Y

There was a big Y on the beach yesterday.

Early, before church, I went out for a quick run on the beach.

About a quarter of a mile from home, there was a Y right there on the beach. Someone found a beached tree branch about 10 feet high in the shape of the question, dug a hole, and left it there staring at the ocean, wondering.

New York Birds

I am at my parents' home in NY.

There is something comforting about having the chance to turn back the years of my life and for a morning at least be the kid.

I poured a cup of coffee and sat outside on my parents' deck. They live in the middle of suburbia. Even here the earth speaks loudly. This morning it was the birds. I grew up listening to these birds without even knowing it. I don't know their names, but I remember their songs.

Lights on the Horizon

There were lots of fishing boats out last night.

Late, right before going to bed, after an evening of work, I paused to listen to the waves, the fog horn, all the sounds that help me remember that the world's urgency is not what it is about.

Out on the horizon there were a whole bunch of lights.

It is not usually like that. Most nights, there is one - maybe two - reminders that way out there in the darkness there are brave human beings.

Last night there were a whole bunch of lights scattered across the horizon.

Undistinguished Gems

David and I went for a walk on the beach this morning. On the way out, there was a hawk perched right at the top of the cypress tree. Behind him, the three-quarters moon was still giving off light. Wildflowers were everywhere.

On the beach, it was low tide. David ran right to the edge of the ocean and turned, beckoning me to follow. "At low tide, you can sometimes find treasures here," he explained. Like a kid, he began searching. He picked up a sand dollar with a hole in its center. "A bird already got this one. Sometimes you can find a whole bunch of them before the birds do."

We continued walking. Each of us scanned for treasures. He found a rock half black, half white, like the cookies I loved as a kid. I found a white rock. Most were gray, black. There were lots of broken shells.

"Nothing exceptional, today," I thought.

"Undistinguished gems," David said.