Deck The Chairs - December 19, 2021

“A ton of decorated lifeguard chairs and not a single place to sit down” said my husband while I limped through this unique Christmas display beside the ocean! Deck The Chairs is an annual event held at the Jacksonville Beach Seawalk Pavillion to promote the arts and foster community pride and involvement. As soon as I heard about it, I knew I wanted to go.

The morning did not start out well; I didn’t want to get out of bed, I didn’t want to stay in bed. My body didn’t know what to do with itself. Night pain is the worst and my body had enough. It’s in these moments I must summon my strength and tell myself not to give up, to keep going. In the words of my Mayo Clinic doctor, “Suck it up, buttercup” and “Just do the next thing.” Or my personal favorite, “March before you feel like it.” So that’s what I did. I just put one foot in front of the other and moved forward. Let me assure you it’s not as easy as I make it sound. There are no easy days, not for me, and probably not for anyone. The question is, what am I going to do about it? Mayo taught us to practice gratitude, be adventurous and live life, but give ourselves some grace. While on this journey, I try to hang my hat on hope. Just because the day starts out one way, does not mean it will end that way. And that proved to be true on this day.

“When you feel like you’re drowning in life, don’t worry, your Lifeguard walks on water.” -anonymous

My lifeguard was with me all day, and I looked forward to the event that night. Around 4:30 pm we headed north on AIA to Jax Beach. We arrived before sunset so we could get a parking spot close by (important for me so I could take breaks) and to beat some of the crowds. Although the display is open for 42 days, it draws 90 thousand visitors a year! Its admirable they raise funds to support the Volunteer Lifeguards who have served the area for over a hundred years. Local companies, businesses and organizations design themes that must be approved before they can proceed. As we walked through, we were pretty impressed with the creativity. A nonprofit group called Fur Sisters built a cute doghouse, complete with presents, lights and life size puppies, and featuring a dog Santa atop a lifeguard chair. Veterans were represented by a chair featuring all the emblems of the armed forces lit on each side by cascading blue lights. As we have been patrons of the Blue Jay Listening room, we loved their chair that displayed a blue jay sitting on a gigantic blue and white guitar. I was brought back to high school memories, when my classmates and I got together in someone's backyard barn to create the big homecoming float that would be unveiled before the big game. I could imagine these groups and businesses working together and having fun just like we did to make these one of a kind chairs. As the sky darkened, the 24-foot Christmas tree lit up the night as children with holiday bulb necklaces twirled to the band on stage playing “Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree.”

Ever wonder what happens to the empty water and Pepsi bottles you toss? Well, here they are put to good use to make all plastic Christmas trees! In this walkable display, plastic bottles were also formed into lit archways and ocean waves. It took thirty one volunteers from The Fletcher Middle School thirty four hours and fifteen hundred and seven plastic bottles to make their replica of an ocean wave. These are all part of Beaches Go Green, which aims to spread awareness about the waste we produce, especially single use plastic, and how it affects the environment. Next time I want to grab a Poland Spring water, I hope I’ll stop and remember how many plastic bottles went into this exhibit, and those are just the tip of the iceberg.

Christmases in New England can be quite magical. Horse drawn sleigh rides over fresh snow, Polar Express Train Rides in the White Mountains, Cut Your Own Christmas Tree Farms, and Vintage Christmas Towns. And nothing truly beats hot cocoa by a warm fire, as snowflakes gently fall.

As I’ve experienced firsthand, they do things a bit differently down here. Lit up palm trees, Holiday Boat Parades down the Intracoastal, and decorated lifeguard chairs. And the magic is not just the boats or the palms or the chairs- it's the aliveness of the evening. And the salty breeze on my face as I stroll the paths in a town that isn't forced to roll up the sidewalks at 4:30pm to hunker down for a cold winter's night. In the words of the founder of Deck The Chairs,

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart for keeping the Magic In The Chair!" - Kurtis Loftus

Folks, let me tell you, I'm grateful from the bottom of my heart that this little corner of north Florida has some magic of its own!

P.S. Speaking of magic – Update on the Magic Beach Motel. The developer has backed out of the deal, and once again the motel is open for business!