Beach Trash

I did beach patrol this morning, going west to a small jetty. This area of the beach is not as well used as the east side. A sand berm blocks the path of a polluted creek where nasty looking runoff accumulates.

With my thirty gallon heavy duty plastic bag and sturdy grabber, I collected the usual assortment of beach detritus. My standard is to grab anything not naturally found in the sand. There were many plastic bottle caps, cigarette butts and other plastic items, plus items of clothing and footwear.

A particular piece of footwear, a right foot Birkenstock men's Arizona sandal, size 46, got me thinking, since I wear the exact size sandal, Where was the left sandal? How does a man lose only one sandal? Where is the owner of the sandal? Did he have a backup set of footwear? Or, did he hop to his car, bike, motorcycle and drive to Famous Shoes? Did he suffer a cut or injury to his bare right foot? Was the sandal thrown at a vicious, attacking dog? Or, was it thrown at another person as Arabs do to show disrespect?

Many more questions ran through my sun addled mind as I dragged the heavy bag of trash to the nearest garbage can. What prompts me to think of such things? Is it the two cups of coffee I drink in the morning? Maybe the influence of too much time staring at an electronic device? Whatever the reason(s), trash harvesting on the beach suits me.
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