Turning on a Breeze

The glare of morning sun racing from horizon to shore had lessened as the sun rose ever higher into the royal blue sky. The crisp contrails of jet engines thinned into wispy curtains that others would take for clouds. Heat started to rise from previously damp sand and those strolling the water's edge risked an occasional detour into the swirling eddies.

The stiff breeze coming from the west brought only the inland heat. Umbrellas popped open. T-shirts and cover-ups came off. Skin glistened with newly applied sunblock. The volume of conversations lowered as folk succumbed to heat induced naps.

And then a tang salt was carried by a breath of cool; a cool quickly chased by a gust of heat. For long minutes they played back and forth - these breaths and gusts - until with the surety of the slow but steady turtle the breaths one out.

Umbrellas tool on extreme tilts - now blocking breezes rather than sun. Shirts and cover-ups reappeared along with beach towels thrown across legs and feet.

Just like that the breeze had turned the day.

Where Was the Celebration?

They came in a steady stream...area residents curious to see how Sandy had impacted the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk.

The lines started two blocks to the west. The equivalent return flow should have been indication there was really nothing to see - no reason to linger - but those in line continued on anyway.

What should have been a spontaneous celebration that no severe damage had been done was anything but. Instead, there was a somber atmosphere - like mourners making their way from a cemetery at the conclusion of graveside services.

Some were no doubt disappointed that enforced evacuation had prevented them from witnessing the peak of the storm. To a degree I can understand that - a chance to see mother nature at her angriest can be awe inspiring.

But I suspect most were disappointed there was no mass destruction to witness, and that I will never understand. What possible satisfaction is to be found in observing the loss of homes and livelihoods? Why do so many feel shortchanged when robbed of the opportunity to witness a nightmare they themselves would never wish to endure?

It Was A Day....

It was a day made for kite flying and fishing...and folks along the shore seized the opportunity. Children, and those still children at heart, guided multi-colored kites through weaving dances and breathtaking dives. Anglers who cast their lines into the ocean were rewarded with bluefish, flounder, and trout. Not a single fisherman sat idle for the fish seemed anxious to be pulled to shore.

In the midst of all the flying and reeling, children danced barefoot at the water's edge in a game of catch me if you can. It was the water that the children dared... scampering first one way then another as the ocean sought their toes.

It was a day of exhilaration, a day of happiness, a day to thrill at the beauty to be found beneath a cloudless blue sky.