The Deep Blue Sea

The mother looked through old slides, and scanned one into her computer.  The photo was taken in the mid-1970s on Dauphin Island.  Since that time, the little girls have become fine young women.  The mother, well, doesn't have dark brown hair any longer, but that's okay.  She's alive and hopeful and well.


Our family has visited Gulf beaches many times over the years.  We have seen the beaches change from long expanses of sand and sea oats to populations of condos and hotels.


I have memories of playing in the surf as a child.  when I grew tall enough, I would walk out beyond where the waves break and let the water lift me up and set me back down again.  Sometimes I would body surf, riding a wave in, and then I'd lie down where the foam would wash over me.  Most of the time I was having so much fun I didn't want to leave.  After a day at the beach, I would lie in bed, and I could still feel the phantom motion of the waves.


I met Herb by chance on Pensacola Beach.  It was just a short meeting one sunny day in April, 1965, but it led to our correspondence by mail, which led to our marriage, still going strong 44 years later.


We made our home in the Midwest, but often took our children to the beach on vacation.  Cindy liked to play in the waves.  When Debbie was very young, she was more inclined to sit on the beach and dig in the sand.  I showed my little girls how to dig a hole in the sand and watch it fill with water.  We walked along the beach and looked for seashells.  We chased fiddler crabs and watched seagulls and sandpipers.


Today I have been thinking, as so many of us have been thinking, about the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  I am saddened by the insult to the sea and the creatures that live in it: the fish, dolphins, oysters, sand dollars, turtles--even the jellyfish that I tried to avoid.  There is so much life in the sea.  I can close my eyes and see pelicans gliding just above the water.  I think of birds, amphibians, and reptiles that live and breed in the marshlands.  I am also saddened for those who live by the sea and make it their livelihood.


At this point it does no good to cast blame.  The task at hand is to support efforts to mitigate the damage and move forward.  Heed the real news, but keep a skeptical eye on it.  TV news tends to focus on the worst.


As serious as the situation seems, let us hold images of clean sand and clear water; that is what we want to aim for.  Gulf beaches should be places where children can run and play and smell fresh air and feel the wind in their hair and the sand under their bare feet.  It is my hope that this will ultimately prevail.