Balloons sink, danger looms, then joy arises
Ilive on Montauk Avenue in New London, near its intersection with Pequot Avenue. On a recent beautiful morning, my girlfriend and I decided to walk down to the water and take advantage of the storm wall next to the beach. We brought a Thermos of coffee with us, as it was our intention to sit on the wall for a while and relax, admiring the view of the Thames River with its ferries busily coming and going and sailboats gracefully navigating the waterway.
We were enjoying the view when, out of the corner of her eye, my girlfriend spotted what appeared to be two tied-together
Mylar balloons, about 200 yards out, just over the water. They were obviously losing the buoyant gas inside them, both dropping toward the water. We both let out a sigh, followed by “Oh, no,” as we each understood the danger that these balloons pose to the creatures who make the Thames their home.
We both watched as the balloons contacted the water, floating there, resigning ourselves to the negative impact the balloons could have on those creatures.
But then something quite amazing and uplifting happened. Coming from behind the land which jutted out into the Thames, a kayak appeared. We watched the young woman on board paddle out. We were hopeful that she saw the balloons and was on her way to retrieve them from the water.
Our hopes appeared misplaced as she paddled downstream from the balloons, on a course taking her away from them, perhaps having never seen them in the first place. But, it turned out, she had a plan. By paddling downstream, she positioned her kayak to meet the balloons head-on as she turned upriver, plucking them out of the water and in the process making life a bit safer for all the creatures around her.
In the middle of the pain, suffering, and uncertainty we are all living through at this moment, there is still joy to be found. Find it we did on that beautiful morning.
Bruce Levine lives in New London.
In the middle of the pain, suffering, and uncertainty we are all living through at this moment, there is still joy to be found. Find it we did on that beautiful morning.