Footprints in the Sand

I walked this beautiful Florida beach, took in it's treasures of nature, saw the Osprey on it's huge nest, watching me with guarded disinterest. I watched the sun set over the Gulf, casting it's golden rays upon the white sand.

I walked this beach. Look behind me and you'll see my footprints in the sand. They are proof I was there. Ha! They'll be gone in an hour, swallowed by the winds and the tide. Such are the temporary nature of monuments to our existence.

Yesterday, I walked through an old, country grave yard. I pulled away some vines and read a bleached-white tombstone that had fallen over and broken in two. The letters were almost worn smooth. "James T. Watson - Died June 7, 1882". Almost 125-years that testament to the man's existence had lasted. I wonder if anybody is still around that recalled the man. Maybe there's a photograph of him tucked away in a shoebox, in an attack somewhere. Maybe there's an entry for him on some lineage database, stored on magnetic tape. I know that he existed. I saw his tombstone, his footprint.

The Calusa Indians lived on this island. Five-centuries ago, Xuanatu-Xi, son of Tsantaa-ze, walked this same beach. He was a brave warrior and a fine artesian. He made the feather-and-bead headdress that was worn by the chieftains of his tribe for 4-generations.

The Calusa buried their dead in shell mounds, which became quite large over time. With no written language, the history of their ancestors was passed through songs and stories. They were a proud, powerful people, with a well-developed civilization. All of the tribes from the West coast of Florida to Lake Ochecobee paid them tribute

The Spanish came in the 1500's, and, with their diseases and guns, they ended the Calusa people. The shell mounds were used to make the nearby highway. "We didn't know what they were", they said.

Yes, I walked this very same beach. Just look at my footprints in the sand.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I spent the Memorial Day weekend at Lake Leatherwood near Eureka Springs, Ar. They have excellent mountain biking trails and that's what I did Satuday and Sunday, about an hour each day. That's about all the mountain biking my body can take right now. I ran an easy 4.5-miles on Monday. My legs felt sore and stiff, so all I did was 10-minutes eliptical, 10-minutes of stationary.

I kind of put on some weight while on vacation. I made a pledge to not drink any alcohol until the Corporate Challenge Duathalon a week from Sunday. I made it today. The first day is always the hardest. After mowing the lawn tonight, I wanted a beer soooooo badly...