“One grain of sand, it is all that remains of my vast empire." This line is from the classic film The Never Ending Story. When the mythical land of Fantasia is destroyed, the protagonists are able to wish it back into existence using that one grain of sand, which had escaped destruction. If I could have wished Rockaway back to normal using sand I would have been in luck. Because of our sand? Instead of disappearing it climbed into our houses, streets, cars, beds, bathtubs and just about every other imaginable place.
As Memorial Day approaches one can feel the return to normalcy knocking at the door. Some of the signs of destruction haven’t quite left us yet, although more and more our hometown is starting to feel like itself again.
One of the ways that I kept my head through the storm and the winter months that followed was by remembering what I love most about living here. The beach. Every morning, I walk the shoreline with my pooch. Today I invite you to join me, to see what we find in the sands of Rockaway.
Our first find, a paper plate with a child’s drawing on it.
Next, Nina and I encountered this guy, in quite a compromising position.
It’s a bit of a hobby of mine to rescue horseshoe crabs that end up flipped over and helpless. After he was vigorously sniffed, he was re-released into the wild
Next up, this purple broom head.
Lines in the sand that remind me of tree branches.
A series of seashells and sea glass.
A little patterned feather.
And a shred of yellow caution tape.
So there you have it, the best of one morning’s exploration in the sand along the shore. And should the day ever come when I can wish upon a sand grain, I’ll be in luck. Right now, there are about a thousand of them in my shoes.
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[As I wrote in my previous post on the rebuilding of Breezy Point, Susanne, a resident of neighbouring Rockaway, contacted me about using Larry Deemer’s photos on her Rockaway Rises blog (which she started because she “was tired of looking at all the negative news stories and photography about Rockaway.” Larry was, of course, delighted, and Susanne used some of his Wave to Wave photos from his book of the same title. It also seemed like a great opportunity for a guest post, and Susanne kindly agreed – this is the very enjoyable result. Susanne grew up in Breezy Point and is a freelance photographer and photo editor who “spent several weeks after Hurricane Sandy digging out my parents’ flooded basement before driving to Florida where I had to stay for 6 weeks because my office had also been flooded and my job temporarily moved down there.” Thanks for this post, Susanne, and best wishes for a great Memorial Day weekend to you and everyone in Rockaway and Breezy Point.]
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