Coming Out of Denial in Coastal Alabama

For the past several weeks the threat of oil washing ashore on the Alabama coast was not a reality so many folks here, myself included, began to wish it away. I think we were thinking that by some magical blessing we would be spared…that skimmers would sop it up before it entered Mobile Bay or coated the beaches and marsh grass here. We were in denial–a stage of grief.

During the past few days the reality of what these sacred shores is about to experience slapped us hard in the face. The photos from Louisiana are horrifying but could that really happen here?

Yesterday while walking along the beach I met and talked with several people who appeared to be in various stages of grief. Some looked dazed while other just stood and stared into the Gulf. For people living here, the Gulf of Mexico is a mother, a nurturer and provider. Those of us that grew up here love this body of water and the waters connected to it with deep passion.

I watched a child building a sand castle at the edge of the washed-up oil. If only his sand castle would keep the oil out of his kingdom. If only it was that simple.

At the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge oil oozed into ghost crab holes, the summer sun turning globs of oil into rivers of death. I stood in horror, knowing these delicate crabs were being poisoned and there was nothing I could do but witness and later share what I saw with others.

Later in the afternoon a furious thunderstorm drove everyone off the beach. As the sky popped pink and thunder crashed, it felt as if all of nature was thundering a collective NO!! I sat in silence under the shelter at Gulf State Park pier gazing over the huge expanse of the Gulf and was moved beyond grief to an emotion I have never known before. I felt the immensity of this mighty water and the bottomless pit of grief within me. An ocean of sadness seemed to pour from the skies, a collective agony of all creatures, all nature energies and all humans. The Gulf appeared angry and furious which only magnified my emotions.

Let us all say to the Gulf–we are sorry for allowing you to be raped and exploited. What can we do to help you, to make this right?