I guess growing up about 400 feet from the ocean, the beach was a normal part of everyday life for me. Not a sandy swimming beach mind you, though it was more sandy than some. Random Island is like two separate sections from the beach perspective (at least on the Smith Sound side), up in Apsey Brook and Snook’s Harbour its mainly granite sand, and worn pebbles, while down in Britannia it was mainly slate and shale.
I loved to spend time down there, sitting on “Big Rock” when the tide was out, making messes in the mud, looking for brannistickles, , trying to grab a trout under the old bridge, and of course skipping stones. Skipping stones was harder though when there were very few flat stones. The slate and shale was better for that I guess! But I know we still managed, and if you got the throw just right, you could manage with a rounder stone too.
One thing we did try to do was make a Dead Man’s Bubble. Whats that? Well if you throw a nice fairly round stone way up high and nearly straight up, it would fall down into the water with a “bloop” sound making a bubble of air rather than a splash. It was tricky to get right, but I’m sure I spent hours attempting it!
I can see me now down on the beach below Aunt Mary’s throwing rocks up into the air, and hoping to hear that elusive “bloop”.
Raised in outport Newfoundland in a town of 65 people, I pursued a post secondary diploma in Information Technology right out of High School.
I’ve always been a geek at heart, but yet I love the rural life I grew up with. Fishing, hunting, camping and the great outdoors are still loves of mine, even if I don’t pursue them as often as I once did. Sports were always a big part of our lives, and I played many (badly) and loved them all.
