DocAndersen
My father and my grandfather wandered the shores of the Wisconsin River. My mother and her parents walked the beach of Lake Ripley. I was lucky enough to wander both with all of my grandparents and parents. Those moments are diamonds that I keep polished. There is peace in the water. I have had the pleasure of visiting all the seas on earth save two (the two artic oceans or seas). I have touched water in the Pacific that perhaps, I felt the same water in the Atlantic many years later. I have had the fortune of being at and near some of the world’s finest beaches. I have naively stepped onto nude beaches (and then off very quickly)! From Portugal to Bondi Beach in Australia.
Over the years, I have flown over both the central Oceans (Atlantic and Pacific). I have flown over the Indian Ocean. I have looked down for 5 or 6 hours only to see the water. Waves are gently rolling along. Water is a part of all of us. Millions of years ago, when the first creatures left the water, they carried that primordial sea with them. It is in the makeup of the fluids of our bodies—the sea that was and the human that is. Water is also a powerful force. Earlier this week, we had a massive amount of rain near Washington, DC. Parts of the city flooded. Not the usual places this time. Ellicott City is working on a project to prevent their town from being in the news when it rains.
There are and were countless pictures of people driving into trouble. When you see water look down; if you can’t see the road under the water, don’t go. If you see moisture on the street, don’t drive. Water changes fast, and once the river, creek, or lake has crested the embankment, that depth can change fast. Be careful out there! Water and flooding is nothing to play with. I am always terrified to see children trapped in a flooded area in the car with their parents. I am still impressed with those willing to risk their lives to save the lives of others. Today is the day after a horrible event, and the week after the flooding, stop and smile at a first responder.
This work is Copyright DocAndersen. Any resemblance to people real or fictional in this piece is accidental (unless explicitly mentioned by name.)
