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Kenneth Chang in The New York Times, and featured in the Thursday March 3rd, 2005 issue of The Globe and Mail’s Social Studies column, wrote: “Today, a barefoot walk on one of the North Atlantic beaches of Nova Scotia is a chilly experience. But 350 million years ago, Nova Scotia lay near the Equator, and scientists have found thousands of footprints left by animals trundling across this tropical paradise.”

I have a photo in my own family album and in a framed collage just outside the family room, taken on Grayton State Beach on the Florida Panhandle; the subject is my daughter, then just a year and a half old, finally walking, and not so wobbly on her feet anymore. It is late December, a few days before Christmas, cool enough that morning to wear a light jacket, and she is wearing a bulky knit sweater, made my a friend.

She seemed to be in her element, as she wandered the low rolling dunes that reminded me of powdered sugar. The white quartz sands even squeak when rubbed between the fingers.

There were lots of seabirds on the sand, including sandpipers. I couldn’t help but think they had gathered in one spot, patiently waiting for something, or someone, to arrive.

As she wandered and played along the water’s edge, the sandpipers, her constant companions, always seemed close at hand.We snapped pictures of her, content in her solitary pursuits, looking at pieces of shells, a sand dollar, partially covered driftwood, the tall sea grasses that have since been uprooted and scattered by hurricane Opal….

Even the dunes disappeared. They couldn’t withstand the pounding of the storm’s surge.

But, that was to come a year later.

At this point, in my memory, and hers, the beach is still  perfect, silent, save for the surf - and the sound that the sandpipers’ feet make, as they skitter into the rushing foam.

She is the only one on the beach except for a few of these small birds that do not recognize that winter is here. Or - if they do, tired of their endless wandering - have decided this place is better than having to go across another ocean to the shores of South America.

In one picture, she is chasing the sandpipers as they scurry along in front of her, leaving their tiny footprints in the sand.

Hers must seem like a giant’s in comparison…

On that lonely December morning, we saw a few people pass by, but for the most part, the beach was ours, and ours alone - except for the few remaining sandpipers, foolish enough to think this a perfect overwintering spot.

On that morning, we left footprints in the sand, and made a mosaic that would wash away in the high tide, but ones that will be left forever imprinted in my memory.

I can’t help but think back to the words of Anne Morrow Lindbergh. She also predicted the future for my daughter when she wrote, “There are other beaches to explore. There are more shells to find. This is only a beginning.”

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Don Jackson

My blog was absent yesterday. I’ve been busy with my son’s end-of-season hockey commitments. Since he is one of two goalies on his rep team, he plays every other game. If you read one of my early blogs about his jersey you’ll see an interesting photograph of the back of his away-jersey.

He played over the weekend and his team won their game against a tough opponent. Immediately following the game, we dashed home for a quick meal because he had made other arrangements to be on the ice again that night. His coach also has another team that he is responsible for. This one is a house league team. Since it is house league, there is only one goalie on the team. The other net usually stands empty during practices. His coach had asked him if he would like to come out and take some extra practice. He readily agreed, but I must admit he was a little bit nervous at the prospect. Anytime you’re on the ice with a new team you wonder if you’ll be able to fit in. We arrived at the arena just in time for him to get ready for the practice.

I watched the team come onto the ice and begin their warm-up drills. My son was the last one out of the dressing room and I thought he might be having second thoughts. He had this big grin on his face as he stepped onto the ice. He was introduced to the team and welcomed warmly by all the players. They were smiling, too, and I think they might have been wondering about his style of play.

The coach began the session with a few simple drills, one of them being a player trying to score and another trying to block the shot. Ultimately, it is the goalie who is the last line of defence. He played amazingly well stopping quite a few of the shots, including the really fast ones. He didn’t stop them all, mind you, but I think he made quite an impression on the team.

My wife had to stay home to do some work on the computer and was really disappointed she missed this practice. She made me promise to call her regularly, which I did. She could hear the pucks hitting the glass in front of me while I was on the phone. I tried as best as I could to give her a play-by-play, even though I’m not a sports announcer. I think I was able to convey what was happening on the ice.

The practice ended up with a scrimmage where the team is divided into two sides for a practice game. He really played well, stopping a lot of shots.

In the end, his side won…

After the practice was over, and as the players were making their way off the ice, one of them asked me, “What are you feeding him?” My son had a grin from ear to ear as he came off the ice.

The team he plays for consists of twelve-year-olds. It is PeeWee “AA”. The team he practiced with that night was a Minor Midget team of fifteen-year-olds, most of them much taller and faster than his team and what he’s used to.

..His side won!!!

It’s a memory I’m sure he will cherish all through his hockey career.

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Don Jackson