Dear Reader,
I had every intention of writing a glowing review of Glass Beach in Fort Bragg, California. It’s a place so unique that I actually decided to cover it again after gushing over it once before on Animated Meat. So, if you’d like to read an uplifting piece about one of California’s coastal wonders, I’d recommend looking at the one on California Through My Lens. Just skip over my words and take a look at my pictures. After that, load your kids in the car and head two hours north of San Francisco to take a look at it yourself.
I’ll see you all over at the Prehistoric Garden entry.
Peace and love to you all,
Ed
* * *
You’re still there? You’ve been warned. What follows is your constant companion venting his spleen, making several heroic leaps in logic, and a little bit of catastrophizing after a very raw year in isolation. The target of the rant is a variety of the population who has been holding America back for far too long. Here goes:
Like many of you, we spent the majority of 2020 and the first half of 2021 staying socially distanced and in our own bubbles. We had drive-through birthdays for the kids. We checked in with loved ones through Zoom calls. We wore masks when it was time to leave the silo. In other words, we made sacrifices. Why? Despite our faults and flaws it was because we’re raising our kids to be considerate and to think about others. The best way for us to help the overburdened healthcare workers was to keep ourselves out of the hospital.
As history will evidence, part of the reason why all of us were stuck in one place for so long is because the selfish people of the world didn’t see it the same way. They couldn’t be inconvenienced by the truth and refused to follow simple guidelines. As a result, the pandemic wore on as it wore all of us down.
Which brings us to June of 2021. Freshly vaccinated and ready to ease back into the world, we decided to drive north and take the kids to have some experiences they missed out on for over a year. That brought us to Fort Bragg and the marvelous Glass Beach.
When I was planning the trip, I envisioned my kids’ delight at seeing the stony shore littered with ground down pieces of colored glass. I dreamt of them making memories of the tide pools embedded with ceramic spark plugs and glass resistors. After a long, hard year of isolation, they’d get a chance to witness the tide pools, seeing the anemones, holding just as fast to the rocks as the persistent pieces of a Buick.
I’m happy to say that it’s something that they got to experience it and I hope other people get a chance to do as well.
The beach is filled with the curious. They’ve come to see anomalies, maybe to take a picture with a handful of a beach like none other. They leave what they’ve found for others to enjoy after a few posts on Instagram. They aren’t the threat. They have a sense of stewardship about the place and leave it as they found it.
The problem is the collectors. Despite the signs, despite the countless others doing the right thing, there they are. They sit on the shore shuffling through the glass. When they find something that passes their standards, they throw it in a bucket and take it home. Maybe it gets worked into a piece of jewelry or a mosaic. More than likely, it gets forgotten about and ends up sitting in the garage with all the other forgotten souvenirs. Seeing them go about their business as brazenly as they do is like a kick to the ribs. Glass Beach is one step closer to becoming Used to be Covered with Glass Beach with every bucketful. It’s a selfish act that robs future people.
Are the people who refused to think about others during the pandemic the same ones who go and collect glass? There is no way to be certain. However, I can’t help but think that both groups of people approach life with the same level of selfishness. They don’t care about you or I. They put themselves and their own interests first and the hell with everyone else.
Glass Beach
Elm Street & Old Haul Road
Fort Bragg, California 95437
Looking for somewhere to eat in Fort Bragg? I can’t say enough wonderful things about Princess Seafood. Looking for other adventures while it town? Head on over to the Skunk Train Railbikes. Interested in other attractions made from junk? When in Riverside, visit Tito’s Tacos.
This post is based on a visit to Glass Beach on June 13, 2021.