Ocean Awareness

I sent out this article in my Morr Creative Thoughts newsletter in June. Since I am following up on these thoughts in my blog now, I thought I should include this, too.

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As a lifelong Midwesterner, my memories of oceans stand out clearly as little vignettes because they are rare and distinct glimpses in my life. I grew up in Chicago, vacationed in Wisconsin, and went to college in Kansas. By the time I graduated, I was acutely aware that my life had a few missing pieces. I really needed to see a mountain, a desert, and an ocean.

Each took my breath away. The first time I saw the Atlantic Ocean was on the coast of Maine. I few years later my husband and I again visited the east coast, vacationing in Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard. Every time I waded into the ocean I felt exactly what I expected – freezing water. The large bodies of water I experienced in the Midwest, Lake Michigan and the lakes of Wisconsin were always freezing, even in the late summer. The difference was the salty feel of the ocean. I always had emerged from a lake feeling “squeaky clean;” I came out of the ocean feeling like a salted nut. (Insert your joke of choice here.)

Some people with a better understanding of geography than I have might have figured out that the water temperature would be different in different parts of the world or even in different parts of the country. But I was completely and happily surprised to feel the warmth of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida. Who knew? Obviously, not I.

In the next few days, I will be posting some memories of oceans, mountains and deserts on my blog, www.morrcreative.blogspot.com . Please stop by and add comments on your experiences of different parts and features of the world.