Bill's Blog

Good Morning, and it’s a beautiful one, from the Destin area!

The boys and I have sojourned over 1300 miles, camped in Summertime/Arkansas tents, crawled through the depths of the Earth [spelunking], rappelled into a sinkhole, fired weapons [including the spud variety] at bloodthirsty trees that were charging us, and ate a weekend of meals prepared over charcoal . . . except the MRE.  That MRE meatloaf I had for lunch–I was grateful to eat the perfectly-shaped meatish patty, but it really bothered me when I dropped a large dollop of the meatish-sauce on my leg.  I was most upset that the others had already taken the Tabasco vials.

So now we’re back in Destin, and I’m looking forward to more paddleboarding this week.  I’m also thrilled to shoot two more sessions this week, and I’ll probably force myself to enjoy a cigar.  It’s  a good time to be here.

And what about the oil situation?

If you read the last blog, and I know that you did, since my writing is like crack cocaine to your mind, you know that we have finally seen some impact from the oil.  We’re in Miramar Beach, on the Frangista side.  When you stroll the beach, you’ll notice small chips of tar.  If you want to see photos, check the previous blog.  Have the tar chips kept people off the beach, and out of the water?  Not hardly.  The hurricane West and South of here has also helped the sheen situation here.  Winds have kept the more damaging effects away from our area.

The damage that Sheree and I have seen is primarily economical.  We’ve seen an influx of tourists for the holiday weekend, but there should still be lots more people here.

Not that it’s much, but we’ve decided to provide a little of ourselves for the residents here.  If you’re a lady in/going to be in the Destin area, we’d love for you to participate.  If you know some folks here or coming this way, please forward the link–we’d like to see as many people as we can.

www.blessdestin.com

Until next time, thanks.

mr. bill

Good morning!  It’s 6:56 am in Miramar Beach, FL.  You haven’t heard much from me lately, because I’ve had nothing new to report until now.  As of this morning, we had some tarballs wash ashore.  (See the photos below taken from Sheree’s cell phone.)

I wanted to drop in with a very quick blog to let you know that I’ll be out of pocket for the next several days.  The boys and I are driving back to Arkansas today.  We’re leaving the heat of Florida–relieved by a dip in the ocean–for the heat of Calico Rock, Arkansas–relieved by . . . coming back to the ocean.  Heat or no heat, we’re terribly excited for the trip!

If you followed the infamous “Spleen Blogs,” you know that my closest friends are those I met in my Jr. High years.  One of the guys, Jason, served a few years in Afghanistan [if you click on the "Soldiers" tab of the blog, you can see Jason before he left].  While there, he made it clear to all of the guys that he wanted a “Guy’s Trip” to the woods of Calico Rock–just Dads and their boys.  It’s been far too long!  Back in our college years, we used to camp and backpack much more often.  So we’re off for hiking, spelunking, rappelling, shooting guns, drinking from a fresh spring, cooking over a fire, telling stories, and sleeping under the stars.  Normal guy stuff.

Sheree and Bella are thrilled to stay here in Florida.  Some folks are just weird–she doesn’t relish the idea of sleeping in a tent when it’s 90 degrees, 173% humidity.   She doesn’t like the idea of swimming [with a bar of soap] in a creek.  Odd, I know, but I nonetheless love her.

SO–if you’re wondering about beach conditions, or anything Beyond Photography-related, she’ll still be manning the fort.  You can check the beach updates on her Facebook page (search for Sheree Baker Ramsey if you’re not already friends or become a fan of Beyond Photography, Inc.).  Otherwise, feel free to email with anything else:  beyondphotography1@gmail.com.  If you call, and it takes a few days to reply, forgive me–it’s because I have the phone, and I’m [radically] out of service area.  I’ll get back to you, though.

Thanks again for tuning in!  I’m sure you’ll see the ugly record from the camping expedition when I return.  I’ll probably also retell some of the stories from past camping experiences.  We’ll post them under the “cautionary tales” section.

