Sunday, July 21, 2013

Sleepy Stillness Broken In White Rock

THE STILL MORNING was wrapped in a warm soft mist when I visited the museum in White Rock recently to drop off my Penelope Puddle greeting cards.

It was so early, in fact, that the doors were not yet open. This gave me a chance to take pictures of the pier from a slight distance.

I could see a few people had already started on their strolls. This was a week day so I was mostly seeing mothers with strollers and retired folk along the shore. School is out so there were also children picking spots to build sandcastles before the beach got too crowded.

Reflections of the pier could be seen in the low-tide puddles.

Here is the designated guard of some rather important stuff.

There was barely a breeze to ruffle the air. Nearby was the ever present and very active train track that runs through the waterfront area of White Rock.

Sadly, a few days prior a woman jogging across the track in the late evening was hit and killed by an Amtrak passenger train. Investigations are going on as to how this could have happened. The Amtrak train is shorter, softer and swifter than the freight cars when it runs down the track. Although I did not know the woman, I wished her family strength in their time of sorrow.

People are left to grieve and learn hard lessons from what had happened. When communities exist shoulder to shoulder with a bustling noisy railway its potential for danger can fade away like background music in our minds.

A freight train suddenly appeared to disrupt my thoughts and made the birds scatter. It screamed loudly and shattered the mood of the morning as local artists laid out their wares in a city waking up to one less person being there.

I hoped there was an inkling of truth in the words by author J.K. Rowling when she wrote, “ … death is but the next great adventure.”

Meanwhile, this tragic accident is yet another reminder that the world as we know it could end in the blink of an eye. The time to enjoy life is now and the future (whether one believes it to be fixed or not) will thankfully remain a mystery. Perhaps it really is the way Out Of Africa author Karen Blixen (aka Isak Dinesen) once said, "God made the world round so we would never be able to see too far down the road."

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Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

14 comments:

  1. Your photos are wonderful but I was greatly saddened to hear about the lady hit by the train. That's a very wise quote you included here. We need to live each day to the fullest.

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  2. Love the Dinesen quotation, and of course the photos of what I am missing at the beach. I sent you an e-mail just now— hope you got it.
    Did I tell you the family went to Kwomais to play ball? We used whatever bats and gloves were handy, and a tennis ball for the sake of the children. I tried batting once, failed miserably, of course, because my depth perception is off, but it was fun. Glad I didn't have to run. LOL
    Luv, K

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  3. Somehow I got into somber mood. “Yesterday is a history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a blessing.” is very true. I’d like to treasure each and every moment, though such attitude tends to get lost in daily rush. Living in this world of uncertainties, I think how lucky I have been so far.

    By the way, I always smile with admiration that how nicely and cleverly you come up with a caption to each of your postcard. Your caption and photo is a perfect match and I see “less is more” in each postcard from Penelope.

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  4. Sad to hear a life perished by the train. Lovely images!

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  5. 'To live each and every day as if it is your last'is a saying I like to follow. What a tragic way to lose a life.

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  6. Sad to hear about the train- someone got run over here yesterday after ignoring the barriers that were down...

    Your shots of the beach are truly lovely!

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  7. Looks like a beautiful morning!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  8. Such deep thoughts! But it's true that we don't know for certain what's ahead of us. We can hope and guess, but we cannot know. But I do believe death is the next great adventure. :)

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  9. Wonderful shots. So sad to hear about the woman hit by the train. I also hope J.K Rowling has it right.

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  10. I hadn't heard that tragic story, Penelope! Thank you for relaying it so tenderly and with such beautiful photographs. I, too, think of those who loved that unfortunate woman and hope they will somehow be able to recover the love of life that she so obviously had.

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  11. It's so sad about the woman who was killed, we were shocked to hear that on the news..my heart goes out to her family.

    Gorgeous photos, I can feel the cool breeze from the ocean.

    Jen

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  12. Lovely quote from Karen Blixen. JK Rowling has lifted her quote from Peter Pan though! What nice peaceful beach pictures, such a contrast to the railway line. I hate it when awful events tear into our thoughts like this.

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  13. Beautiful photos I love the pier. What a tragic event. My heart goes out to the family. I love the quote that dead is the next great adventure and the other one as well

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  14. such a great place for a photographer. So much joy to watch and click. :)

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