sand castles and the blog


in some ways blogging is not entirely dissimilar to building sandcastles
well, at least for me

and well, perhaps these similarities are shared by Fatmarc and Iconoclasst

although I am not sure how active they are on the beach when it comes to sand castles

but I know that we share some similar narcisitic pleasures in the rewards of the blog

when on the beach there are hundreds of people

some people are fishing
some people are swimming

some people are building sand castles

most people are doing nothing

(a metaphor for life as a whole... a blog for another time)


me.... I am a sand castle type
but I also go into the water a fair amount
throw frisbees, fly kites, and occassionally run
and well... people watch.... but we all people watch


when I build sand castles I do it for myself
not unlike why I blog
but... if I really blogged for myself I could store an archive and not post it to the public
the same goes for the building of sandcasltes

there is a certain vanity involved
just as I want people to read my blog and respond to it

I want people to view my sand sculptures and respond to them

no.... I am not looking for a conversation with every lonely geriatric
although the exchanges can be interesting
while most of them are not

I do want people to soak in the sculptures
if gives me pleasure that these sculptures give them pleasure

it also pisses me off when people step on them or intentionally destroy them
while I am more impressed for the most part that the scuptures survive the day

that said....
my two boys are tempted to destroy the stuff I make
sometimes they destroy what I make in an effort to aid me
for the most part they are respectful

tonight when lisa and I took the boys out for a sunset photo opportunity
there were some foot prints on each and everyone of the sand sculptures
not complete destruction
but... some intentional footprints on each and every one of my creations
the sea turtle, the sea snake, the sea monster, the crab, the hammerhead shock, and octopus


I held back my anger and managed to keep my heart rate down

it amazed me that dean responded to the destruction just as I did
at age four he surveyed the scene

then he surveyed the area

his first suspects were the same as mine... the kids skim boarding straight ahead

I dispelled his accusations and tried to explain that some people act without thinking that some people do not respect other people's actions and efforts
then we got on with our photographs


most certainly each and every passerby gave me hard stares as I sat my boys ontop of the various sculptures

at times I felt like explaining to the people that passed that I had built these things and I could destroy them if I choose
but I let them pass and kept about my task

enough ranting and rambling
I lost my point some time ago time for bed lets see if the surf steals these creations and takes them back to the sea at the morning high tide

as far as people being sedintary on the beach and in other aspects of life....
it is for the best
a few men fishing is better than many man fishing
a few frisbees flying around the beach is better than thousands
just as the trails are already crowded enough
I would hate to see the beaches if the square footage at the surf break was getting competitive for the sand sculptors

oh....
when people say, "nice job!" as I do my sand sculpture thing....
it is not my job.... I hate my job... I love playing in the sand
when people say, "are you the artist?"
no... it is not art.... it is playing in the sand... it is far closer to craft than art
metal work is the act of a craftsman that can result in art
and to the old man that asked, "are you the creator?"
I refrained then from saying... "yes... I am the creator... of all that is seen and unseen"