The beach is a strange and mystical place on Cape Cod in the summer. I like to get up very early and go down to the local beach and wade out into the chill water and just sit. If you lean back and float and let your ears go under, you hear the gentle murmur of the waves. On busy days the chatter of hundreds of humans can be heard laughing and splashing. Like so many seagulls busy soaking up the sun.
Wait long enough and tiny schools of fish will swim past. Turning left and right as if they all share the same brain. Just like horses run together, and birds fly as one, and the citizens of any big city all move down busy streets. A little piece of genetic trickery that’s followed us down the generations. The ocean is almost identical in chemical make up to human blood.
Sit in it long enough and you cant help but wonder at just how big it is. Turn your back to land and you can get a small feeling for just how small we are. You never really know what is going to come up and brush against your leg. That is why we hug the coast, too afraid to swim far out into the dark cold waters.
We rely completely on the ocean for survival. Its waters cool the planet, and at the same time keep it warm. Its fish feed us; the water from ocean breezes irrigates our crops. We even evolved from tiny creatures that once bravely crawled up out of those waters. Now we must be stewards of this great resource.
Will this mystical place be enjoyed by generations to come? Can we be good keepers of this gem? Enjoy the beach, take good care of it, and remember sunburns are for tourists.