A Short Story

Three shots of tequila and two long island iced teas were all it took to make Rocco Beckett push and pull his way upside and inside out to Ricky Martin’s international smash hit ‘Livin La Vida Loca’. Rocco did not hesitate to take the outdoor stage of Monty’s Raw Bar in Coconut Grove, Florida. The salty sea breeze of Biscayne Bay flowed over the Thursday afternoon happy hour patrons of the ocean side restaurant. Karaoke was not the usual entertainment at this tropical hotspot, but the alcohol gave Rocco the sudden urge to get up and perform for those in attendance. The late afternoon crowd of local young and trendy socialites did not pay much attention to his dancing and singing, although his group of friends found his drunkenness hilarious. 25 year old Rocco was an excellent salsa dancer, pulling a beautiful girl from the nearest table he showed off his moves to the remainder of the song. As the DJ continued to play a mix of latin and tropical music Rocco invited his new dance partner and her friends to join his group at their table.
“You are quite the dancer!” she said, still a little out of breath from the surprise and disbelief that she actually got up and danced in front of a crowd of stranger.“I taught him everything he knows!” exclaimed Rocco’s best friend Gio already flirting with two of the other girls who joined their group. “I lived in Cuba every summer since I was 10.” Rocco said as he took a seat next to the beautiful girl, “My mother moved back to her hometown of Varadero when she separated from my dad, and I spent a lot of time at a local salsa club innocently chasing the sexy salsa dancing women years out of my reach.” “My name is Daphne.” Said the beautiful, blue eyed girl as she flipped her light brown hair. “What was it like living there?” “It’s a pleasure to meet you Daphne” said Rocco with a cunning smile on his face “I lived in an ocean front home where I spent every morning collecting seashells and anything else that washed ashore overnight. Life was easygoing and tropical in contrast to the poverty and hard lives of most of the other residents. My mother’s father was a diplomat in the government and my dad owned a small airline charter company that flew around the Caribbean. That explains the nice house and me being allowed to visit Cuba.” “That sounds like a pretty adventurous lifestyle, traveling from country to country!” Said Daphne. “When is your next adventure?” “Tomorrow morning!” said Rocco leaning back in his chair and pointing to his friends at the table, “We are goin’ on a two week-long fishing and diving trip. Ever been to the Bahamas?” “Nope -- but I would love too.” Daphne said knowingly teasing Rocco. Little did he know that she had plans of her own the next morning. “We depart on Gio’s boat tomorrow morning for Bimini. From there we plan to sail to the Berry Islands, Andros, Cat Island, and the Exumas. How would you like to have dinner tomorrow night?” Daphne laughed at what Rocco was implying and said “Wont you be in Bimini?” “Bimini is only a 25 minute flight from here, you can hop on one of my flights in the afternoon and meet me at Bimini Bay Resort just in time for dinner.” Said Rocco in a very enthusiastic voice. “One of your flights? You have planes now?” Questioned Daphne. “My father’s planes, he handed over his the charter company to me just last year.” Said Rocco, not showing much emotion. “you don't seem very excited about that,” said Daphne “why did he hand over the company” “Because he is afraid of flying.” Said Rocco with an odd grin on his face as if he was amused by the irony. “Well that’s not much of a selling point Rocco. Anyways I am already on a 6:30AM flight to Nassau. You see, I was raised in Miami but I’m from South Africa and I’m only in Miami for a day because my boss has sent me to arrange his take-over of the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island. So I’m afraid my business is gonna carry me in a different direction than you guys.” “Well that’s too bad.” Said Rocco. “Maybe we will run into each other again some other day.”
The September sun set on the happy hour crowd as everyone sipped their last drinks and filed out of the bar. Daphne and her friends said goodbye to Rocco and his boisterous fishing buddies.

5 Guidelines to Living a More Enjoyable Life

1) Find something you love!
I believe that life is about passion. What is your passion in life? What do YOU love? What are YOU really interested in? What makes YOU happy? You must to find this thing or many things and take time out of your hectic life and immerse yourself in it. I love wine. There are few things more enjoyable to me than sitting outside with a glass of a new wine I have yet to taste and just enjoy the beauty of it as I munch on some of my favorite tapas.

