Mother Mother Ocean - The Gulf of Mexico -The Magic of Panama City Beach - will the oil spill end the magic?

You know, as the dry white sand rolls upward between your toes as you crest the dunes. You know, as the salt spray gently brushes your face. You know, as the wetter sands begin to mush-up between your toes as you approach the water's edge. You know, as the reliable sound of rolling waves resonates into your ears, resetting you with its rhythm. You know, as you observe the white wings of sea birds battling with the winds and hear the cacophony of their calls. You know, as you watch little bird footprints made in the sand, wiped away by the waves, then made again. You know, as the glistening path across the wave tops, made by the setting sun, invites you to somehow follow it into some wondrous new dimension. You know.

You know, as you experience these things and more, that Panama City Beach is a magical place. It is magical to those who travel from far reaches to vacation here occasionally. It is magical to those from Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, and South Carolina who visit here often. It is magical to the Canadians who take warm respite here in the winter. It is magical to hordes of college students from across the United States and the world who have their rights of passage here. It is magical even to those who live just a few miles inland and visit constantly. It is even magical to those who live and work here everyday.

There is a theory in anthropology that modern humans' migration into the Americas was entirely along coastal regions. Indeed, some of the earliest evidence of human mark on the New World consists of remains of ancient coastal oyster 'bars', where stacks of opened oyster shells and other evidence of a good time for all have been unearthed. Most everyone acknowledges a strong primeval sense of connection to the coastal environment.

Panama City Beach, a pristine example of the coastal experience, is a place that relaxes. It is a place where families connect, where lovers find love, where the salt spray and the warm salt waters refresh, rejuvenate, and restore tired minds and bodies. It is a place where people relax, feast on seafood, enjoy music, party, stay up late, romance, play, exercise, compete, or even meditate as their needs may be at the time. It is a place where inhibitions are loosened, emotions explored, and feelings often healed. The motherly bosom of the Gulf of Mexico draws us comfortably into these experiences that are often neglected elsewhere. Panama City Beach is truly magical to both its visitors and its residents.

The question arises now, however, sadly, of whether the magic can last.

Deepwater Horizon, an ultra-deepwater offshore drilling rig, owned by Transocean and under lease to BP, which had drilled the deepest underwater oil well in history, had an explosion on April 20, 2010, burned and then sank into the Gulf of Mexico on April 22, 2010. The broken riser created at least three leaks. As a result, huge quantities of oil are being released in the Gulf of Mexico. As of the date of this writing, no efforts to contain the spill have been successful.

We cannot begin to estimate the ultimate effect of this disaster until the spill is successfully contained. Each day it continues to leak, the worries increase along with the speculations. Due to the lack of a starting point for damage estimation, the issue manifests as much as a battle of opinions as it does an assessment of the facts. Many of us, long in the habit of siding on issues in tune with our cultural and political alignments, have come up with amazingly different predictions . . . ranging from 'everything will be fine in just a few weeks' to 'the extinction of marine life as we know it in the Gulf of Mexico with all the resulting consequences'.

Reactions and conflicts in our local community have been at times surreal. At a community meeting on May 7, as lawyers from Louisiana foretold of extreme environmental and economic consequences, they were strongly challenged by a local fisherman. The lawyers were accused of being part of the reason for the anticipated economic harm, because they were spreading fear of toxins. The fisherman's description of the majority of the Gulf remaining open and good for fishing was in stark contrast to the lawyers' description of the toxins rapidly spreading through the Gulf.

Another popular local Internet news site first addressed the spill with a bleak outlook and an emotional response. The same site just a few days later, softened its prognosis and has focused on optimism since.

Some local business people have wondered aloud if the oil rig was not somehow sabotaged by terrorists of some sort. Others scream for the executives of BP and Haliburton (the already infamous company that provided the cement encasements for the well-bore, which appear to have failed along with other equipment on the rig) to be jailed for reckless disregard of human safety.

All of this confusion and conflict is certainly understandable. There is really no hard evidence yet for us to know where we stand. We want to think its going to be alright . . . that it will be contained and then the oil removed from the Gulf in short order. But with each passing day the evidence more and more suggests the opposite could be the case.

In the meantime, this has all created a public relations nightmare for local businesses. The beach right now is as beautiful and apparently safe as it was last summer. There is no official or supported reason to believe that any seafood prepared and served here now is in any way unsafe. At least one local business, the Chateau Motel, has offered an 'Oil Free Guarantee', which provides for a refund if the beaches are closed during a guest's stay and provides for short cancellation option if the beaches are adversely affected by the oil spill, but not closed.

In a way, the current situation, if accurately and correctly understood by all, should promote a rush of current business to the beach. 'Fear of loss' is a huge marketing motivator. To some extent, everyone who enjoys Panama City Beach may now be in fear of it losing some of its magic in the future. There should be a strong desire to come now, while everything is still fine.

PCBeNews is going to the beach this afternoon. And, along with others at Spinnakers today, we are taking flowers to our Mother Ocean on Mother's Day. We will enjoy the magic today.

Then, early next week, we will post another article on preparations that can be made as the spill approaches. The way we have to approach it . . . the only way we can approach it . . . is to hope for the best, yet prepare for the worst. Today we go to experience and celebrate our Magical Mother Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico.

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