On a Beach Walk: No. 31

Embed from Getty Images

 

I like walking the beach. It’s good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.

The sand is always shifting. The beachhead is different every day due to continual waves and changing tides.

Daily winds easily move the dry sand from place to place. The moving grains of sand stings my legs during gusts or very windy days. The city places old Christmas trees from residents by the dunes to catch moving sand and build the dune. On the other hand, violent storms as hurricanes easily reconfigure the landscape.

Shifting sand is a metaphor for change. Oh, how life has changed during my 65 years. Thinking about the change those in their 90s have seen is mind boggling – after all;

I remember the rooftop antenna delivering 3 television stations to our black and white TV.

I remember picking up the phone, dialing zero to tell the operator the number I wanted to call.

I remember party lines – although we didn’t have one.

I remember the excitement of the first TV dinner that was either baked chicken or Salisbury Steak that had to heated in the oven.

I remember cooking popcorn on the stove with heated oil in a large pot was the primary option.. Jiffy Pop was a big deal!

I remember frequently playing with many neighborhood friends outside.

I remember Charlie – the milkman delivering milk to our house.

I remember stores in small towns like mine had vibrant downtowns providing everything that people needed.

I remember going to the movie theater, which showed a cartoon before the featured film.

I remember our town’s 6-lane bowling alley using a person to set the pins before the age of automatic equipment.

I remember using a slide rule in high school and college.

The sand is soft and the water is refreshing, but change isn’t easy. People and organizations fight change, but change happens out of necessity. We can’t return to the life of what was in whatever year one selects because those days are not only gone – but won’t be returning! – and to think that technological change is happening faster than ever.

It is not easy to imagine life 15 years from now. If I’m lucky, I’ll see it as an 80 year old. What will my nephews and nieces see when they are my current 65? If humans can figure out how to get along, it could be a wonderful world.

Change is good, but somethings do not need to be replaced, such as walking the beach being good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.