Sand Castle

In every child is the latent spark of the creator, the artist, the builder, the engineer, the explorer. All that's needed is the place for their dormant abilities to burst into flame. The beach is such a place.

Children are in their element when with their playmates they're turned loose to play on the beach. With little spade and pail in hand, soon squeals of delight are heard as the treasures that are hidden in the sand are discovered.  Along the tide line they're finding all sorts of interesting shells, limpets, cowries, periwinkles, hermit crabs and all kinds of little bits of flotsam and jetsam that arouses their curiosity.

As the tide goes out the wet sand becomes their media for building castles, creatures of the sea and everything their imaginations conjure up.  All the stuff that they've picked up gets used to adorn their creations.  Around their castles their bits of seaweed become gardens and forests. Sticks become bridges over moats.  By the time they get through decorating their castles with the shells and all the other things that they found, their dreams and imaginations become reality.

To the golfer a golf ball is the thing they drive down the fairway but not so for children on the beach.  A favourite creation of children is to build golf ball railway sand castles. These start by a great pyramid of sand being built.  From the upper peak, a golf ball is used to impress a roadbed into the sand then slowly in a spiral track  winds around and around until it reaches the bottom.  Soon, tunnels are bored through the sand castle to emerge on the other side and sticks become railway lines as the ball rolls over canyons and chasms to at last trickle on down towards the sea.

Then the inevitable happens.  Slowly but surely the incoming tide advances and the castle crumbles.

But all is not lost.  This day on the beach will be locked in memory forever.

I'm sure my granddaughter, will agree to that.

Children are not dismayed when the tide comes in and consumes their creations.

They  know that tomorrow will be another day and they will build anew.