Radical Noesis - Thinking outside the box

I noticed within the first half hour that there was something significantly wrong with this idyllic visit to the beach. Where were the birds?

In the whole time we were on the beach - about seven hours - I saw fewer than 30 birds. There were a handful of sea gulls, one (yes one) crow, four sandpipers, one heron and a handful of ducks in the tidal flats.

Given the lack of birds, I started looking much more closely at the sand beneath my feet. All the shells were old and worn. There was not one fresh crab part. There were no sand fleas (maybe a little early for them). There was not one strand of seaweed. I saw several baby sand dollars - dead. In other words, there was virtually no sign of recent life in the sand beneath my feet. No food, no birds.

But the waves came in and the tide went out. The sound of the ocean had not changed, The slightly hollow sound I felt more than heard had to be a symptom of my not being surrounded by the abundant life forms I expect at the coast.

I have not been able to get the experience out of my brain. The pristine - empty beach - lies behind my eyes when I close them. I imagine millions of people around the world strolling dead beaches laughing not seeing what has left. After all, the sun is there; the waves crash and roar; the wind brushes sand against their legs. How many will notice that life has fled?

The refrain runs through my mind "Even dead seas have tides."