Beach Glass

Just three weeks ago we were in Maine, sitting on Back Beach taking in the sun and the view. I remembered the jar of beach glass that my Mom kept on the kitchen windowsill... colorful little pieces of glass that had been tumbled in the surf for so long that they were no longer shiny with sharp edges but rounded off and satiny. That jar was like a stained glass window of greens, whites, browns and blues, and most of them she had gathered on Back Beach. The stones on Chesil Beach are likewise rounded and smooth from a lifetime of rolling against each other, so it occurred to me that there might be beach glass down there as well. Today I went looking.

As I wrote earlier, Chesil Beach is a thirty-five foot high wedge of smooth rocks that form a barrier along the shore between here and Abbotsbury. The slope of that wedge is not consistent but rather a series of slope and shelf combinations. It is on the lowest of these shelves that the tide drops its daily cargo, so that is where I started my search.

Lots had been deposited there: sea weed, lengths of rope, fragments of netting, plastic bottles, chunks of wood, empty lobster claws. There was glass, but it was a newcomer to this surf riding business; it was still transparent, its edges still jagged. In an hour's time, I didn't see even a sliver of beach glass. I would have settled for a nicely polished chip from a tea cup, but it was not to be had.

As I made my way back, two fisherman crossed my path, and I stopped them to ask if they fish that beach often. When they allowed that they do, I asked them if they ever see any beach glass. They didn't even know what I was talking about. They told me that the locals call it "Dead Man's Beach" because the conflicting currents just off shore make for hazardous sailing. They listed all kinds of grizzly things that get washed ashore down there, none of which would be pretty sitting in a jar on a kitchen windowsill.

So I headed back up the hill empty handed...if not for that seaside kiosk where I stopped for a double dip cone of toffee fudge ice cream. Maybe I'll resume my search tomorrow.