Brunswick’s patio is open, though the paint is still a bit tacky. But the band, Hocus Pocus, is rocking blues and covers shouted out by a crowd that appreciates the band’s versatility (especially the occasional slow one … “At Last My Love Has Come Along”).
Magic's in the Air
Suddenly, a young mother and her newly adopted daughter capture the floor and the hearts of the assembled merrymakers. Mom has done this a thousand times and she moves with fluid grace. Her young charge has never encountered a live band nor the attention of a hundred well-wishers each wrapped in the moment of her experience.
She rocks. And then she rolls. Eyes exploding with delight, she brings to the moment a spirit that has enveloped The Brunswick and Old Orchard Beach.
We’re not too slick nor too raucous to appreciate the small brilliant instants that define life in Maine.
And so, over this special weekend, if I spot her, or her mom, at Radley’s (our locally owned food emporium of choice), I’ll smile and say,
“You’re ‘The Way Life Should Be,’ darlin’. You are the magic.”
