On summer weekends, 16-year-old Ellis Cooper-Frater heads to the beach with his swim cap, bathing suit and bagpipes.

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Crack open Lady of the Snakes on the beach, and I predict your funny bone and brain will be exercised while your bathing suit stays dry.

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"It was 85 or 90 degrees and I'm in a Santa suit with a pillow in my belly and landing on a small section of beach, " he recalls.

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What's so sublime about being on a tropical beach where you know nobody is, you can wear your unattractive, black, one-piece YMCA bathing suit with abandon.

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