Monday, May 24, 2010

Last look




I went to the beach today. I am trying to get my last looks at a beach with blue/green water before it turns brown with oil. I went to Caspersen Beach in Venice, Florida - I haven't been down there in about 15 years. It is a place that people used to frequent to look for shark's teeth. Years back they were abundant, every handful of sand had many sharks teeth. Now it is a little harder to find them & you see people using sand baskets to scoop them up.

Years ago, we took a trip there with my friends Barb & Enita from Texas. Enita took a recipe from a cookbook called "Manifold Destiny" (I think that was the name of it) and cooked our lunch on the hot engine of her van as we traveled the hour it took to get there. Imagine the looks on people passing by as we stopped along the highway half-way there for Enita to check her roast. She was under the hood of the van with oven gloves, unwrapping her meal so she could turn it over, then wiring it back onto the manifold! What a sight! We had a wonderful hot lunch when we arrived at Caspersen Beach! I fear that soon these beach areas will be gone, and all the sea life will be dead. I hope by some miracle the Gulf can recover - but I don't see how.

4 comments:

Susan Tidwell said...

The beautiful beaches, last look... :-(

LOVED your story of the 'to go' meal!

Epiphenita said...

I'm horrified by what is happening in the gulf. Our Texas coast was already less than pristine and now this. I doubt the marine life will heal in our generation or the next.

I'm so tired of big companies screaming "no government regulation" but when they fuck up (royally), they insist/plead that the government bail out their greedy asses. While I'm critical of government waste and bureaucracy, I think corporate greed is going to destroy our economy and environment.

On a happier note, I remember that trip! And I believe we had sausage, onions and peppers cooked right on the minivan engine. And yes, Manifold Destiny was the book. What a great memory. Let's do that again...even if we have to choose another destination.

Schiplady said...

If you make the trip again can you include me in this time. Sounds like great fun. I spend a lot of time at the beach on Manasota Key and the shark teeth are plentiful there. I also fear that the large oil companies will make it so that not only will be not be able to enjoy it but that there will be no sea or wildlife left to see once you get there.....

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