Robin's Blog for Dauphin Island

This is a letter that I have been given permission to forward to you. It was a letter to the editor to the Birmingham News, as I was told, and is representative of all that call the Gulf Coast..HOME. Please copy and forward to all that care about the Gulf Coast and all of it's inhabitants...human and wildlife...and pray for their continued life as they know it...

"Since a bonding love for the Gulf Coast is ingrained in many of us Alabamians from birth, I predict I am not alone in saying this: I am seeing the world in a very different sheen for the past 40 days. In fact, I think my new perspective may deserve a catchy political name – fiscal conservative/ wacko environmentalist with a twist of tea party just doesn’t sound right.

After wasting time wringing my hands and feeling helpless, crying over the nasty, malignant assault on our marine nurseries, and yelling at the toxic soup and toxic politicians on television, I am finally able to take a deep breath and reflect on what this means to someone whose footsteps are far inland, but whose heartbeat is further south.

I believe there could be one silver lining to this dark plume of an oily cloud: Alabama may finally wake up and realize what an amazing gift we have been entrusted with in the magnificent barrier paradise called Dauphin Island.

Before this disaster, many Gulf Coast visitors measured the value of our coastline strictly by the beauty of the white sand beaches and the proximity to good seafood. The first nightmare images we conjured up were limited to oil on the beaches and no shrimp at the parties. That tide seems to have turned. Last week at Publix in Hoover, I overheard shoppers discussing the importance of the estuaries and the wetlands, and the fact was being repeated throughout the express line and beyond that 90% of the Gulf marine life begins in the marshes. People 250 miles inland were talking about the way of life, the fishermen, the pelicans, the dolphins, the turtles, dispersants, and the poisoned water column.

Wow. Are we starting to “get it?”

We are the same public that has never appreciated Dauphin Island properly. It is somewhat ironic to see on CNN throngs of strangely outfitted people painstakingly cleaning up every scrap of trash on the island, and to hear the adjectives used describing Dauphin Island as wondrous, breathtaking, beloved, striking, stunning, and spectacular.

This is the same place where the sight of a visiting family walking away from a trash pile of dirty diapers, beer cans, and food wrappers is not uncommon. This is the same place that couldn’t get funding for beach renourishment if every resident stripped naked and ran down the beach screaming for attention. This is the same place that is underappreciated and entirely taken for granted.

But where else can you see hundreds of dolphins frolicking within an easy swim? Pick up and release 100 live sand dollars in one day? See an actual, live seahorse swimming by at the same time you are keeping an eye on two huge, ancient horseshoe crabs? Seine up a net fat with squiggling baby fish: flat, round, angelic, devilish, strange, and beautiful? Where do the birds live, and the alligators? Where can you haul in a heavy load of shiny bull minnows with one throw of a casting net, even if you are only eleven years old? And an hour later, turn that catch into a flounder dinner?

What is the first line of defense when Ivan, Katrina, Fredrick, Camille, Mary Sue and Billy Bob come calling?

Alabama, your answer is Dauphin Island.

Dauphin Island is, in my opinion, the best asset that the state of Alabama has. Not only is it rich in history, teeming with life, and abundant in resources, it is also full of ghosts, lore, fishing stories, and hospitality. It is where blue collar meets academia meets spoiled.

It is not a Destin-Wannabe. When on the island, you are more at home on an old rusty Schwinn bicycle with streamers flying than cruising in an expensive BMW. The folks you rub elbows with at the Ship and Shore are real, hardworking people who love the whole big picture of all the Gulf Coast has to offer – these folks don’t have to have an oil scare to know how to love their island.

While all Alabamians are praying for a miracle there are a few things we already know we can do: cut down on our petroleum use, keep our Gulf Coast vacation plans, donate money to rescue efforts… nothing wrong with those gestures. But the simplest idea may be the most important one of all: get to know your Dauphin Island. Appreciate her and advocate for her. You will fall in love. You will want to defend the island against assaults of people, politics, petroleum, and pollution. And before you know it, you may hear yourself gushing about Dauphin Island features in the express line at Publix."

Sincerely sent from Lisa Hansen...