Water Music

Notes from

A Writer by the Sea

The first time I glimpsed the ocean I was twelve.

Our family was on a vacation in the upper states of the East Coast. Being from land-locked Minnesota, I couldn’t wait to see something I could not see across. I had visions of surfing, sailing, seeing a whale or even an ocean liner.

We arrived in New Hampshire. After miles of billboards advertising crab shacks, we found a remote beach complete with tufts of tall hairy grass but the Atlantic introduced herself with a temper tantrum of white caps. “Stay put!!!!” she screamed.

I was awed at the power in those waves. Where had they gotten their momentum? Was it a gentle breeze off the coast of Spain that had turned the water into the monster it was now? Was it from a ship going too fast?

That night we drove to Newick's in Dover and feasted on the sea’s givings: clams, lobster and shrimp. I can still see the plastic red bibs around my parents’ necks and buttery-cheeked grins on their faces as they peeled and cracked shells. Ah, I thought, so the ocean’s way of not giving all up its delicacies to our overindulgence was by putting up a fight of white caps to keep us at bay.

That same trip we visited another of God’s wonders: Niagara Falls. As massive ferocious claws of iron and white-colored water thrust itself down in a bass-voiced rumble, rainbows appeared in misty sprays. It was a display of treacherous beauty, but my young mind wanted to know if the water, ten miles upstream, knew what lied ahead of it.

Ever since that trip, my love for the sight, sound and smell of the sea has only grown. I think God likes water too. After all, it’s been with Him since Day One.

Oxford’s Dictionary defines the sea as, “A large lake or landlocked sheet of water, whether salt or fresh.” So, whether you’re as young as the newest reservoir or an old salty dog, watch this site for notes and meditations on the the philharmonic music found in God’s creation of the sea, sand and sky.

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