SEASIDE – It is said, you don’t fully appreciate something until you lose it. I spent most of my childhood living on the coast in Seaside, and thoroughly enjoyed it. However, for all the enjoyment I had, I never truly appreciated my surroundings. It took me being removed from the situation to fully appreciate the place in which I lived. Only now, since I have left the beach, do I completely understand how great living on the beach was.

The beach is stopping to watch the day’s final colors as we watch the ocean swallow the fading sun. At night it is the moon casting a golden pathway onto the sea so clearly that you swear you could walk on it into the heavens. The beach is our rivers actually flowing backwards half of the day. It is the fog so dense that our street lights are still on in the afternoon. It is why we stay no dryer with an umbrella then without one, and why eating a world delicacy is as easy as dropping a pot off of the 12th Avenue Bridge. The beach is why we don’t have to strip down in our underwear in the summer to stay cool, or give our entire paycheck to the electric company in the winter to stay warm. It’s the harmony of the crashing waves at night that soothes us into our dreams.

More then just a phenomenon, the beach is also a culture. It is why we can show up anywhere 15 minutes late on the clock, and still be considered “on time”. It’s why we wear t-shirts and shorts… at church. It’s why we have our kids practice walking up hills at school, and why at 7:00 pm every Wednesday we have to calm panicking tourist down and reassure them “Don’t worry, those sirens are just a test”. It’s where half of the traffic jams in town are caused by a family of 8 on a surrey. At the beach you can say “an elephant ear sure sounds good”, and people know your not talking about exotic meat. The argument for where the best clam chowder can be found isn’t a global or national question, but local. Even the most mundane and mainstream seem to succumb to beach culture. Take McDonald’s for example. It not only is a fast-food chain, but it also has become the beach’s observatory to view seagulls.

But its more then just a phenomenon and culture, it alters the course of the past, present, and future. It’s why a statue of Lewis and Clark overlook the ocean, their westward trek could go no further. It’s why the world’s largest relay race has to come to an end. It’s where many mighty ships have met their final resting place. It’s why standing at ocean’s edge is also standing at the edge of western civilization itself.

Lastly, the beach is you. You are a part of everything I previously mentioned. Many of you don’t even realize that you are in this most beautiful picture. I hope that every now and then you will take time to stop and appreciate the beach and everything that it embodies. Do not wait to be removed from the picture before you decide to appreciate it.

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Drew Holland now lives in Oregon City