I’ll tell you a little-known fact about myself: when I was a toddler, I used to eat dirt.
You know how most children like to make mud pies?
You know how most children like to make mud pies?
Well, I guess I took that concept to the next level.
On a fairly regular basis, I would sit at the end of our driveway, or wherever my mother had plunked me down, and just chow down – or so I’m told. No harm every came to me because of my filthy habit, although my mother was concerned enough to have me examined by a doctor, who more or less shrugged it off, speculating that perhaps I was “missing something” in my diet.
Apparently, there’s a medical term for this particular propensity, but back then I think the word most commonly applied to my behaviour was simply, “weird.”
I tell you all this disturbing and deeply personal information to make the point that, even today, in my mind there’s “dirt” and then there’s “dirt.” And a nice, sandy beach has usually represented, for me, the good kind of dirt. You know – relatively harmless and probably delicious. If, uh, I still did that sort of thing.
But the Halifax Regional Municipality’s harbour beaches are obviously a different story, and that’s what I really wanted to talk about – because throughout the summer, I’ve seen a number of people beachcombing in the sand at Black Rock Beach in Point Pleasant Park.
I’m going to assume that these people are tourists, and therefore ignorant of the sorry state of our fetid harbour. Maybe their sense of smell has somehow become disabled, and they’re just not able to pick up on the signals that this may not be the ideal beach for picking up a periwinkle to bring back for the grandchildren.
When I see these folks walking, sometimes barefoot, on the soiled sand, and leaning over to pick up something with – argh! – their bare hands, I’m always tempted to scream “No!!” and run dramatically over to them, knocking whatever bacteria-laden object they’ve just discovered from their now-contaminated hands.
I don’t, of course. But recent research suggests that maybe I should. A study published last month by the United States Geological Survey showed that concentrations of E. coli bacteria are often much higher in beach sand than in the nearby water. It also showed that if 1,000 people played with beach sand for just one minute and then ingested what was on their fingertips, 11 would develop gastrointestinal illness.
And that’s just on a normal beach. Surely any shoreline that touches the waters of Halifax Harbour is considerably worse. The problem is, there’s no signage warning folks not to pick up objects or let their kids play in the sand at Black Rock Beach. The only indication that there’s any issue at all is a single small sign suggesting that the water “may” have bacterial contamination.
That hardly seems fair to unsuspecting visitors. A warning regarding the risk of contact with that sand might go a long way toward preventing a few days in the sick bay for the many cruise-ship passengers who think they’re just enjoying an innocent stroll on the beach.
I know my dirt, after all, and Halifax beach sand is some really dirty dirt.
Apparently, there’s a medical term for this particular propensity, but back then I think the word most commonly applied to my behaviour was simply, “weird.”
I tell you all this disturbing and deeply personal information to make the point that, even today, in my mind there’s “dirt” and then there’s “dirt.” And a nice, sandy beach has usually represented, for me, the good kind of dirt. You know – relatively harmless and probably delicious. If, uh, I still did that sort of thing.
But the Halifax Regional Municipality’s harbour beaches are obviously a different story, and that’s what I really wanted to talk about – because throughout the summer, I’ve seen a number of people beachcombing in the sand at Black Rock Beach in Point Pleasant Park.
I’m going to assume that these people are tourists, and therefore ignorant of the sorry state of our fetid harbour. Maybe their sense of smell has somehow become disabled, and they’re just not able to pick up on the signals that this may not be the ideal beach for picking up a periwinkle to bring back for the grandchildren.
When I see these folks walking, sometimes barefoot, on the soiled sand, and leaning over to pick up something with – argh! – their bare hands, I’m always tempted to scream “No!!” and run dramatically over to them, knocking whatever bacteria-laden object they’ve just discovered from their now-contaminated hands.
I don’t, of course. But recent research suggests that maybe I should. A study published last month by the United States Geological Survey showed that concentrations of E. coli bacteria are often much higher in beach sand than in the nearby water. It also showed that if 1,000 people played with beach sand for just one minute and then ingested what was on their fingertips, 11 would develop gastrointestinal illness.
And that’s just on a normal beach. Surely any shoreline that touches the waters of Halifax Harbour is considerably worse. The problem is, there’s no signage warning folks not to pick up objects or let their kids play in the sand at Black Rock Beach. The only indication that there’s any issue at all is a single small sign suggesting that the water “may” have bacterial contamination.
That hardly seems fair to unsuspecting visitors. A warning regarding the risk of contact with that sand might go a long way toward preventing a few days in the sick bay for the many cruise-ship passengers who think they’re just enjoying an innocent stroll on the beach.
I know my dirt, after all, and Halifax beach sand is some really dirty dirt.
Posts
