This story was originally broadcast on the BBC World Service and later won first place in a contest for writers living in retirement homes in Oregon: Parents return to the Oregon beach for another try at family togetherness after the previous year's fiasco. Their little boy whose handicap has strained the marriage proves to be a hero.
When they arrived at the Pacific coast seven year old Jeremy was already out of his shoes and shaking the back of
the driver's seat as if pushing would make them arrive faster. "The beach!"
His normally silent brother Ivram did not stand. Though he was four, he was securely strapped into his car seat.
Ivram, his face its usual contortion, echoed, "Beach."
