[A bummer of a] Flashback Friday

I truly hate to admit this today, given that I am in an absolutely gorgeous city with all sorts of new possibilities at my fingertips, but dangit, I'm sad.

I'm sad for a few different (very good) reasons, but the one I am choosing to dwell on today is of a personal nature.  And of Mother Nature. 

In the form of a Flashback Friday (with a regrettably depressing tone), here goes nothing...

I'm sad because my children are young enough that they will probably not remember the time when the most beautiful vacation spot I've ever have the privilege of going looked like this:

And even on the rare days when the tide brought in a sea of greenish algae making the water look less amazing than usual, the powder white sand was still good for making sandcastles the likes of this:

Today, Friday, June 4, 2010, countless news reports proclaim the inevitability of the biggest oil spill in the history of our country infringing on the gulf beaches sometime this weekend.  If I were an optimistic person, I could say, "Well, at least we got a good eight years of beach-going in while we had the chance", but I can't.  Not when the reason this pristine beach will be defiled is nonsensical.  It's reprehensible.  It is so far-reaching in so very many ways, the least of which is my family vacation.

For various reasons, we have not going on our annual Destin trip this year.  We used to go in May, but with a kindergartner that was not possible.  June was out because of a two-week business trip to Chicago (where I actually am right now - and really it's amazing here!  Though I'm less than excited about the 10% sales tax...).  We were going to go in July.  We might still go in July.  I want to go in July.  Our summer beach trip has been the event that motivates me to keep pushing on through the heat, through the dog days of summer, through the exercising so I can have a "beach body". It's been the source of a million and one unforgettable memories that get cataloged by the toting around of our trusty family camera.

And now...

I am mourning the loss of a gorgeous natural resource.  I have shed very real tears over it.

Destin has always felt like "our little secret", especially considering the low volume of people and amazing beauty as compared to the beaches where I grew up.  I don't think you can truly know how incredible the panhandle beaches are until you've been there.  The white sand.  The emerald waters.  It's breathtaking.

To the gulf coast, I am praying for you...from the fisherman to the rental companies, from the restaurant owners to the amusement parks.  I'm praying for your white sand and your emerald waters and your innocent marine life.

I'm praying that these treasures won't just be but a memory of which I'm lucky enough to have a few snapshots.

 

"I think the Panhandle beaches are the most beautiful beaches on the planet, in my humble opinion. The thought of the oil coming here; it's not the kind of thought you want to contemplate. It's disgusting. To think this could be going on for months and months is very disturbing to me." ~Gov. Charlie Crist

You aren't the only one who feels that way, Governor Crist.  Believe me.