There's a Sadness

Hurricane Irene did a great deal of damage to places from Dominica all the way to Canada, and even lives were lost. That's all sobering. Somehow we feel especial sadness with the loss of smaller things. It's a normal human reaction: we most identify with that which is known to us and familiar. One such place is the salt marsh at our summer conference center, where I spent many happy hours looking for wading birds. The boardwalk is now destroyed, and with it access to the marsh. And given economic circumstances, it's unlikely the boardwalk will be repaired for the foreseeable future. And most frustrating, it's just too far away to be an active hand in restoration. Someday though, those treasures will be open again.