Saturday
Dear Elsie
I often say, “the beach is such a happy place.” And it is, most of the time, but occasionally something sad happens at the beach and today as one of those days. We went down this morning and it was beautiful. The shark net was in place and I got a good swim in. We went a little late, so it was already crowded. We were home by 10am and it was a little later than that when you and I had a chat. It wasn’t this morning the beach was struck with sadness. It was this afternoon.
I walked down to Fish Hoek to buy some things. I decided to walk on the road and took this photo from Simon’s Town road. I did notice there were very few people on the barrel side of the swimming area, but didn’t think why. It was only afterwards, when I looked at this photo again, I noticed a lot of those in the water were looking towards the cat walk.
I walked down the steps next to Dolphin Park and took this photo which really shows how busy it is, but again, I didn’t notice how many people were looking towards the cat walk.
I walked along the road and heard a siren. A police car appeared and pulled into the beach precinct. I looked across the railway line and saw a fire engine, an ambulance and another CMR emergency vehicle. I thought I saw someone pushing a wheelchair towards the ambulance so guessed someone had been injured. When I got into the beach area, I immediately saw a big crowd on the cat walk.
Someone had drowned and resuscitation was under way. I was so sad. I went off and did my shopping and when I returned, there were more emergency personnel, plus the police to try keep onlookers away. I walked home sadly, praying for all concerned. The beach was very sombre.
The sea was flat and the water warm. Sometimes, when it’s rough and I am swimming, I’m aware of the dangers. Waves can sweep over while I’m coming up for a breath. I always try to take care, but when the water is flat it can still be dangerous.
Psalm 18:1
I love you, LORD, my strength.
It’s not about now – we are only passing through.
Keep the smile going.
God bless you.
In His Grip,
Gran xx 🙂