"There are places I'll remember, all my life, though some have changed …Though I know I'll never lose affection, for people and things that went before…"

— The Beatles, "In My Life"

Maybe it's the water.

As I try to find my way these days after losing Dorinda in April, there are places I gravitate toward that bring some comfort.

Gulf Shores is home now. It's where we planned to retire to, together. I'm here, just without her. On most days, I will make my way to a beach somewhere here, either to wonder at the sunrise or sunset. And I'll listen to the waves. Maybe that Gulf is a literal waterway to connect with those we have lost. I find some peace there.

I visited another waterway this month, the calmer water that flows in the St. Johns River, which winds through Palatka, a small town in North Central Florida. I reconnected with several former Palatka Daily News co-workers — one of whom, Patricia Murphy, was celebrating her 50th anniversary working at the newspaper.

The sun rises beyond the Gulf State Park Pier on Oct. 9.

Photo courtesy of Wayne Smith

Driving from nearby St. Augustine toward Palatka, I got closer to Memorial Bridge, which spans the river and provides a grand view of downtown. Just before I got on the bridge, one of our favorite songs — "Everlong" — came on the SiriusXM station I was listening to. The song's opening line spoke to me, "Hello, I've waited here for you. Everlong."

Firsts following the death of a loved one are hard. There are so many of them. And this was my first visit to Palatka since losing Dorinda. But I'm glad I made the trip from Gulf Shores. The communities are separated by more than 400 miles, and a long stretch of roadway across the Florida Panhandle. But both places are anchored with small town roots. The water. And the people.

Sometimes people and places drop into our lives at just the right time. Some may have been just a chance encounter; some are just meant to be. This column is about reuniting with three of those people who entered our lives through more than happenstance. And it's about the water.

TIM SMITH

Our journey from North Alabama to Palatka started six years ago with making a new friend in the beach community of St. Augustine enroute to Putnam County. Standing in a breakfast buffet line, I struck up a conversation with the gentleman in front of me. Maybe it's the journalism background in me, or maybe my dad's personality I inherited, but I do enjoy talking to folks.

He asked me what brought me to the area. I told him I had just accepted a job as editor of the Palatka Daily News, and that my wife and I were headed there to look for a place to live. Then things got interesting.
I learned he was from Palatka. A former mayor of the town. And that his last name was Smith. Now, for a couple from North Alabama who didn't know hardly anyone in North Central Florida at the time, that meeting was a godsend. I introduced Tim to Dorinda and we talked more that morning. We were made to feel welcome in our new community before we ever set foot in it together.

Wayne Smith, left, visits with Tim Smith in Palatka, Florida, on Oct. 16.

Photo courtesy of Wayne Smith

My friendship with Tim only grew during our time in Palatka. If I ever had a question or needed anything, I knew who to call. He introduced me to the Rotary Club, of which I'm proud to say I am now a member of the Gulf Shores/Orange Beach group. He showed me how to endure challenges — he was struck with polio at a young age, only months before the vaccine was available that virtually eradicated the disease. Tim never knew how to walk normally, but it hasn't slowed him down. He said it pushed him to work harder than others around him.

So, a priority of my visit to Palatka was meeting Tim for lunch. We call each other "cuz," given our Smith name. And who knows, maybe we are cousins. More importantly, we're friends. We met at a restaurant just steps from the riverfront. We hugged and we didn't have to say anything to each other for a minute or two. Tim knew my pain from losing Dorinda, and this was one of those firsts.

We had a wonderful visit, promised to talk more with each other, and flashed back to that breakfast meeting that February morning in St. Augustine. That was the first time either of us had been to that particular restaurant. And neither of us have been back. We agreed we will go back together again one day, and that our initial meeting steps from the ocean was more than just a coincidence. It could have been the water.

SHANN AND MIKE PURINTON

After leaving Palatka two Fridays ago, my next stop took me to Jacksonville, Florida, to visit some more close friends. Shann and Mike Purinton sort of "adopted" us when we first moved to Palatka. They have since moved to a retirement community near Atlantic Beach. Again, there's the water.

I had talked to Shann for a story I was working on back in 2019. At the time, Shann said she wanted to give me and Dorinda a tour of the community, and we took her up on the offer one Sunday afternoon. We would later meet her husband, Mike. It seemed like we all formed an immediate bond. Shann would go on to help Dorinda find a good job and we've stayed in contact since leaving Palatka.

The author, right, visits Mike and Shann Purinton at Atlantic Beach in Jacksonville, Florida, on Oct. 17.

Photo courtesy of Wayne Smith

But stopping to see them in Atlantic Beach was another first. Again, no words were necessary initially. Just hugs and tears. They shared stories of loved they have lost, signs they have seen from them and gave me a tour of their community, which included a walk on the beach. The Purintons let me borrow a few books that were important to them. They invited me to come again, and I invited them to visit me in Gulf Shores.
Goodbyes said, I made my way slowly back to this community, this beach town.

Here and elsewhere, I'm making new friends, new connections as I travel alone. Seeing new sunrises and sunsets, finding my way again through the ebbs and flows of life. I soon found my way back to the beach.
The Palatka riverfront stirred memories of visits with many friends. The Gulf, meanwhile, gives me reflection and carries me forward.

It is the water.

Wayne Smith has worked as a writer and editor at newspapers across Alabama, Florida and South Carolina. Contact him at wwsmith6410@gmail.com. His weekly column focuses on navigating Gulf Shores alone after losing his wife to cancer, and the places he discovers and the people he meets. Read his previous columns on Gulf Coast Media's website.