Sea Foam

White

Frothy foam

Sweeps the beach

Now where to go

But hugging spans of sand        

Piling up like Tide soap suds         

A pungent odor of decay wafts upward    

From many algae species as red tide dies      

Referred to as phytoplankton under a science microscope seen      

After dark magical blue radiance dances among waves       

Drawing a crowd to beaches still closed    

Taking a mind off a shutdown      

Soon it will die out     

Like the COVID 19

Then comes holidaymakers

Celebrating summer

Free!

Stacking Stones

The Southern California beach access was just opened for walkers, joggers and those who need some fresh air.  (It was opened earlier for the surfers, swimmers, and paddle boarders.)  No, you cannot lay your blanket on the sand to enjoy natural vitamin D, you must keep moving.  And you are officially reminded of the local rules by the bland voice constantly blurting out threats over the loudspeakers calling out the malingerers.

So up and down the beach the masses strolled without purpose.  Some stopped beneath an overhanging bluff, wet from seeping water from above, where there was a line of stones stacked one on the other:  Rock balancing or stone stacking, they call it.  Some reached out and added to the formations, but most just looked and admired the handiwork and patience of those unknowns who balanced the rocks, one atop the other.

Were these freshly constructed?  Were they built before the beaches were closed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic?  Are these a sign that, “We’re back?”  Are these a monument to the sacrifices we have made waiting for the beach to open?  A sign of remembrance?  A trail marker showing that you are on the right path?

Rock stacking is popular along the California beaches where these ocean rocks and stones are easily found.  It takes time to find the perfect stone in the surf, smoothed over time from pounding waves, grinding them down to the flat mass that is perfect for beach stone stacking.   And in solitude a hand is dipped into the cold wave and the perfect rock is retrieved to add it to the shrine being built. 

With a bit of imagination and a steady hand, the rock stacks are carefully constructed.  Each stone is selected with purpose:  some for color, some for size and some for shape.  The work is slow and intentional, as each stone is judiciously placed on the stack.  A balancing act, so to speak.  

Some do it for the simple fun or challenge, some do it with a spiritual purpose, others do it to leave their mark: “We were here… and here is an Instagram pic of the proof!”

As Joshua did thousands of years ago, rocks were piled in the middle of the Jordan River as a reminder to the future generations of what had happened at that spot.   But tonight, I would like to think that the chimneys of rocks are as a footprint of those who, through creative and meditative activity, rejoiced in the spirit of their freedom as we begin to put the pandemic behind us. 

  

Lonely and Homeless

“Lonely, I'm Mr. Lonely
I have nobody for my own
Oh, I'm so lonely…..”

That song came to mind as I watched “Birdman,” a homeless person in the community lean on the cold rail near the beach and stare out over the Pacific Ocean at a recent sunset before the local police began giving tickets for watching it from your car!  How many sunsets has “Birdman” seen over his lifetime as he hangs around familiar territory?  What was it in his life that led to his predicament?  Mental illness?  Addiction?  Adjustment disorders?

He pointed out the rocks below and reminisced that he began sleeping on them at nights when he was sixteen years old.  He felt safe down there, he said.  But on this night, he was hoping for a motel room which the town was giving to some of the community homeless due to the spread of the COVID19.  He wasn’t sure he would qualify. He could no longer get down to the beach… it was closed.

Homelessness and loneliness go together.  His challenge is similar to ours:  he worries about food, clothing and shelter.  But his worry – and those like him – is daily.  Most of us are holding in place, hunkered down but with food, clean clothing and shelter.  That may change as the government inflicted shutdown continues and people lose their jobs and livelihoods. 

He doesn’t work so the lay-offs and shuttered businesses aren’t his concern.  Sort of.  But still, it is a dilemma because no one is on the streets to give him a handout.  Some of the local restaurants which feed the local homeless out the back door, are closed.  The social services are limited due to the pandemic and people of good will are confined to their homes.

The chronic homeless like “Birdman” are out there on the streets.  They may not be in our neighborhoods but look around, you’ll see them.  They aren’t going away; their numbers may grow as this pandemic lingers. 

“Birdman” is just one story out there.