Random Observations for October 20, 2007: The Ft. Walton Beach Edition

A few things, in no particular order

• What is it about being able to see the sunset that makes life a little bit better, and more complete? Everyday that we're here, we rush outside with a glass of wine, sit down and watch the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico. Some days you don't get much, because it slips behind the clouds that hover over the horizon and completely disappears well before it's actually set. On others, you get a luscious red ball sinking into the sea, looking much like molten lava as it slowly sinks behind the horizon. But the most spectacular sunsets are the days when there is something in the atmosphere, smog or low level clouds or the marine layer, that when the sun sets through the haze, painting the sky with vibrant reds, pinks, yellows and purples it's breathtakingly beautiful. Those are the really incredible sunsets and they almost make you happy for pollution and atmospheric fuzz. You can kind of understand, in this instance, why Krakatoa was such a worldwide phenomenon and produced such spectacularly beautiful sunsets, even though it was a horrible, deadly event.

  I don't know why it's such a big deal to be able to see the sun set, but it is. I don't get that when I'm at home. When I'm in Cake Eater land, sunset for me is when the sun slips behind my neighbors house, or if I'm out and about, when it sinks behind the trees and stops blinding me. I don't feel as if something's lacking on those days, but here, where I can see the sunset on a daily basis, I do feel as if I'm missing something when I don't get to see it. I don't know what it is, but something isn't there that should be; a bookend of some sort is missing.

  I can't quite put my finger on it and I probably won't think about it much after I leave.

• Red tide sucks.

  "Red Tide" is a common name for a phenomenon known as an algal bloom, an event in which estuarine, marine, or fresh water algae accumulate rapidly in the water column, or "bloom". These algae, more specifically phytoplankton, are microscopic, single-celled protists, plant-like organisms that can form dense, visible patches near the water's surface. Certain species of phytoplankton contain photosynthetic pigments that vary in color from green to brown to red, and when the algae are present in high concentrations, the water appears to be discolored or murky, varying in color from white to almost black, normally being red or brown. Not all algal blooms are dense enough to cause water discoloration, and not all discolored waters associated with algal blooms are red. Additionally, red tides are not typically associated with tidal movement of water, hence the preference among scientists to use the term algal bloom.

  The most conspicuous effects of red tides are the associated wildlife mortalities among marine and coastal species of fish, birds, marine mammals and other organisms. In the case of Florida red tides, these mortalities are caused by exposure to a potent neurotoxin produced naturally by Karenia brevis, called brevetoxin.

  The red tide has been in the air, off and on, since the first week in October. Mostly, it's been an airborne irritant, as it causes most people to cough and sneeze and blow their nose a lot. Last weekend, however, the water in the gulf turned a brownish-red, with dead fish rolling up on the beach with every wave that slapped at the shore. It was quite disgusting, but mostly it was highly disturbing since the water here is usually a vibrant shade of green and as clear as a bell. It cleared out just as quickly as it came in, but it was a potent reminder that the sea here, which usually I forget holds any forms of wildlife because I never see them, is alive with all sorts of things, some of them nice and some of them not so nice.

  The local media here has been extremely slow to catch onto the phenomenon, as have the local authorities. No one said a peep about it until dead fish started washing up on the beach and they couldn't ignore it any longer. Most of the people here on the beach are tourists, and most of them are unfamiliar with the phenomenon. My folks knew what it was, and so did their group of friends---simply because they'd all experienced it before. The main tip off, besides the allergy symptoms, is that the birds clear out entirely. No seagulls. No herons. No nothing. But I can see where many people, first timers, would have been confused as to why they weren't feeling their best. I can understand why the local authorities would have been cautious in their pronouncements, because they would be afraid to scare the tourists away. While the local air force and naval bases support much of the economy here, tourism makes up the rest of it. If the tourists and their dollars disappear, businesses lose money and people lose jobs that are tentative in the first place.

  Yet...when people's health is at stake, and the authorities keep quiet, that's just simply dangerous. There are plenty of retirees here, and some of them have respiratory issues which demand a trip away from the coast if the red tide got bad. As it was, most people had to find out first hand about the red tide, and had to make plans accordingly, because the local authorities sure as hell weren't any help with their pronouncements that it should clear up quickly and that it's worse elsewhere. It's irresponsible at the very least and downright deadly at its worst. I got caught up in the crap a couple of days after I got here during my nightly walk down the beach. Not knowing what it was, I simply though it was salt spray gone amok. It wasn't. My eyes were overflowing and red, my nose was running to the point where snot was streaming down my face, and I was hacking and coughing like a sixty-year-plus smoker. I could barely breathe until I was safely indoors. While I'm not physically at my best, I'm in better shape than others. If it was that bad for me, imagine what it would have been like for someone with emphysema or some other respiratory issue.

  It's plain that the northern Florida officials and media weren't on the ball with this. I don't know how many people suffered as a result, but they could have done a better job than they did simply by going outside, taking in a breath of air, then checking things out, and reporting their observations to the local media, so people were better informed. That the first articles in the paper only showed up when the sea went red and dead fish started washing up---in other words, when you couldn't have missed it---doesn't speak highly of their commitment to keeping people healthy and safe.

• We got about nine inches of rain here yesterday.

  This is what it looked like

  

  They don't have sewers here, either, so you might get an idea that some of the streets were flooded. Good times!

• While I'm rooting for the Red Sox in the ALCS, I will state right here and now, that I have no beef against the Indians and would be just as happy if they made it to the series.

  If for no other reason than that I would get to make Kenny Lofton/Wille Mays Hays jokes every time Lofton stole a base.

  And if you don't get that, you're beyond hope in the pop culture department.

• I am beyond happy that a certain person who calls herself Just Me, whom most of us are familiar with going way back but whom, because she attracts stalkers galore, has forbidden us to link to her, made it through her hysterectomy in style. That's fantastic news. And if she can make it through the recovery without overdoing it, I'll be really happy.
• The Cake Eater pad is currently getting a new bathroom while I'm away.

  To put it mildly, it might be an interesting experience when I get home, my devoted Cake Eater readers.

  If for no other reason than that my bathroom has been painted a shade of color generally referred to as mocha.

• Given the red tide and the weather over the past couple of days, I haven't been working as diligently on my tan as I should have been. I was Hamilton-tan there for a while, but I'm fading fast. Hopefully it'll clear up today so I can bake myself back into Miss Hawaiian Tropic contention before I go home.
• I'm sure Robbo, Mr. Geeky Civil War Dude among many other things, will be pleased as punch to hear that I made it within the vicinity of an honest to goodness Civil War fort the other day when we meandered into Alabama.

  I suspect, however, that he'll be disappointed that I didn't go into the place and take the tour.

That should do you for a time, kids. The next time I update, I should be safely back in Cake Eater land.