This evening I went for a stroll on the beach with a friend. As is often the case, I walked barefoot, in order to allow my feet to feel the squishy sand and an occasional wave. I've strolled on this particular beach many times, though tonight was especially "fun" because at the end I realized that my feet were almost entirely covered with tarballs. Before moving to Santa Barbara I never understood the lyrics to Jack Johnson song, "Our feet were infested with tarballs." Infestation is a very accurate way to describe this phenomenon. For those of you who have never been lucky enough to experience this for yourself, I've posted a picture of my foot to show you how bizarre it is. The tar is actually quite sneaky, accumulating in mass without bringing attention to itself. It is only when the time comes to rinse off the sand and go home that the black, gooey substance is revealed. Crazy! I've heard that this tarball reality is relatively unique to Santa Barbara or at least Southern Cali. Hmmm, I wonder why they don't advertise that in the travel brochures? Also noteworthy about tonight's walk was the fact that I saw people playing the plastic cup on pvc pipe frisbee game that Kevin and Katie introduced us to. I tried to covertly capture it in the photo below, though you'll have to zoom in to see it. Fun, fun, fun!
2 comments:
I love the song and actually found your blog when trying to decipher the lyrics. Tar balls are not unique to Cali, from what i was able to find...rather, it's an accumulation of oil from an oil spill that washes up on the beaches, rocks, and coastlines, weathers into a sticky mass, and then sneaks its way onto unsuspecting beach walkers feet. Mmmm...LOVE pollution! And now you know...
Tar balls in Santa Barbara predate oil drilling.
Edwin Bryant, in "What I Saw in California", published in 1848 states:
"On the coast, a few miles above Santa Barbara, there are, I have been told, immense quantities of pure bitumen or mineral tar, which, rising in the ocean, has been thrown upon the shore by the waves, where in a concrete state, like rosin, it has accumulated in inexhaustible masses."
Oil deposits under the sea in the Santa Barbara Channel leak immense quantities of oil. It is a completely natural pollution.
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