High Surf Advisory

23-28 foot swells around high tide today. That means: do not stand on the rocks! 2 young people died in our town last year--college students throwing a ball around on the rocks. A wave larger than most--called a "sneaker wave," because it sneaks up on you--hit them mid-thigh. Though the water was not high, the strength of it made them lose their footing, fall in the deeper water, and be smashed against the rocks. Please, please--be a fuddy-duddy, and don't allow your kids so close to the ocean along the Oregon Coast! This morning--3.5 hrs away from high tide--I snapped this picture. Didn't mean to have someone in it, but that's who stirred my despair: a 14 or so year old boy, tossing logs into the surf, while his father or grandfather stood by, filming...

The ocean is beautiful, and wild, and exhilarating, and fills your soul with passion. But it will swallow you up as quickly as you can draw your last breath...