One of my favorite lines from one of my favorite movies (THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION) pretty much sums up why I love to go to the ocean every year. If you remember, Andy tells Red he hopes he can join him in “Zihuatanejo.†He tells him what the Mexicans say about the ocean, “They say it has no memory. That’s where I’d like to finish out my life, Red. A warm place with no memory.†The key being a “warm†place without a “memory.†Sometimes forgetting is a good thing to do, while enjoying numerous cervezas. So that is where I will be starting tomorrow through next Sunday. We have a time share (house, photo above looking out our back door) right on the ocean where my kids can wake up early in the morning and collect sea shells, rock crabs, and star fish in the tide pools during low tide while my wife and I watch from our bedroom window. In the afternoon, it’s walks along the ocean, and in the evening we sit in chairs as the tide comes in, washes over our feet, and the sun sets. I have to say I will not miss anything (well not much) here in the real world.
ANDY Tell you where I'd go. Zihuatanejo. RED Zihuatanejo? ANDY Mexico. Little place right on the Pacific. You know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific? They say it has no memory. That's where I'd like to finish out my life, Red. A warm place with no memory. Open a little hotel right on the beach. Buy some worthless old boat and fix it up like new. Take my guests out charter fishing. LATER IN THE MOVIE... ANDY (V.O.) Dear Red. If you're reading this, you've gotten out. And if you've come this far, maybe you're willing to come a little further. You remember the name of the town, don't you? I could use a good man to help me get my project on wheels. I'll keep an eye out for you and the chessboard ready. (beat) Remember, Red. Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. I will be hoping that this letter finds you, and finds you well. Your friend. Andy. THE FINAL SCENE WHEN RED JOINS ANDY AT THE OCEAN RED (V.O.) I find I am so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it is the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain... I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. (beat) I hope.
