A Croc of cash

"It's not Antigua, but it'll do."

Went to Will Rogers Beach over the weekend with Ms. Muse. A welcome relief from the earlier stress of the day, which I might address at a later date. If I can ever find my half-used vial of Atavan. 

Though we didn't have our own little cabana, two reclining chaise lounges and Anishia running lime-laden rum punches out to us on the hour (almost every hour), it was quite pleasant. 

As we set up shop on a small sandy berm, a young couple sat in front of us. I make no bones about this, but I'm an inveterate people watcher. I suspect others do the same. Which explains my reluctance to take off my shirt.

Perhaps it's a remnant of my early karate days where we were taught the importance of "environmental awareness", but I like to scope out my surroundings. Take inventory of my Pacific edge neighbors. And even occasionally fantasize about their back stories. 

"That dude works construction. By the way he keeps reaching for his lower back, I suspect he pulled a muscle while he and Raul were hauling an 8X8 beam to secure a load bearing wall."

"She's a respiratory nurse at St. Monica's Hospital. Probably getting some R&R before she goes to work the night shift. Gauging from her tattoos, I'm thinking she was headed down the wrong road in her youth but then got her life together."

and the young couple in front of us...

"Tourists. From Japan. Here on holiday. Hoping to see celebrities. And not only see them but get photos, lots of photos, with them."

I say this because they never spoke a word of English to each other. I know this bothers some Americans -- the ones who wear Red Hats -- but I rather enjoy it. Gives Santa Monica a more cosmopolitan flair.

I mention the photos, because the entire time they were "relaxing" on the beach they were snapping pictures of each other. With cutesy hand gestures, over the top smiles, and carefully curated beach poses that looked like they were intended for influence marketing. 

Maybe they run their own blog, ラウンドセブンティーン

I took special note of the guy's footwear. 

He was sporting a pair of white plastic crocs, as seen in the photo above. I would hardly be considered fashion forward. Though I recently completed an assignment for a hip apparel company (sorry, NDA precludes any naming) and I'm always a decade behind the times, but these Crocs actually looked good on him.

Apparently they also look good on other people. In fact, as part of my research, I discovered they are currently the top seller on amazon.com ("Let your fingers do the shopping").

Who knows. And I'm just spitballing here. They might even look good on you: https://amzn.to/44LAIdi