Looking for oil

Sunday when we got to the beach there was a line of yachts out in the gulf, an armada purposely spaced apart, slowly going east. Rather than fishing, I'm sure their mission involved looking for oil. It was kind of a beautiful visual. It's weird that all these "after deepwater horizon" beach scenes have a richness to me, more dimension, saturated color and texture. Anyhow, once the yachts passed we went down to the shoreline and again, found it clear.

The water today as beautiful as it was yesterday at Seaside where we joined about 1000 people for "Hands Across the Sand".

Everything is at odds right now. The water looks so good yet there is still the so much unknown. Another sign of what had been a recovering economy, a house closed in Seaside last week for over $7 million dollars but for the most part, business "adh" has, of course, been negatively affected. Talking with friends around town, we share hope and concern, relating what this "expert" or that has predicted good and bad. These conversations often take place with the beautiful Gulf of Mexico sparkling in the background like it is just another day in paradise.

Tempers flair sometimes because there is so out of our control but the locals are working together, at once resolved and resigned to getting through this. Understanding that as a community we have to take care of ourselves, the sheriff has agreed to a weekly town hall meeting. He is very visible and open to suggestions. That is so important right now. The county commissioners are also listening. The often loud, frustrated demands from local community hero's and watchdog organizations for more information are being heard although the process seems incredibly slow.

As we left the beach we saw a team of Community Responders; a big group of people with green shirts, chatting in the shade, clearly waiting for instructions. We overheard the foreman telling them they would be combing the beach, evenly spaced, looking for any signs of oil. Just like the yachts. Just like all of us.