Sometimes I have a deep-seated desire to live closer to the beach and the sea. Because hey, I find it astonishing myself that I live less than 10 km from Zandvoort, and go there twice a year at most. That, mainly because of the large crowds there.
However, my earliest memory of the beach was not a pleasant one. I believe it was windy. And the wind chased the sand into my cuddly little face – adorned with a real winter hat and scarf. Below an impression:
Later on my father always managed to poke me into building sandcastles together. Although that always failed miserably, because – as soon as I felt his hand through the sand mountain – I burst out laughing again and fell backward with laughter. I must have been about two years old, but I can still remember it vividly. And little further came of building.
Those memories are still very dear to me. Like tonight, when I long for a moment to return to such a typical moment of happiness.
During my puberty, my grandfather and grandmother had a mobile home on a small campsite in Noordwijkerhout. I have – together with our Cocker Spaniel Rodi, whether she liked it or not – many walks to the beach. Later too, with our Yorkshire Terrier Cindy. It was a joy then to run down the dunes towards the beach, while Cindy jumped from one human footprint to the next. That was a beautiful sight. Unfortunately I never made a movie of it, because we always enjoyed ourselves very much at that beach. Then I was on my way, and had mapped out my own route, with sure to add that ice cream on the way back.
However, you will not soon see me sunbathing on the beach. The only time I did that with a friend, we got hit halfway through a swarm of flying ants or something like that. But walking, along or on the beach, I like to do and I should do it much more often. And that is not just a vain intention.
It is not without reason that Carl Gustav Jung said that the human psyche needs the beach and the sea to unwind, hence apparently the hustle and bustle there …
