Slice of Life Story Challenge Day 2 -Shifting Sands

Summer is over in Australia. All bundled up and consigned to history. Autumn arrived with  dramatic wind and rain and a dive in temperature that demanded attention. Yesterday was a real, hey notice me kind of day. The new season indulged in some attention seeking. Much of Australia’s east coast is currently being lashed by strong winds and torrential storms, resulting in extensive flooding in New South Wales and northern Victoria. We are water logged, and there is more to come in the next few days. Welcome to Autumn…
This morning for no apparent reason I found myself reflecting on a summer that is no more. I looked at my beach bag hanging on the back of the study door and pondered what was still in it. I delved inside, curious to discover a simple truth. The answer- beach sand! It clung to the tips of my fingers in a desperate bid to escape the darkness at the bottom of my bag.

Sand possesses an amazing ability to attach itself to things and travel…

It occurred to me that tiny grains of sand from my local beach (situated at the end of my street) have found their way all around the world. Anonymous little granules are continually hitching rides with assorted beach goers, all year round.  Off they go, attached to towels, feet, swimming costumes, footwear,  bags, bodies, hats, -basically anything that goes to the beach becomes an unknowing accomplice for sand, enabling grains of sand to escape their natural environment. Any surface suffices!

The journey takes them to France and Freemantle, Germany and Geelong –destinations far flung and varied. -Shifting sand indeed!

I took the sand from my beach bag and glued it around the border of a double page in my latest notebook. The journey of these grains has come to end and they now rest in the company of words and pictures. They fulfil a useful purpose.

Without doubt I have brought grains of sand from faraway places to my humble home as a result of my beach excursions over the years.  I wonder if they mingle and exchange travel stories?

‘How far have you come?’

‘-About a thouSAND kilometres.’

Comments

  1. Kevin Hodgson2 March 2012 at 21:35

    Sands ... data ... the world is now a mix of everything. Just think of the "old days" when the world traveled nowhere, and nothing got mixed except through severe travel and hardship. What an odd place we live in where in a day, a grain of sand from one edge of the world might find its way into the palm of our hand, and we may not even know it.
    Great slice!
    Kevin

    ReplyDelete
  2. Katie2 March 2012 at 23:21

    How interesting. I never really thought it about it that way but you are right. I often find sand months into the winter left over from trips to the dog beach. No doubt I have tracked sand back with me from far flung places of the world.

    Katie
    http://coffeefueledmusings.wordpress.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Deb Day2 March 2012 at 23:39

    Love this perspective, Alan, and the glimpse into your notebook. Peeking into others notebooks is a secret little thrill I have....like peeking into someone's medicine cabinet! Have you heard of smash journals? (http://www.amazon.com/K-CompanySmash-Folio-Mod-Black/dp/B004ZBLKQ8/ref=pd_sim_ac_4) Your writer's notebook reminds me of those!

    I hope your autumn and winter are as mild as ours in Iowa have been.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Janet3 March 2012 at 09:45

    Brilliant ideas here Alan. I love the visual appeal of your journal. I am a tactile and visual person, love to doodle, draw and create more than just words in my journals. Sand does travel doesn't it? Have you ever thought about how old sand is? If it could only tell us stories! Thank you for sharing, I enjoyed.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nanc3 March 2012 at 10:52

    Your writing made me so excited ...I can't wait to feel the sand! We've got a couple more months. I'm hoping that my husband will bring some home from Costa Rica where he's been the last two weeks. You're notebook...how cool is that- I want to share it at school.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nanc3 March 2012 at 11:02

      oh... it makes me crazy when I do this your instead of you're nanc

      Delete
  6. Christy Rush-Levine3 March 2012 at 10:53

    This slice is packed with interesting ideas. Your words inspire me. I love the way you personified the sand (escaping, traveling, conversing)!

    ReplyDelete
  7. bonnie K3 March 2012 at 11:49

    I love reading about the end of someone's summer as we hang on to our bizarre winter and I rush things along by spending this week in Aruba where the sand is as gorgeous as the sea and sky. I will take some home :)
    Bonnie

    ReplyDelete
  8. Carol3 March 2012 at 13:10

    I loved thinking about the "traveling sand" but loved how you integrated it into your notebook even more. My notebooks are not nearly as creative or artistic and you make me want to try something new! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Paul3 March 2012 at 18:03

    Thinking of sand metaphorically after reading this. A new window has opened: thanks! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Terje 3 March 2012 at 19:55

    A musing about sand is a pleasant reading on a sunny Saturday morning. I am sure that some of the sand has travelled to my home country -Estonia. Spring is approaching but the beaches are still covered with snow.
    Thank you for sharing your journal page.

    ReplyDelete

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