The Way The Beach Used To Be

[Syrinx]

I thought this was a nice piece of writing in the feature section today:

Seeing the destruction in Gulf Shores, I felt a little like “The Great Santini’s" kid. In Pat Conroy’s novel, when the overbearing pilot dies in flight, the oldest son agonizes, thinking his curses took form and slapped his old man from the sky.

I felt the same way watching condominiums topple. Mwah-hah hah! Er, I mean, awwww.

Of course I didn’t want people to get hurt. But what a dream, that someday a mighty wind would wipe clean those hulking beige monoliths scarring the land, reserving the good view for those who can afford it.

*snip*

From the beach we get raging power and beauty, electric wildness and, yes, love.

But when bullies lurk tall and eat that skyline, it strangles the magic. The biggest heartbreak, seeing toppled condos, is knowing someone’s planning to rebuild, higher, wider, uglier.

Oblivious.

Before that can happen: Anybody up for a drive?

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040924/NEWS/409240302/1077/entertainment4

(free reg. required, but bugmenot suggests:
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light3

[Nay]

1. I feel the same way about my home patch of beach, Indian Rocks Beach and

SAnd Key near Largo-Clearwater. When I was a child, we used to go as a family to Sand Key and have evening picnics, cook hotdogs over a little fire, and watch the sun go down. Swimming, sand castle building, throwing bread to the seagulls...it was wonderful. The key was covered with Australian pines and harbored all sorts of wildlife. Later, we teenagers parked there under the trees to smooch and ...

Now, it is two long rows of condos and hotels. One small section is reserved for the public, and there are few trees, parking is 2 bucks an hour, and you aren't even allowed to feed the seagulls. It has been ruined by commerce, basically.

I have often dreamed of it all being knocked down by the BIG ONE, a hurricane that hits it all head on. Maybe, during the breather after the hurricane has done its damage, clearer minds will prevail and set the key aside as a huge park for all the citizens...

Yeah, right.

[bleedingheart]

2. The most beautiful beach I have ever been on was uninhabitated

and you had to take a ferry to get there...

it was off the coast of NC and some wild horses live there...(left by some hurricane victims who decided living there was too dangerous)

Many of the big homes and condos have destroyed the beauty which lured the owners there in the first place.