November 2003                                   The Megaphone                                                Page 3

Life on the Beach

Being here on the beach with these kids remind me of when my own children were their ages and we lived so near the beach. During the "season" we were at the ocean probably every day and during the school year, our youngest, John, did not take a bus to school so I drove him along the beach to an from school each day.

They enjoyed the waves and would sit and watch the huge tankers and ocean liners on the horizon. They built sand castles and coming from Kansas City as they were, they would try to build a sandman. Did pretty well as I remember. I do not ever remember feeling so relaxed as I was during that time of my life.

Of course, we resided in South Jersey near Atlantic City and we did not have the constant warmth that is here in Florida. But since the south coast of Jersey picks up the last of the warmth that flows along the southeastern coast, they have really mild winters. Nothing at all like North Jersey and other points east and north of there.

South Jersey's Atlantic Ocean is so very different from Somer's Point at the very southern end to the huge breakwaters north of Atlantic City. At Somer's Point, the water is usually calm and kids can surf and ride boogie boards to their hearts content. At the northern most part of South Jersey, the Atlantic is quite like that along the coast of Maine, constantly changing and displaying its own character.

I can remember standing in the parking lot at one of the old "captain's" houses and on the calm days feeling the spray at the seawall. I also remember on rough days that the spray would that the spray would drench us and automobiles that were parked in the lot.

Padre Island is quite like this Satellite Island. Long and narrow with Beach on one side and causeway to the mainland on the other. This house is across the street from the beach.

To me the most perfect place in the world is on the water. To hear the sound of the surf is so relaxing that I quite often have a CD of the surf on at home. There is another place that I also love, but I will save talking about that for another time.

Sharon Benedict Hurst '53