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Seaside Spirit |
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12/21/2010 10:13:41 AM |
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 In our ventures out and about this weekend, my kids and I saw a few great examples of Seaside Community Spirit and we couldn’t wait to tell you about them. This is a spirit that we have found unique to smaller communities and in Seaside, it is particularly evident that we care for each other, almost like family, whether we really officially know each other or not. Having spent some of our week in the “big city” over the hill, this community spirit that Seaside offers shone like a bright light.
As we all know, the weather in Seaside offers many opportunities for conversation and connection. Yesterday while my kids and I were at the shoe store, the skies opened and sent the largest hail I have ever seen across the parking lot. “Look, God is throwing snowballs,” my son announced, to the joy of several people across the store. “He wants to fight!”
Before long, the employees and guests in the store had their noses pressed up against the windows as we watched the hail pound on the cars outside. Within seconds, the parking lot and cars were covered. An employee remarked that her car alarm would soon go off and shortly thereafter, it did.
After the hailstorm stopped, my son convinced several shoppers to step outside and step on the hail to see if it was crunchy or not. And a few, to the delight of my son, reached down to scoop a handful of it up. He led the entourage on a tour around the cars, along the sidewalk and back into the shoe store-crunching hail balls all the way.
Within fifteen minutes, the sun was out and it was just in time because we next went to enjoy our walk along the Neacanicum River. It was a warm 46 degrees the rest of the day.
Today, we decided to head up Highway 26 to enjoy some snow and we were barely to the first mile marker we noticed a ruckus up ahead. The car ahead of us slammed on their brakes, as I did when I saw that two small dogs were running down the road in the other lane and their owner was chasing after them (FAR behind them).
Very quickly, our Seaside community jumped into action. I stopped on the side of the road and put on the hazard lights. Telling my kids to stay in the car, I jumped out to stop traffic coming from the other direction. The car behind us made a block with their car for traffic coming from Seaside. Everyone put on their blinkers as we essentially stopped the world on that section of Highway 26, corralled the dogs, and got them back into their owner’s car. Apparently, they had stopped for a break and the dogs had taken off down the road.
I mused about the uniqueness of Seaside as we headed to the snowy hills. I think that in a larger city, with people who are worried only about where they need to be next, that this group effort would not have taken place. I have no doubt that most people would have swerved to avoid the dogs and continued traveling. I have seen it myself in the bigger cities when people who are stranded at the side of the road are passed by not by one motorist, but by many.
Seaside, OR is a unique community that loves people-whether those people hail from Seaside or from afar. Whether you are a resident, or a visitor, we wish you joy. And we are glad for your presence here on the North Coast.
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