Look at these beautiful beaches! These are the waters, and sand, and seashore that is less that 100 miles from my home. The sand is pure white…and soft…and like sugar. The water is blue, and green, and cobalt. There is some seaweed…some times more than others. There are little fish that will nibble on your toes. All along the beach, there are stands of sea oats. Don’t pick them! It’s against the law. If you sit on the beach and look back toward the houses…you will see all manner of steps leading up to the highway. Some are new and sturdy. Some are barely holding together…no one cares to fix them…they just go to the next one down.
This is my beach. This is where I would go for Spring Break (when Mom and Pop would let me). This is where I used to love to walk out on the big pier in Panama City. This is where youth from our church would spend a week or two every summer. This is my beach! I love it! This is where I came the day after my 16th birthday. I had a brand new Chevrolet Camaro, and 3 friends in the car. I still remember having to call my Pop and tell him that a car full of boys had rammed my car in the rear! “Are y’all OK?,” he asked. We were. “Can you still drive the car?,” he asked next. We could. “Well, go on and enjoy your day and we’ll see about the car when you get home. Call me if you need me.” We did…go on and have a good day. Oh, I remember the feeling….16…new car…new bikini…cute boyfriend. Life was good…at my beach! (I was much older than 16 in the pic below…in case you wondered)
This is where Don and I would bring our boys when they were young. Oh, how they loved to go to the beach. They would swim all day. And, at night, we would all go to Miracle Strip Amusement Park…a sort of mini fair, where they could ride and eat and have the time of their lives. Later a wonderful water park was built, Shipwreck Island…and then our time had to be divided between there and the beach! Sweet, sweet memories!
And, I HATE what is going to happen to my beach. I think this is a tragedy beyond measure. And, there are beaches in Alabama, in Louisiana, in Mississippi that are in just as sad a shape. The water, the fish, the birds, the sand…the people. How sad for those that make their living from the ocean, whether fishing or tourism. And, since Obama has closed down drilling, more than 20,000 jobs are gone. It is sad, my friends. It is a tragedy.
” Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host,
the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein,
and thou preservest them all;
and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.” Nehemiah 9:6
Please pray for our beaches and the people who make their living from them and the countless others who enjoy them.
Hello, my name is Everly. I am a blogger living in New York. This is my blog, where I post about interior design and decoration. Never miss out on new stuff.
Tonja, what a SWEET response from your Dad about the wreck when you were younger. He asked the most important questions, and knew everything else could wait. I just LOVE that. I also love your new blog! I saw you give the address to someone the oher day on facebook, but didn't know you'd started this new one…I love the layout, the look, and the FB and other links. Makes me think I kinda need to look into it too!
Tonja, I've been doing just that. This is just a heartsick happening, and it's felt many hundreds of miles from the sea.
I've just been wondering why doesn't the government declare such a state of emergency that they can commandeer or martial law or whatever it takes to get every single engineer and worker and driller and wildcatter from EVERY oil company to work on this. Let BP pay their salaries as long as it takes, if they have anything left after this.
Even the executives wringing their hands, trying to wash them of this whole oily MESS—there's lots they can do—especially at the wildlife rescues, on the DAWN patrol.
Surely together, they can work some kind of remedy.
And certainly SHOULD have before now. Did they not have ANY provisions for just such a thing?
I'm not saying it nearly as kindly nor as eloquently as you did, but I DO love those beaches, the quiet late-night tide coming in like neon over the shining white sand. And I'm really angry, though so far away. Inexorable should be a four-letter word.
I loved this!!!!! I love that we are co-owners of a beach….what great fortune!!
Prayerfully, I am waiting for a positive turn of events at our beach. Here's the scenerio: someone in charge (BP, govertnment, etc??) stops, asks the Lord what to do, waits for an answer, and heads in a new direction of recovery for the coast, following a new leader who has had the answers from the beginning.
I love ya!
Kath
Hi Tonja, its just heatbreaking, all I can do is pray because I don't know what else to do. Here in Mobile, its too close to home. I will just keep praying, he is the answer. I too go to the beach with my kids, spring break, just breaks in general. Hopefully it will be resolved soon before its totally disasterous. Blessings, Debbie
saw you had a new layout and wanted to check it out! I've been missing blogging and for a few weeks have thought about getting back to it, even created a wordpress site for myself a few weeks ago, but haven't found a layout I'm totally happy with yet. You're inspiring me!
I agree about this tragedy. I can't watch the news—it breaks my heart to see what's happening to the wildlife already, not to mention people's livelihoods. So, so sad.
No oil here…yet, but we're holding our breath and praying.
Hugs!
Kat
So sad.
I can barely watch it on the news, it is tragic and I can't believe that it has been over 50 days!