SOUNDING OFF:Singing praises of unsung heroes

I switched neighborhoods after a working vacation in Montana from late spring to midsummer last year, but my eventual relocation to Victoria Beach reveals the French to be correct: The more things change, the more they remain the same.

It’s always a refreshing surprise to see people who never seek notoriety or accolades quietly doing their part to preserve what my father taught me as holy.

Being an outright pantheist, he worshipped all critters and plants, large or small, charismatic or common, and infused me with the same values.

My daily walk this sunny Saturday reminded me why I moved here 36 years ago — the beach tribe, the watchdogs who feel the same way I do.

Today, I witnessed that sameness, that behavioral consistency below the Montage Resort & Spa.

A very polite young man, fully dressed in corporate suit and tie, was starting up the beach ramp with what appeared to be an aquatic species of bird, probably a cormorant.

I say probably because the way he gently held the creature nestled in his suit coat, I could only see a torso and webbed feet while he gently stroked and soothed it. He cradled it as if it were a precious child.

I inquired if it was alive and if he’d called our marine protection officer, Calla Allison; or animal control. He assured me he had and help was on its way.

I forgive him for addressing me as “sir” several times, but at 60, I guess I’m resigned to aging, albeit not always as gracefully as some.

As I walked home, I reminisced about how many others I’ve observed doing their part out of the limelight: The gentleman from my old neighborhood who every weekday morning pulls up at Coast Highway and Oak Street, gets out for his coffee to go, but picks up every piece of trash to and from his caffeine fix.

I once asked his name so I could write about him, but he adamantly refused. Self-effacing, he does it because he believes in the power of one.

I once teased an ex-pat Israeli lady at Main Beach during one of our regular beach cleanups in an attempt to enlist her help.

Then, in my embarrassment, I recognized her as someone I often saw on my beach walks from Oak to Main, quietly picking up as she too used the strands for meditation, sanctuary from the hustle/bustle of adjacent noisy traffic in town. Apparently, to her as an individual, it seemed a natural function of community pride.

I challenge those who have recently been critical of our Marine Safety Department, calling out our lifeguards to be more proactive regarding littering: Open your eyes.

I’ve watched them pick up trash on their way to and from their stations. The Junior Guards are ordered to do so as part of their training. These men and women do their share without pats or hugs, still undertrained and understaffed commensurate with like coastal cities.

The letters and allegations that lifeguards are remiss are false. If the complainants want trash to be a higher priority for Marine Safety, then come to public comments at City Council chambers.

Don’t sit in the dark, safe and faceless. Step up to the microphone to demand to know why it isn’t a higher priority for our police department, too — there are litter laws — and request that your council fund more money for enforcement.

Demand it be put on the council agenda for public discussion. Did you know that neither the marine protection officer or lifeguards can write tickets that mandate monetary fines for tide pool violations or beach littering?

Without consequences, compliance never happens. Blame your city for not empowering the lifeguards. All five council members claimed to be environmentalists while candidates. Make ‘em prove it!

Soppy though it sounds, my sombrero is off today to the nameless, faceless, unacknowledged others I know are out there and do their share. Keep up the good work in 2007. This man is grateful, humbled by your actions, and proud to call you his neighbor.