a sweltering mile under the sun

I went to Flynn’s Fire Island for a Labor Day party one month ago. Going there isn’t a quick car ride across town for you. It’s on an island. So, the only way there is by boat.

My friends and I pulled into the ferry terminal and hopped in line with a few minutes to spare. Despite the long line, we made it onto the ferry, but not without a bit of drama.

My sister went to Ocean Beach with her friends that weekend. And I dropped her off at the same ferry the previous Friday. Since I knew I’d be taking the ferry two days later, I noted where I’d board the boat.

As my friends and I waited to go on the boat, we received a call from other friends meeting up. They said they were in line waiting to board the ferry.

I looked around, but they weren’t there.

The Fire Island Ferry has two terminals across the street from one another. I figured that my friends had gone to the wrong terminal.

But they were at the right one. I was at the wrong place.

It turns out Flynn’s is in Ocean Bay Park, not Ocean Beach. I thought that I showed up knowing exactly where to go. Yet, I stranded my friends in the wrong place.

We could have sprinted across the street to the correct terminal, but if we had missed the ferry, we would have had to wait over an hour for the next one.

So, we stayed on the Ocean Beach ferry. The two towns were next to each other, so the walk to the bar wouldn’t be long.

I pulled out my phone and opened up Maps. The walk was over a mile long.

It was a perfect day to relax by the pool with a drink. Not a single cloud was in sight. The sun warmed you like a warm July weekend, and a subtle breeze tickled your skin every few seconds.

But it was the worst weather for walking.

There was no shade protecting you from the intense heat on the pathway. My friends and I sweltered in the sun. We’d wipe our arms on our foreheads and necks every ten seconds to wipe off sweat.

The walk was miserable for all of us.

We reached the bar after half an hour of walking with our shirts sticking to our skins. By the night's end, we had forgotten about the Sweltering Mile because we had a memorable time at the party.

But a few weeks later, I read The Paradox of Choice. As someone fascinated by how humans make life decisions, I soared through this book about why more is less when it comes to decision-making.

One section talked about responsibility for the decisions you make. The authors wrote, “Bad results make people equally unhappy whether or not they are responsible for them. But bad results make people regretful only if they bear responsibility.”

The Sweltering Mile to Flynn’s instantly popped into my mind as I read that sentence.

The “bad result” of taking the wrong ferry and walking a mile in the blistering sun made my friends and me equally unhappy. But they had no reason to feel regretful. They just followed my directions and trusted my navigating skills.

However, I bore responsibility for the experience. So, I was the only one who could feel regret.

I read a lot of books. I finish at least one per week, but I usually go through two a week. One of the most incredible things about reading books is seeing the connection between what you read and what you experience in life.

There are countless times when you’d read a sentence or paragraph, and it makes you unconsciously dig into the depths of your mind and look back on life experiences you’ve almost forgotten.

People often read for entertainment and learning. But one of the most significant benefits is that it helps you remember more of your past and relive the great and not-so-great moments.