By John Jefferson
Garth Brooks had a hit record (one of many) with a song that began with these lines:
“I was feelin’ the blues
I was watching the news
When this fella came on the TV
He said I’m tellin’ you
That science has proven
That heartaches are healed by the sea.”
The “Jefferson corollary” is that this holistic remedy isn’t just restricted to healing the pains of love lost — but it is a remedy. Been there. It also mends career burnout or just plain ol’ everyday being over-worked. It’s a good escape destination if you just want to get away for a day or two. Or maybe even you, too, like Mr. Brooks, have watched so much insanity on the news lately that you want to run naked and screaming through the woods.
Don’t do that! You could get mosquito bites, chiggers, and arrested.
There is just something relaxing about smelling the salt air. Feeling the breeze. Hearing the waves. And listening to the squawk of the sea gulls. Maybe walking on the beach barefoot and trying to out-skip the last incoming waves onto the beach without getting your toes wet. And there’s always the possibility you might find something interesting washed up on the beach – like maybe a note in a bottle. All these are prescriptions for restoring personal peace.
There are more ways to enjoy the seashore than there were ways Elizabeth Barrett Browning could describe how much she loved Robert. Try counting them.
Fishing or crabbing are a couple. Or just taking a tour boat to see the endangered whooping cranes and myriad other birds with Capt. Tommy Moore out of Rockport. The whoopers are usually in Texas until late March or early April. There’s even good birding along Fulton Beach Road and on the Lamar Peninsula. Strolling along Fulton Harbor at dawn as the fishing boats – both commercial and recreational – embark to the bays for the day’s work or play can start your day off much better than fighting a freeway.
My late friend, Capt. Billy Sandifer, once car-camped alone on Padre Island for a year and a half to recover from the rigors of the Vietnam War and the unwelcoming aftermath in America. We’ve camped a little on the beach but have enjoyed the variety of lodging choices available in Rockport. Two places on Lamar even had whooping and sandhill cranes right out the door.
We’ve made over fifty trips to Rockport/Fulton through the years. It’s been our refuge. Just pointing the car toward Rockport relaxes our stress.
And then there’s the food! Fish, shrimp, oysters, and crabs right out of the water don’t get any fresher than that! There are numerous restaurants to satisfy any taste in Rockport. The Chamber of Commerce sent aides list of forty-two.
So, bury your troubles in the sand and watch the sunrise across Aransas Bay. Or Galveston, Matagorda, Corpus, other bays, or anywhere along the Gulf beaches.
It’s the start of a new day in your life, too.
JJ
