by Suzi George

Created on: July 08, 2009

The beach holds magical, mystical properties. The crashing of the waves, the power of the water as it laps against the sand and all the creatures that live within it's depths is more immense that the human mind can imagine. But to a child, a day at the beach has a different type of alluring quality.

Children come prepared with their buckets, cups and bare feet. Sand squishes between their toes and their giggles resound throughout the coastline. Hermit crabs tickle their feet and their eyes widen when they discover a pretty seashell. Putting it to their ear, they listen and swear they can hear the sound of the ocean. Most of us don't realize until we are well into adulthood that the sound we hear as children is actually the blood rushing behind our ear drum and echoing off the inside of the shell but children are intrigued nonetheless.

Parents flop their chairs and icechests down happy for a cheap easy way to entertain their children. The beach provides a haven for all who come to enjoy. The children build sand castles while mom and dad sun, nap or look at hot bodies they can no longer have. I often think that's why we wear sunglasses at the beach and the pool; what better way to conceal what are eyes are searching for?

Seashells, sand dollars and seaweed wash up with each lap of the ocean. It's as if the waves are a tongue licking at an ice cream cone. Low tide says the ice cream is done for the day while high tide says it's in full swing as it tries to eat it all before it melts. Of course the ice cream is nothing but sand that will wash back in the very next day. Children will stand in the wet almost mud like sand and let it squeeze in between their fat little toes while adults do all they can to get the sand out of each crack and crevice that it seems to find so easily.

The beach is a relaxing place to enjoy your summer day. Seagulls run amok looking for that free handout while jellyfish are hiding in wait to be stepped on. Nurse sharks patrol the edges in hopes to scare some poor person who is lazily wading at the ocean's edge. The beach, however, can be a scary place too. If one wanders too far in, the water will take you out and your beach haven is so far away you can't see it anymore. Your haven becomes a distant memory as you fight to reclaim sanctuary. Lifeguards on the beach are there for just that very thing.

Enjoy the beaches, they seem to be disappearing each and everday.

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