By Shari Adler
During the July 4 holiday weekend, I experienced an epiphany.
I would rather describe to you the consumption of a frothy milkshake, a chocolate sprinkle-laden ice cream cone or a melting graham-cracker-s’mores-sandwich made over a blazing beach bonfire. I would prefer to say I hosted a barbecue, a lovely styled luncheon with red-and-white-checkered tablecloths atop outdoor tables, accented with vases of garden-selected blue hydrangeas, for lots of casually clad family and friends.
Because that is what normally transpires. I love the lobster rolls from Catena’s, the fruit salad from Citarella and the various dishes I am actually capable of preparing myself.
But what actually occurred was just “an intuitive grasp of reality,” according to the definition of “epiphany” given at the Psychology Today website.
I realized that, deep in the center of a crippling coronavirus pandemic, historically high unemployment, momentous racial divide, and politics split by fierce oppositional emotions, everyone residing on the East End of Long Island shares a common love of nature and the beaches that surround us.
If that were not the case, we would choose to summer in the Berkshires, the Catskills or Connecticut. We would be happy to reside among the trees, lakes and hills. But, here, the beach is our destination. We go to the ocean or the bays to swim, picnic, frolic and build evening campfires in the sand. Our favorite shoes are sandals, or flip-flops, that can be easily kicked off and recovered at a later hour.
On the night of July 4, my family and I watched fireworks rising from various directions over some of these beaches. Obviously, there were sparklers that were prearranged and those that were not. That is a matter for the authorities and not for me.
In any case, the exploding skyline colors were spectacular and in their usual gorgeous glory. Thank goodness some customs remain unfettered, even in historically challenging times.
The next morning, I went for my habitual walk/run on the bay beach near my house. I noticed lots of garbage along the shore. There were empty wrappers, crushed cans, and vacant tubular packaging meant for small fireworks or sparklers.
This is when the epiphany expanded in my mind.
We have all been put into a proverbial timeout by the quarantining measures of the pandemic. Some of us have taken it seriously, while others have flaunted fantasies of being impervious to the virus. In any case, whatever our position, the fact remains crystal clear that during the human shutdown our planet is cleaner. The water at our beaches is more transparent, and the sky is more strikingly blue. Nature is responding with its lush flowers and greener grass. The difference is impossible to disregard.
So, why are people, citizens of the planet, residents of our towns, leaving their garbage all over our stunning shores?
I was wondering if these same people had ever tidied their rooms as children, had ever participated in community service as youths, or had ever assisted the head of the household in dinner preparation. Every person needs to take responsibility for our shared environment to keep it clean, neat and livable for us all.
On July 6, I returned to my local beach for the same routine walk/run. It is how I maintain good health and muscle tone during the pandemic, following the example led by the formidable Dr. Anthony Fauci, who formerly squeezed in seven-mile runs at lunchtime but recently has had to shift to “short power walks.”
Miraculously, I notice that all the debris along the shores of the beach has disappeared. Is it in the sea, or did someone or some service remove it?
Naturally, I called the Town of Southampton. The representative informed me that such services, including the duties of the lifeguards, do exist to remove garbage from the beaches.
Thank goodness that is a service provided to us. It is akin to having an “adult in the room,” or the household, cleaning up after children or teenagers who wreak havoc among us.
However, I see the majority of us as mature beings. It matters not that your beliefs are red or blue; it matters not that your skin color is white, yellow, brown or black; it matters not that you are young or old. It matters only that we are all protectors of our planet and residents of our pretty towns and stunning shores.
I implore you to pick up your garbage, for goodness’ sake! No one should be called upon to do it for you!
Thank you for listening to my epiphany. I can skip therapy this week knowing that you have read my piece, and that we are all in this together.
Shari Adler is a resident of Southampton and New York City.
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