2) Let it go...
What? Let what go?? EVERYTHING! What belongs in your past should not be burdening your present. What do you do to your computer if its been acting slow? You clean it out! Delete cookies, useless files, old junk you don't need to be saving any more. You must also do the same with your mind. Forget about the argument you had the other day, the bad grade you got last week, the person who cut you off in the middle of the road this morning, the wallet you lost six months ago. The time to worry about things that have happened was back when they happened! Wake up everyday anxious for what may come of it.

3) Release!
What may come of the day might not be as good as you wanted it to be... The boss grinding you at work, assignments piling up, you stubbed your toe in the kitchen walking around barefoot. There are many stresses in life, things do need to be taken care of. But you must also take care of yourself. Find something that makes you feel good and helps you relax. Whether its playing tennis, meditating, cooking, writing, or taking a 4 hour nap. your mind needs time to relax and reload... Its bad enough you probably don't get enough sleep at night anyways!

4) Be Positive
I hate negative people. I don't even want them to be around me. It rubs off! thinking positively is the only way you will ever get what you want. Do you think NASA got to the moon 'cause they didn't want to? Thomas Edison didn't invent the light bulb because he didn't believe he could! The french didn't make champagne by accident! ( Okay maybe that last one, yea) My point is if you want something - believe that you will get it. Know that you can achieve your goal. Get your mind in the right direction and you can have whatever you want.

5) The most important rule to enjoying life.
Your goals have come to fruition, you've discovered your passion. You may have everything you want in the WORLD, but you have NOTHING without someone to share it with. Somebody who is there with you through your most exhilarating adventures -- or your saddest moments. Your life will be full of both. No object or experience replaces your family, close friends, and the one you love. Make sure you bring them along on your journey. Life is not perfect and there is only one guarantee, but at least you were never alone.

Difference in a day

6:00 am – 29 degrees, dark, and windy
I left my classes, my books, my twin size bed. I erased the stress, the tension, and the thoughts in my head. My spontaneous Thursday evening decision to make a getaway to South Florida for the holiday was without a doubt the best I’ve made this year thus far. I hopped in my best friend’s car and after a long tedious night of packing and restless rolling in bed, quickly fell asleep…

1:01 pm — 80 degrees, blue skies, and gentle draft from the ocean
From classrooms, pencils, fast food, and leafless trees to royal palms, fine wine, Biscayne Bay, and it’s salty breeze. After seven hours of deep sleep I woke in another world. To my family’s surprise as they came home, they found me sitting in the kitchen eating a turkey sandwich from the half empty fridge. I was welcomed with open but unprepared arms. As I soon found my bedroom had been being used as “the empty, so put whatever in there room”. My big soft comfy bed I had been anxiously yearning to rest in was covered with folded laundry and some of my mother’s business stuff. So as my mother went shopping for groceries and my dad took his afternoon siesta, I set out for water.

5:50 pm – 71 degrees, pink sky from the falling sun, and calm
The closest body of water to Tallahassee, not including Westcott fountain, is over an hour away so I did not hesitate to take the five minute bike ride to the bay from my home. As I drew closer and closer to my favorite beach spot the scent of the sea in the air grew more and more intoxicating. My mind ran through fond memories of the ocean in my life: spear-fishing on coral reefs, boat trips to nearby islands, full-moonlit nights fishing for snook with my dad, and hours of just sitting on the rocks looking over the water. The beach spot by my house is a haven to me, a place where I can let go of reality and spend hours doing nothing but just unwind. The low rumblings of incoming boats, the Key Biscayne lighthouse in the distance, the echoes of a few squawking seagulls, the splash of the occasional eagle ray soaring out of the water. As my first day came to an end, as the sun set behind me, as the vibrant pink sky was draped over by the deep blue of a starry night; my mind was clear and my soul was calm.