We got a chance to take Samson to the beach a few days before Christmas. He had never seen the ocean before, and I would have given anything to know what he was thinking as he looked out across the water.
Having just that day finished my annual reading of Moby-Dick [a yearly Christmas gift I give myself], I guess I was feeling particularly philosophical. But there was an almost perfect Melvillean apposition of the blind, vast ocean --- rolling on as it has for millennia --- and the wondrous eyes of our 15-month-old squinting into the sun as the white caps stretched away to the horizon.
This nifty little reverie lasted all of a minute as young Samson put his hand to the ground, felt the cold, wet sand, and then proceeded to frantically try and rid his hands of this new (and unwelcome) substance. A moment later, we chased a seagull that had landed nearby and all was right with the world again.
Meditation and water are wedded for ever --- Herman Melville
No comments:
Post a Comment