From Sea to Shining Sea

My commute to and from work and school is along Highway 101, which runs parallel to the beautiful Pacific Ocean. With Pink's sun roof open and my window down, I can smell the salty air. I also can easily walk to the beach from my home. Occasionally we even have a random sea gull who comes to my apartment complex to check out the dumpsters. It is hard to have a bad day when you start it by saying "Good Morning" to the ocean.

Growing up in one of the landlocked mid-Atlantic states, I never even saw an ocean until I was in my 20's. In elementary school, we sang Katharine Lee Bates' "America the Beautiful." Our little voices would ring out, "And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining seeeeeeeeea!"

One day as I was driving along, the sun was shining brightly on the ocean, and it hit me: that's a shining sea. It really does shine, from the reflection of the sun or the moon if the moon is bright enough at night.

I have a great life.

Susan