Like so many others, I've been holding my breath this past weekend, hoping and praying that the cap will hold on the Deepwater Horizon well. Despite all the oil that has already spilled into the Gulf, there is a measure of relief to be found in the fact that for the most part it has been stopped. Who knows how long it will take to clean up what's already polluting the waters, the beaches and the marshlands? But at least the end of the spillage appears to be in sight. This time.

I suppose that's a rather pessimistic view. And certainly, it is my fervent prayer that this never happens again. But it will take more than prayer to change things. It will take concerted effort on the part of individuals, corporations and government. It will mean changing our personal habits of energy consumption. It will mean putting safety and environmental concern ahead of profit. It will mean fully enforcing existing regulations and creating new ones as needed. And all that is a tall order. A very tall order.

Sunday, my two grandsons were here on island with their Mom and Dad to help us celebrate my wife Linda's birthday.. They arrived in the afternoon, and we spent time at the pool just being a family. Then, Linda and my daughter-in-law and Zach, our oldest grandson, went down to the beach for an hour or so while I cooked dinner. While they were there, Zach dug a big hole in the sand. Little boys (and girls) have probably been doing the same since the dawn of time! This morning though, when I walked the beach, I saw no sign of the hole. It had been smoothed down and filled in by the tide.

It will take more than a night and a change of tide to undo the hole dug in the environment by the oil spill. It will take many nights, and many tides. Years of them, I suspect. I just hope that if and when we are done, we don't forget the hole. I hope we carry away from all of this a new understanding of just how much work it will take for us to make sure other little boys and girls will be able to dig holes in the sand and jump in the waves and collect shells on the shore.

(PHOTO CREDIT: Linda Bradbury-Danner)