Life of the Shore

Excursion to Wallops Island
The idea of going to Wallops Island was exciting because a special pass is required to visit this beach.  Going through security, seeing construction of a ship, and the various buildings for NASA, I was not sure what to expect.   Arriving at the beach, I understood how great of an opportunity this would be for our class.  The entire beach was open for us to meander around, and was a chance to have a day to call our own.  Feeling my imprints in the sand as I strolled along the beach, I was captivated by the various sea shells washed ashore. I wondered about their history, and how at this point in time I could see them settled next to my feet. 

Rachel Carson describes shore life in The Edge of the Sea. She writes, “All the life of the shore- the past and the present-by the very fact of its existence there.” (Pg.11) Picking up sea shells, I began analyzing them, feeling their existence “past” and “present.” These shells were mostly clams and oysters and had at one point been one with the ocean.  Now deceased, the only thing it has left is the shell of its former self, but it did not mask the beauty of them.  Some shells were evident of their “past” as they were chipped and weathered.  But no two shells on the beach that day could be identical, for each shell had its own unique features.  The “life of the shore” could not be defined by the amount of shells I collected, for every day brings a new set of shells.  Carson states, “No two successive days is the shore line precisely the same.” The shells I saw that day were the existence of the “past” and “present” of a day that would that would never be the same.  I knew that the shells of that day would wash away, but each day after would bring its new wealth of shells; each with its own originality. 

The weather showed a solemn feeling, not too sunny, not too cloudy.  It helped me to focus on the splashing of the waves against my legs, and the shells that bounced over my toes.  That day on the beach could never be “the same” and that’s what gives it a strong sensory image.  If we were to go there again it would never be “precisely the same”, but neither would tomorrow from the next day.  So the “life of the shore” slows down time, as we are able to look at the “past,”“present,” and enjoy its originality. 

By Andy Dixon