The Edge of The World

Standing on the rocky Rhode Island shore on a windswept Sunday morning we felt like we were alone at the edge of the world. The ocean spread out before us as far as the eye could see. Molly and Liam scampered over the rocks uncovering all their mystery and wonder as only young children can. A fossil was found and would be lugged back to the civilized world by a six year old paleontologist already practicing his account of how after millions of years by his estimate it ended up in his unbelievably lucky hands. Pocketfuls of shells were painstakingly selected on their first step to becoming a necklace at the hands of an eight year old artist. The birthday boy whose 42nd year of life was the cause for this outing appeared to shed 35 years scurrying as an exuberant equal among the children over the rocks in search of hidden treasures of his own. The oldest of the crew he'd be the only one to get wet by the incoming waves when his boyish curiosity lured him way too close to the the edge. A fact that had the rest of us in stitches. I myself spent much of the time trapped behind the lens of a camera in my never ending attempts to capture nature's pure beauty and raw power. A losing battle on any day the fates intervened here with the dying of batteries and I too was soon lost among the rocks and pounding surf in search of my own discoveries. A lone rock cairn perched a top a gray outcropping gave the only proof that we were not in fact the first to visit this magical place. Who knows who built it or why? But I thank them. For it now stands as a monument to our brief but beautiful time together at the edge of the world where we played with wild abandon and truly lived in the moment.

The Cairn

The Artist and Birthday Boy lost in their own thoughts.

The Paleontologist ever on the hunt for his next discovery.