Grains of Sand

I thought of the many times I've walked on the beach and felt the sand under my feet. Some days they were warm and comforting. Other days, they were wet and cold. On the beach, they can be used to build little mounds and castles, sand dunes and sand bars.  Or they can simply wash away with the ocean. Other times, they are simply a nuisance, like when a strong wind brings them into everything -- eyes, a drink, clothing. 

But sand has its many and varied uses. It is a base ingredient for making glass.  It is used in construction for making bricks, mortars, and  concrete. Some crops, like watermelon,  peaches and peanuts grow better on sandy soil because it provides better drainage. Railroads have sand to improve the traction of  train wheels on the rails. 

Sand can be  coarse or fine. Rounded or sharp.  Black, white, grey and even pinkish. They are mostly of limestone, quartz of shell fragments. 

I hate to write simply to write. That would be much like a form of diarrhea.

I'd like to think that the blogs I will be posting, like sand, will have their uses -- to provoke thought,  elicit a smile, encourage or inspire, and even annoy and disturb. Some may be elegant and some will be ugly,  atrocious, bizarre or just insane.  

Or they can simply scatter with the wind or vanish with the waves.

Grains of sand magnified 250 times real size. Source:Dailymail.co.uk

- Ariel Murphy