My family and I have had many adventures in Ormond Beach. One is still burned into my memory.

Ormond Beach is like a home away from home for us. When we go down there to visit my step brother and sisters in October, we seem to hit Bike week. It is held in Daytona Beach, which is right below Ormond.

The bikers we come across there have always been nice and courteous. And they come from great distances. For years, there was a Canadian biker couple who stayed a few rooms down from us at our usual motel. I would say they were middle aged, and it was obvious they worked at staying in good physical shape. We would soon come to realize just how proud they were of that fact.

On this one trip, Sara was around 10 years old. Having a passion for ocean life, she wanted to go down to the beach to watch crabs crawl out of their holes. Personally, I don’t like to watch crabs because they look too much like spiders, but I went anyway. As soon as we stepped out onto the beach, I heard her gasp, “Momma!”

I looked over and there lay the biker couple in their beach chairs. It looked as if they were wearing nothing more than dental floss. I am not exaggerating. That was about it.

My first thought was of “The Streak.” It’s a Ray Stevens song from the 1970s about a guy who ran around in the nude.

I whispered to Sara, “Don’t look directly at them.” I guess you can say it was akin to telling someone not to look directly at the sun. You know, so you won’t damage your eyes. Let me tell you, what I saw that day was burned onto my cornea.

The couple noticed us and rose up out of their beach chairs. Lord help. That only made it worse. They walked around like it was normal to be dressed like that. Or should I say be undressed like that.

At first, I wondered if that happened to be normal beachwear for them, but isn’t Canada supposed to be cold?

Then they went about trying to start a conversation with us. Yes, they were being nice, but I just couldn’t do it. It was too awkward to talk to them while trying not to look directly at them.

“Don’t guess the crabs are coming out today. We’re going on back. You all have a great time at the beach,” I told them. What I really wanted to say was, “Sorry you all, but I am seeing way too much skin.”

With that, Sara and I ran toward the motel.

As soon as we got back, we told our harrowing story about being almost flashed on the beach. Most of our family thought it was funny, but they were not the ones who saw what Sara and I did. I guess what gets me the most is how nonchalant the biker couple was about their lack of clothing. Hey, when you are from the Bible belt….

“What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” 1 Corinthians 6:19 (KJV)

We all come across things in our lives that are shocking to us. The trick is to stay calm, pray, and handle the situation with as much grace as you can. And finding the humor in it helps too. Such as: I guess our Canadian friends are just very proud of their temples, but I do wish they would adorn them with a few more curtains.