Monday, February 2, 2009

Life's a Beach



One look at this picture of my Indie and her cousins and I was immediately transported back to the 70s. The beach in the town where I was born was not made for pretty pictures. It was never the white beach on the verge of becoming a major tourist destination. Its shoreline was long but covered with dark unremarkable sand; its waters, clear but certainly not crystal.

Even so, we kids were big fans of our very own beach. It was another venue for play. A huge one complete with water for wading or swimming for the adventurous among us. There was endless supply of sand for building sandcastles for which none of us had any talent. And the sea breeze! Yes, even that one could make us happy.



By the 80s, we had all grown into adolescents and the beach had lost all attraction whatsoever. Aside from the changes in hormones and preferences that happened in all of us, we had every reason not to go anymore. What used to be our favorite haunt had turned into some, I'm sorry to say, God-forsaken place in the span of a decade. The water was not just dirty, it was dangerous given that a power plant was just close by. It literally stank. There was litter everywhere. And where there was none, there were dog poops and human waste lying in wait like booby traps for the next unsuspecting beach goer.

Oh yes, life could be a bitch sometimes.

6 comments:

ආගන්තුකයා said...

A nice blog.Keep Blogging.

Indie's Momma said...

Thanks Akon! =)

Mike said...

i´m with akon, it´s a very nice blog you´ve got here. i´ve got 2 years on you, and come from san diego, but a lot of what you say resonates with the changes i´ve seen in my home town and life surroundings. thanks for sharing it.

Indie's Momma said...

Thanks! Also for following. See you around!

fairy door said...

oh, you take me back - i grew up in the days when we left the key in the car ignition and didn't lock our doors - we played outside after dark with no worries, we only had b & w tv, and we played creative games that we made up as we went along. I feel bad for kids who don't have that experience because of our world's complexities!!!!

Indie's Momma said...

Yes, I'm saddened that my 3-year old daughter will never know the world I knew. But I'm trying to be optimistic.