Soft Sand and Salty Scents

Ashley G.
Professor Zoller
Life Narratives
9/13/12

Response to “One More to the Lake”

            In the opening paragraph of the short story, Once More to the Lake, E. B. White speaking of his family’s summer beach home said, “We returned summer after summer- always on August 1 for one month.” This resonated with me; my family has almost always gone to the shore and always in August.

            Years after his childhood, White returned to the lake of his childhood with his own son. He remarked how the place had changed, become more modern; the peace of the shore interrupted by the motors of boats. I can relate. The beach of my childhood was quieter and more subdued but never boring. White recalls the smells and the sensations that brought him back to his youth. As our car approaches the beach each year, I ask my mother to crack the windows so I can breathe in the salty vapors that tell my body that we have arrived. When we finally get down to the beach I remove always my flip flops and dig my toes into the soft sand. With each step I grind the balls of my feet into the coarse material and feel it go in between my toes. I like the sand just before the water best; it is damp and flexes beneath my feet but does not give. Like White I will bring my (future) children to the shore, to smell the salty air and feel the sand between their toes.