Main Street magnetism and the seasons of life
Drawn daily to Main Street, I anticipate seeing friends and acquaintances, as I walk the pier and surrounding neighborhood. Each day offers an unexpected pleasure. Friendliness seems to radiate with warm greeting and comments from those I encounter.
Fortunate enough to have lived in the area since the early 1960s with a husband and five sons who loved the water, Seal Beach was a frequent destination. Walks in the sand, picnics, and boys with the hot flowing blood of youthfulness perpetually flirting with danger, are in the recesses of my mind as these days I walk alone.
A grandmother of fifteen and great grandmother of four, just being able to slowly walk the pier and Seal Way, I imagine bygone times. Bay City was renamed Seal Beach in 1915. Surfboard riding was highly advertised as a new sport! New sport that is for non-Hawaiians of the time. Seal Way Promenade was walked with men wearing fedora hats and black suits, accompanied by ladies “dressed to the nines”. Since the years of Prohibition to current day clothing styles, (that leave nothing for the imagination), a beautiful sky, the sea, blustery winds, and a warm sunset has nourished the human spirit since time began!
It is late autumn, the days are shorter, out of country, and out of state visitors are fewer. The seasonal training of young junior guards encouraged by accredited Life Guards to jump from the pier has ended. Youngsters chasing the sea gulls, young couples hand in hand, sharing heart felt secrets, smiles or other modes of personal expression by those I pass has diminished. Still the walk manifests itself like a healing ointment for my soul. Jules Verne wrote: “The sea is everything. It covers seven tenths of the terrestrial globe. Its breath is pure and healthy. It is an immense desert, where man is never lonely, for he feels life stirring on all sides.”
Watching and waiting for the reopening of the historical Bay Theatre, (Known in 1945 as the Beach Theatre.) I recall the late 1980’s. During intermission of a movie, or performance I cannot recall, those of us who gathered on the roof top of the theatre were thrilled to be introduced to Howard Keel! To this day, whenever I listen to recordings of him singing “Oklahoma” he comes to life. William Faulkner U.S. novelist 1897-1962 wrote “THE PAST IS NEVER DEAD. IT’S NOT EVEN PAST.” Saddened by those who are no longer with us, the heart shaped memorial facing the ocean at the right side of the pier expresses love, and the luminous energy of Seal Beach! Alas, the pier is being restored! Will it exhibit a new “Tower of Jewels” for the Seal Beach “Fun Zone”?
The berm is up, but “FOOT PRINTS IN THE SAND” remain. The imaginary axis of earth keeps turning like the season of one’s life.
Janice Marcin
Westminster
Re: Seal Beach Jail
We are residents of Seal Beach and big fans of Sun Newspaper. However, the front page article “City Council endorses proposed sales tax” on Sept. 27, 2018 is very misleading. Author Charles M. Kelly writes “The city jail, which derives some revenue by renting space”… Anyone reading this article would believe the jail is a money-maker for the tax payers and the city of Seal Beach. You probably know this is false.
We believe an article on the finances of the jail following research by the Sun’s staff would be great reading and a credit to your very respected publication.
We look forward to your reply.
John L. Werner, M.D . and Family
