Summertime

Liberty is back in camp as of 8:15 this morning. The first week is always a getting to know you kind of thing, but he was very happy to have some other kids around and a classroom full of new toys. I was encouraged to see balloons, a castle, tents, tons of toys my son loves and a giant playground right out the backdoor.

I came home and dwelt over a cup of coffee. You know what I mean? In the silence, elbows on table, nose in cup, staring out at my backyard.

Yesterday I was watching the end of This Is It - the Michael Jackson movie - on HBO. Lib was playing in the living room. He usually covers his ears lately when he hears music. He heard the deep bass begin for the song "Beat It." His little shoulders started to pump up and down. He stood up and really started going to town, right on beat, those little shoulders pumping harder. It was adorable. The kid was dancing. He has rhythm. He made me turn it up and had me get up and start dancing with him. It's these spontaneous things that give me so much hope.

I love his Spirit.

The time in between school is tough for both me and Lib, though. He needs more structure and it's just hard to get anything done at home, let alone work. We have been living in the pool over at my dad's condos and I have chlorinated hair to prove it!  I look like an aging Gidget.  I am very appreciative of the pool and our little community that has developed over the years. It's so nice to see the "regulars" come back to swim and see how the kids have grown. We discuss everything from weather to politics to recipes. Lately though, we talk about the beach. Most of where we live has been roped off to us in a sense.

Without droning on about the tragedy occurring in the Gulf to our precious wildlife and eventually to the inhabitants I fear, I am going to publish some updates from time to time, especially local ones because really, people need to know what is happening. I will say that some of the most accurate reporting is being done on the ABC nightly news or Good Morning America when they send good old Sam down. I was impressed that he went diving with Philip Cousteau around here so he could report what he saw with his own eyes. That was several weeks ago.

Locally, we are getting the biggest snow job because people want to stay in business at the beach. So, until someone comes out of the ocean covered in tar like the pelicans you see on the tube, the beach is open for business. I mean, if there is a spot that is clear for that moment, they are saying come on down our beaches are open! It's very disorienting and tempting. We want to go so badly. But, there is not one scientist who can tell us that it is safe. And, with Liberty, with all we have been doing to optimize his immune system, why would I chance it now?

It reminds me of the movie Jaws when the town of Amity refused to close the beach!

You can smell petroleum. It burns your eyes and people get headaches. I sent an email to our local TV station just to ask if they have heard anything about health effects. I got a very curt reply, from the weatherman no less, telling me that if I have a headache I should see a doctor and that they certainly were not hiding anything there. I never accused them of such.  So, now I think they ARE hiding something!!  I was simply seeking information, maybe some reassurance or something civil. That email spoke volumes to me. And boy have they been coached. They remind me of used car salesmen the way they advertise the unblemished patch of sand on our coast.

Here is an eye-opening (if not mouth-gaping) article worth reading that was published by an Anchorage newspaper.