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I was born near the mountains, in Piedmont, and was a sickly child until we moved to a port town and my ailments suddenly disappeared.

I only learned to swim when I was 17 but I've never been afraid of water. Even now, going to the beach and diving into the waves remains an almost transcendental experience to me.

You seem to love movies, like me, so you probably know this famous beach scene https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4jGNoag_1g

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Great call on the 400 Blows clip! I'm so happy when people add other texts to the dialogue. It also resonates with something on working on now - the art of running. Thanks! They don't make a lot of long shots like this anymore -- and that final break of the 4th wall. So great.

It sounds like the sea has been a wonderful presence in your life. A healing power even. You must have some strong memories of the sea. Thank you for this reflection.

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On YouTube there was an interesting compilation of shots where the actors broke the 4th wall but I can't find it. In any case, my favorite one was the ending of Ingmar Bergman's "Summer with Monika" though I'd rather replace the original juke-box music with something more atmospheric. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSzgISEhdXo

I tried to combine it with this music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6RnT8uxOiw Not bad, but there must be something better.

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Wow! I also like anything with an enso.

Bergman - great clip. Reminds me of our week-long summer holidays in Maine, finishing each day at the ice cream shop with jukebox...

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Thank you for this fascinating story about how different art forms interpret the sea. I thought of Fitzgerald, and Tender is the Night, as well as Gatsby. The sea is on the periphery there as a witness to human drama. He also has a beautiful metaphor at the end of Gatsby about how the current always brings us to our past.

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I really like this connection. It would be interesting to think of the sea at the edge of the city in contrast to the beach/countryside. Places of migration...in this case, also connected to the American dream...Thanks a lot for your comment, Vlad. :)

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I'm a bit sea-obsessed, I think. Shetland is such a small group of islands that you never be far from the sea here and you can hear it a lot of the time when it's out of sight. I walk to the sea when I have too much in my head, when I'm processing life, when I need to breathe. It's magnitude makes me feel small but connected to the rest of the world and my cultural heritage, the people who travelled and made a living that way through fishing in particular. I have a healthy respect for the sea, like you said with growing up next to it you have to develop that to stay safe. I love how it changes with the weather, I love seeing wildlife in and around it and I love that I love so close it to. I don't think I make sense without the sea, somehow. For sea-related books, I'd recommend anything George Mackay Brown's work (an Orkney poet and author) and The Silver Darlings by Neil M Gunn (a historic novel about the harsh reality of the sea for herring fishermen and the landlords that mare life on land crueler still.) This is such a lovely piece - thank you for sharing, Kathleen, I really enjoyed reading it this morning! 🌊

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This setting sounds incredible. Ever since I started watching the Shetland TV series, I have fantasised about living there :) You make it sound like it ready is amazing! To hear the sea wherever you go...

Thank you for the wonderful comment and also the reading recs. Look forward to checking them out 🩵

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