Widow wanders alone on the beach and doesn’t drown

Use the freedom of living alone to do what you love

I can see the headline now. “Local Author Presumed Drowned at Age 73.”

The article would read:

The body of Sue Fagalde Lick, author of several novels based on the Oregon coast, has not been found, but it is likely she was swept out to sea sometime in the past week.

No one saw her on the beach, but her car was found in the north parking area at Ona Beach with her wallet and identification inside. High surf warnings had been issued.

Friends said Lick often wandered off alone in search of inspiration or just the right photo for her books and blogs. She lived by herself, and no one missed her between choir practice on Wednesday evening and Mass on Saturday afternoon at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Waldport, where she did not arrive to play the piano and lead the choir.

Her husband Fred Lick passed away in 2011. She had no children. She leaves a brother and several nieces, nephews and cousins, all in California.

This did not happen, but it could have. Yesterday afternoon, I jumped up from my computer, put on my coat and went to the beach between storms. I had just finished the second draft of the next novel in my Beaver Creek series and needed to get out of the house. I chose Ona Beach because it plays an important role in the story.

Beaver Creek, which merges with the ocean at Ona Beach, was twice as wide as usual. Logs and seaweed covered the sand. The tide had recently come all the way up to the road.

There were no other people on the beach, just gulls lined up along the surf. As I threaded through the logs, soggy sand squishing under my feet, I took photos and worked at lingering questions about the book. I couldn’t let it go yet.

Just as I started toward the exit, the sun sank into the clouds, offering tantalizing colors. I took more pictures. The roaring ocean churned like whipped cream. Commuter traffic hummed on highway nearby. As the sky darkened, I walked closer to the water, trying to get the perfect shot.

Is this something a woman in her seventies should be doing alone? Most wouldn’t, but I would. Maybe it comes from my years as a reporter or from just being a loner. Maybe I have a loose grip on reality. But a companion would interrupt my concentration while I was still living the story I had been working on all day.

I’m not as foolish as it seems. The tide was out, and I kept my distance from any possible sneaker waves. I was aware of potential dangers from not-so-nice people, although I have never met any on the beaches here. The worst hazard was getting my car back onto the highway without getting hit by vehicles speeding around the bend.

If I did die, I wondered if anyone would take my nearly viable novel the next steps to publication. How awful if it perished with me when I think it’s one of my best. My heroine PD’s story needs closure. I may be writing sequels until I die, hopefully not anytime soon. But if this is it, she finishes in a good place, still single and childless but far from alone.

PD is so real to me I wish I could post her picture. Imagine a smallish 46-year-old woman with spiky red hair and brown eyes walking on the beach with a golden retriever named Rocky. She has a green harmonica sticking out of her pocket.

So, that’s why this post is a day late and not at all what I had planned. I was marathoning through this draft of the novel because I had several free days and thought let’s do it. It felt wonderful to focus hard on just one thing. There will be more drafts, but I made huge progress.

The moral of this story? If you’re passionate about something and have nothing on the agenda that can’t wait, dive in. No matter how old you are. It’s one of the advantages of being alone.

If you’re going to the beach, do check the tides first and maybe text someone where you’re going, just in case. Carry your ID. But do that thing that’s calling you.

What would you like to immerse yourself in this new year?

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Question

I would like to write a future post exploring the differences between being alone when you’re young and being alone when you’re older. I need to do some research, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

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How did I end up alone? My first marriage ended in divorce. My second husband died of Alzheimer’s after we had moved to the Oregon coast, far from family. I never had any kids, only dogs and cats. Now I live by myself in a big house in the woods. You can read our story in my memoir, No Way Out of This: Loving a Partner with Alzheimer’s, available at your favorite bookseller. Visit https://www.suelick.com for information on all of my books.