Sunset Cliffs, with the offshore vastness of the ocean, looking North to La Jolla headlands
Waves breaking against the sea wall, Mission Beach, c. 1939
Garnet Blvd. flooded after the hurricane that actually came onshore to the North in Long Beach, c. 1939
Climbing over "edge of the earth" c. 1947
Erosion of beach sand, 1983
Botany Bay, Vancouver Island, B.C.
Once upon a time, as a three or four year old, I looked out
towards the ocean and viewed a universe as both micro and macrocosm. Close to me were my Mother and Father
and our small summer beach house “Grandma’s folly”. Next in proximity was the structural sea wall in front of
our house that drew a line between us and the beach and ocean. This wall was toped by a walkway going
South and North. To the North the
wall ended in a few blocks as the hill of Pacific Beach began to elevate gently
higher. Just behind the beach at
this transition area was a huge sand dune topped with bamboo. At least it looked huge to a little
guy, and of course it was dark inside and perhaps haunted, definitely
scary. Beyond this landmark a bit
more to the North was Crystal Pier with an office on the bluff and cabins out
on the pier over the beach and water.
This was a magical realm, and I looked forward to times my family took
me out on the pier where the waves, sparkling water, and all the wonder of the
water, kelp, and fish could be viewed, at meditative leisure, from a safe and
wonderful vantage point above. At
last, one half kilometer more to the North, was the cliff headland of Pacific
Beach, jutting out into the ocean about a quarter mile and perhaps 20 meters
high. The ocean horizon framed
this headland and spread in a panorama 180 degrees around to the South. The accompanying beach was the last of
the land, in front of or against this marvelous and constantly changing ocean
with tides, wind sculpted and infinitely changing surface, warm sunlight
reflections, and waves. This was
my universe.
The Sea
“There are waters that God created in
abundance. At the same time as the Earth and the heavens, waters integral to
the act of Genesis, that were collected at the beginning of the world into seas
imbued with essential life forces.
There millennial seas, the ancient element
of gods and goddesses (Poseidon, Amphitrite, Triton, Neptune); seas that
witnessed great Biblical exploits (Noah) and legendary heroes (Ulysses, whose
odyssey remains unequalled), where fantastical mermaids, sirens, dolphins, naiads,
and sea serpents lay in wait for proud, brave mariners, mortals to be seduced
or terrified, spared or drowned; seas that were the cradles of fabulous
civilizations, of which mere broken fragments remain, pictured in every great
imago mundi.
There are seas upon which explorers braved
every danger, risking their lives….
There are seas that inspired poets and
writers….
There are seas that forged the talents of
great filmmakers….
Seas where life is precarious….
Seas that the desperate and dispossessed of
this world seek to cross in secret….
There are seas that witnessed the birth of
a new art in 1839….
There are seas whose shores suggest the
idea of absolute infinity, seas exerting a fascination that no amount of
geographical knowledge can slake; and others that overwhelm the spirit,
carrying us away to experience the “oceanic feeling so dear to Romain Roland,
the exaltation and ecstasy of which we never tire. Seas where a man can find himself- as before a mirror, or
the abyss- alone with his fears, his hopes, his intimate truths; where he may
focus and confront himself better than anywhere else. Where he can, in his heart and conscience, face his need for
truth, authenticity, freedom, lose or find himself forever.
There are seas that are all of these things
in one, even if each has its own physique and character, even if each has its
own way of pleasing the five senses, seas that are of the Sea itself, seas that
can- sublimely or simply- bring a man face to face with the finite nature of
his existence, and the possibility of an afterlife unknown.” (Borhan, Pierre, The Sea, 2011, pages
7-10)
No comments:
Post a Comment