Wicked Weather This Way Cometh

Sand castles. (Click picture for larger view)

"Safe upon the solid rock the ugly houses stand:
Come and see my shining palace built upon the sand"
~ Edna St. Vincent Millay, U.S. poet (1892-1950)

"All love that has not friendship for its base,
Is like a mansion built upon the sand."
~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1855-1919), U.S. poet. Upon the Sand.

Sand castles on the beach always reminds me of the song I learned in childhood:

"The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
The foolish man built his house upon the sand
And the rains came a tumbling down.
The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up.
And the house on the sand fell flat.

The wise man built his house upon the rock,
The wise man built his house upon the rock,
The wise man built his house upon the rock,
And the rains came a tumbling down.
The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
But the house on the rock stood firm."

Edna St. Vincent Millay voices that reckless but dangerous part of us that sees "houses on the rock" as boring, uninteresting, safe, even ugly. She wants everyone to see her exciting, beautiful, shining palace on the sand. But for how long?

Here at the beach they occasionally hold sand sculpture contests with works of art that defy the imagination. Those castles complete with moats, turrets and little flags atop the towers are truly spectacular; but then the wind comes, the tide comes in, the rain comes down and they are gone, with the only record of their existence in a photograph or video.

The quote by Ella Wilcox conveys a truth that I didn't learn in time and one that I desperately hope my daughter and any other young person does learn. Love without a foundation of deep friendship will not last. Love may be glittering, exciting, beautiful, exhilarating and any of the great adjectives used to describe it. But the shine eventually fades and in its place there will be either a beautiful long lasting patina of comfort, companionship, respect, and selflessness; or there will be a tarnished shell of rust worth nothing. Love's patina comes when friendship is the foundation. It withstands the wind, the rain and the tides of life.

So, what does this have to do with the title of this post? I suppose not much really; although there is a coastal storm coming, a Nor'easter and any lone sand castles left on the beach are sure to fall prey. As we all know.... eventually, wicked weather this way cometh.
(end of post)