Carson, Harrison, and Bella Grace:

This morning you guys crawled into bed to wish me Happy Father’s Day, and pelted me with the cards you’d found for me.  Easily the best part of my day:  Listening to you guys laugh as I read your cards.  I know that I’m not a great Dad, but I’m certain that I love being a Dad more than anyone I know.  Even before I met your Mom, I dreamed of being a Dad.  I didn’t realize how great it would be, nor how it would change the way I look at the world.  Thanks to you three, I see everything differently.  Because of you . . .

I delight that I can act as foolish as I want–in public–when I’m with you, just so long as it makes you laugh.  My ears have become tuned to the pitch and intensity of kids’ voices [even when I can't understand the words, I know if I should intervene].  I love the smell of your room, boys–that little boy stink that always lingers [soon that won't be such a delight].  I miss the smell of baby-breath.  I can’t describe it, but all babies have the same smell.  I actually miss the smell of Enfamil–spit up and dried on my shirt.  Everywhere I go, I notice babies.  While I love to see them, it hurts a little that you’ve gotten so big, and that we’ll not have another baby in our lives until you have your own.  Because of you, I noticed this baby the other night at dinner.  I kept staring at the cute dimples she had on her elbows when she’d straighten her arms.  I love to hear little babies cry that warbly cry–I miss that sound.  Thanks to you, I can watch cartoons again–most have gotten much dumber since I was a kid, but a few are incredibly funny!  Bella–because of you, I have a renewed love of nose-freckles. I love, Carson, that I’m your confidant.  I hope that you’ll always remember the rules of “Free Talk,” and keep including me in your private life.  Because of you, Harrison, I’ve thought thoughts and pondered questions that never would have perplexed my mind.  H–I can say with absolute certainty:  I’ve never met anyone like you!!!!  I love how different you are, and I’m doing my best to develop your different-ness, even though I often don’t understand.  I know without doubt, Harrison, that many lives will be blessed because of you–and we who are closest to you will be the most overwhelmed, grateful ones.  Because of you, kids, I dream of seeing the world.  I’ve always wanted to travel [a little], but now I can envision the exotic places we’ll discover together.  I’ve always been a “morning person,” but you kids have made it all the greater.  When you stumble out of your rooms in the morning, hair looking like it’s trying to run away from you, and you crawl into my lap as I work . . . that’s the best.  You’re why I’m up early, working.

As much as I love you guys, and how you’ve changed me so much, I owe it all to the grace of God–Who made your Mom.

Kids:  I don’t take for granted that God has put you in my care.  Because of you, everything is different for me.  Finally, and most of all:  Because of you, kids, I want to be a better man.

Happy Father’s Day, kids.  Today is yours.

Love,

Dad

P.S.  “Today was a great day to be your Daddy.”

Just this morning I gained a new appreciation for the Destin area–the water here is truly spectacular.

Had you driven by the Frangista Beach area this morning, about 8:30 am, you could have seen me standing on the water about 50 yards offshore.  Had you looked another 60 yards or so, you would have seen a couple of dolphins patrolling for breakfast.

I went this morning to check the beach conditions, and also embarked on a new exercise regiment.  What brilliant plan have I devised for toning my flab?  Simple–I’ve decided to start STANDING UP.  Really–that’s it.  I spent 40 minutes this morning standing up, falling, swimming, then standing, wobbling, kneeling, standing . . . then repeating as necessary.  Now, 4 hours later, the muscles from my toes [really--can you ever remember actively engaging the muscles of your toes?!]  up through my back are feeling the impact.  Is that lactic acid I smell?

Standing up is more challenging than it looks–if you’re stagnant, about 40 pounds overweight, and standing on a paddleboard. [Think of a surfboard and a long canoe oar.]

Nonetheless, if you’re going to be standing anyway, let me recommend the paddleboard.  It’s a fun challenge and a quick workout.  More amazing, though, is the company you’ll keep.  I went out alone, and therefore I noticed more of the ocean life that darts through the water.  The June Grass is clearing out, and I remember why millions of people visit this area.  The water is truly spectacular.

And that leads me to the question of the day:  How is the oil situation?

From where I was standing, it couldn’t have looked better.

I’ve surveyed the news outlets this morning, and to my knowledge, all is still clear.  Amidst the wreckage being done in along the coast, I can’t help but wonder–“How has Destin been spared this long?”

There’s a few reasons, I surmise.  If you see an aerial map of the area, we sit somewhat further into the Gulf–like the land here got a nudge away from the water.  Also–and this is amazing to see–the winds and currents have controlled the dispersion of the oil.  In previous blogs, I’ve linked the “oil tracker,” courtesy of the New York Times.  Click here to see the path of the oil since the spill. When the page opens, you’ll see the location/estimates from today.  Scroll the slider back to the first day of the explosion on the rig, press play, and you’ll be shocked.  When you see how the oil has so randomly spread, you’ll see why the “predictions” of impact are more like SWAG’s.  [Scientific, Wild-A$$ Guesses]

So today again, I’m thrilled to say–The Water is Beautiful!  Wish you were here!

-mr. bill

PS:   I told you that I went paddleboarding alone, and I should explain.  Most paddleboarders, frankly, wouldn’t be able to stay with me.  When you travel that slow, and lumber around that clumsily, few athletes could keep my pace.  Not that I’m bragging or anything.  I’m just sayin’.

“What,” you ask, “are the oil conditions in the Destin area?”

Nervous.

It’s 1:17 pm, Friday, June 18th.  Don’t forget Father’s Day this weekend [which I had, until Sheree reminded me this morning].

This morning was an odd morning to visit the beach.  According to all reports, the oil effects are encroaching this area.  Nonetheless, it was the most people I’ve seen on the sand and in the water.

Great photography, huh?  Thank you, iphone.

Remember that I’m in Miramar Beach, on the Frangista side.  Where is that to Destin, you wonder?  Here’s a map of the beaches that I’ve snagged from www.destinoilspill.com.

So far, according to the reports that I’ve heard, and what I’ve seen firsthand, our area is still untouched be the ill-effects of the oil.  Folks [including my family] are still out and about, enjoying the beaches as much as ever.  The mood, though, is nervous.  I talked to 2 fellows this morning, both local business owners, who have already seen a dramatic drop in business.  They feel like they’re watching a train wreck . . . one that hasn’t happened yet, and they’re standing on the tracks.

We’ve been so blessed that the winds and the currents have kept the oil away from this area thus far.  We continue to hope and pray it stays that way.

Yesterday, I’m sick to say, tar balls on Okaloosa Island closed the area for a short while.  The area is back open now, and has resumed “business as usual.”  This is all according to a local paper–the Northwest Florida Daily News.  If you’d like to see today’s report from the paper, click here.  Yes, everything is still clear in our area right now.  Sadly, though, folks are waiting for the worst here–yet they are sympathetic to other regions.  They’re well aware that the situation is horrifically worse in Louisiana.  Those regions are facing an economic and ecological nightmare.  Even if the ecological damage is minimal here [we pray], the economic damage is already being done.  Tourists are going elsewhere, and the local economy goes with them.  It’s not a “ghost-town” here, as I’ve heard someone [stupidly] report.  I never thought I’d be sad, though, that I haven’t been stuck in traffic on Hwy. 98.  By this point in the season, every business should be “standing room only.”  The longest I’ve waited for restaurant seating is 10 minutes.

So that’s what’s new here.  In a nutshell:  We’re being told that the sheen is getting closer, but we still don’t see any change in the beaches.  As always, if anything changes, I’ll be quick to let you know.  Thanks again to all of you who have been kind to tune in for the updates.  If you haven’t, click on the button to “subscribe to the blog.”  That just means that you’ll be updated when I post something new.  And it means you’re cooler than others.