Not Everything on the Beach is Friendly

 

Portuguese man o' war
Jupiter Island Beach, Jupiter, FL
January 5, 2022

Life lessons come from beaches. 

Take for instance the morning beach walk to improve my cardio--a good thing. But, hidden among the sargassum one morning was a Portuguese man o' war--definitely not a good thing to blindly stumble upon while walking barefoot on the beach. 

There are, likewise, many things lurking in the world which can cause pain if we are not careful and observant. Take for instance yesterday, I was reviewing the monthly statements and found erroneous charges. One from a closed account, one from something that I didn't even know about, and then one from a company that apparently likes to slide in an annual membership hidden in the fine print when groceries are delivered--which we took advantage on once in Florida. These charges were lurking in the statements like a Portuguese man o' war hiding in the sargassum. Perhaps one sting will just hurt, but over time they become a larger problem.

Lesson? Like the sargassum on a beach--you need to dig through things it carefully to ensure nothing harmful is hiding. Not everything on the beach is friendly!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD