Sand

There's that song "Yesterday's Gone" by the 1960s British duo Chad & Jeremy that goes, "We walked together hand in hand/cross miles and miles of golden sand. " The first time I set foot on an English beach, I wondered if they had composed those lyrics while vacationing somewhere else — considering that the beach looked like a tiny sliver between the rocks and water, and the sand was more muddy than golden. As it turns out, though, a lot of beaches around the world are far from golden.

The journalist in me has tried to write a lede for this column, and the poet has fought him tooth and nail. Just how should I begin a piece about the closing of Lee Mallory's Orange County poetry readings? With wordplay? A personal anecdote? Should I even aim for prose, or, in the spirit of Lee, should I dispense with capitals and syntax and let the words flow as they will? Yes, I think that's the way to go. And rather than shoot for a feeble imitation, I'll let Lee write the start of this column himself.

MICHELE MARR "Know the true value of time; snatch, seize and enjoy every moment of it." -- LORD CHESTERFIELD, an 18th century statesman and author For a few days in early January, four tall ships -- the Lady Washington, the Hawaiian Chieftain, the Exy Johnson and the Lynx -- were in Long Beach's Rainbow Harbor and my husband, sailor and ship-lover, took me to see them. Aboard the Lynx, a sailor told a dozen or so adults and children who had gathered closely around him how the crew manned the ship's heavy tiller in shifts.

It wasn't your typical soccer tournament. This one had sand involved. And plenty of it. The 13th annual Longboard Classic Sand Soccer Tournament wrapped up two days of competition Sunday with championship finals and two local teams ended up claiming first place. With 16 teams entered in this year's event, it was the Gumbas winning the women's division by virtue of a 6-0 victory over the 909ers. On the men's side, Voo Doo Doc, sponsored by the Huntington Beach Beer Company, defeated a CHG team sponsored by Longboard Restaurant & Pub of Huntington Beach, on penalty kicks.

Olivia Waldowski, a professional volleyball player, filed a lawsuit against Huntington Beach and the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour after getting injured while competing during an event in June in the city. Waldowski was injured by a piece of lumber buried in the sand after diving for a ball, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Jan. 4. She sustained bruises on her legs and lacerations that required several stitches, according to the lawsuit. She wants at least $25,000 for her injuries.

Police on Tuesday remained uncertain if small knife blades found at a Newport Beach park were placed there deliberately. Crews sifting through the sand Monday found two more blades, bringing the total to 15 blades found at a Bonita Canyon park, where a 5-year-old child stepped on a blade Saturday morning. The blade did not break skin on the child's foot, and he was not injured, said Sgt. Bill Hartford. Police and grounds crews swept the entire playground with a metal detector.

Bryce Alderton HE IS: Keeping the sand spiffy. JUST LIKE FAMILY: Alex Candelario doesn't mind coming to work at midnight four or five days a week to begin raking the sand and picking up trash at Huntington City Beach because he knows who he will see when he gets there. Fellow equipment operator Mark Wennecamp and supervisors Tim Turner and Tim Dugan make the time at the beach that much more enjoyable for Candelario, a 34-year-old Huntington Beach resident.

o7Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God's handwriting -- a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it. f7 -- RALPH WALDO EMERSON I didn't realize until the end of summer that I hadn't done something that used to be an essential part of summer when I was younger -- go to the beach. I can't blame it on red tides or jellyfish. It's just that going to the beach wasn't a priority for me this year.

Kelly Strodl Huntington Beach Police are investigating all city parks after a 2-year-old girl cut herself on a piece of glass in a way her mother believes was put there intentionally to harm someone, police said. Authorities could not confirm whether the glass was put there on purpose because the mother had removed it before police began their investigation. At 6:15 p.m. Monday, police received a call regarding the young girl who cut her foot while playing in the park at 9700 Levee St., police said.

Our top amateur junior U.S. surf team members arrived in Hossegor, France, for the I.S.A. World Junior Surfing Games, which began Saturday. Twenty-eight countries will be competing through June 1 at some classic wide open Hossegor Beach break known for A-frame peaks with offshore conditions. Before the event started, there was a parade down the main street. On the main stage each team put sand in a glass box from a beach of their respective countries. In the case of the U.S. team, sand from Huntington Beach was used.

Zoran Forgiarini and Suzy Mathieson held first serve, with hopes that others would follow. Forgiarini, the surfing and frosh/soph football coach at Edison High, and Mathieson, who coached girls' junior varsity volleyball, varsity softball and JV golf for the Chargers, learned last year of a girls' prep sand (beach) club volleyball league. The two coaches teamed to create the club sport of girls' sand volleyball at Edison, forming it with a roster of 15 players. The Chargers, many of whom played indoor girls' volleyball during the fall 2012 CIF Southern Section season, then went to work on fundamentals and figuring out their two-player teams format during workouts at Newland Street at Huntington State Beach.

On a breezy Saturday morning in the parking lot of Huntington State Beach, Jesus Trujillo was involved in some last-minute preparations before participating in the Huntington Beach triathlon and 5K. The 23-year-old from Rowland Heights had half of his wetsuit on as he used a pump to inflate his bicycle tires before the "Surf City Sprint" started. "I've always wanted to do a triathlon. I've been wanting to do it for years," Trujillo said. "Then one day I was in a bike ride down in Long Beach and saw their poster.

The journalist in me has tried to write a lede for this column, and the poet has fought him tooth and nail. Just how should I begin a piece about the closing of Lee Mallory's Orange County poetry readings? With wordplay? A personal anecdote? Should I even aim for prose, or, in the spirit of Lee, should I dispense with capitals and syntax and let the words flow as they will? Yes, I think that's the way to go. And rather than shoot for a feeble imitation, I'll let Lee write the start of this column himself.

Vic and I attended the third Bolsa Chica Science Symposium this past Saturday, where nine scientists presented the results of their research and monitoring programs conducted at Bolsa Chica. Actually, Vic did more than attend. He was the moderator. About 80 people were in attendance. Bob Hoffman of the National Marine Fisheries Service led off with a review of the process and costs of the 2006 restoration project that brought ocean water back to the former oil fields. He showed a photo of himself taken in 1976, when he began work at Bolsa Chica.

There's that song "Yesterday's Gone" by the 1960s British duo Chad & Jeremy that goes, "We walked together hand in hand/cross miles and miles of golden sand. " The first time I set foot on an English beach, I wondered if they had composed those lyrics while vacationing somewhere else — considering that the beach looked like a tiny sliver between the rocks and water, and the sand was more muddy than golden. As it turns out, though, a lot of beaches around the world are far from golden.

It was a cloudy Tuesday morning, but at least 110 students from the Pegasus School in Huntington Beach took to the beach to work on their scientific experiment with a goal to get local officials to notice and do something about plastic on the beaches and in the Santa Ana River. Some of the school's seventh- and eighth-graders have been invited to the 2011 Algalita's Plastics Are Forever International Youth Summit, where they will present their solution for plastic-free bodies of water.

Olivia Waldowski, a professional volleyball player, filed a lawsuit against Huntington Beach and the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour after getting injured while competing during an event in June in the city. Waldowski was injured by a piece of lumber buried in the sand after diving for a ball, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Jan. 4. She sustained bruises on her legs and lacerations that required several stitches, according to the lawsuit. She wants at least $25,000 for her injuries.

The days are still short and school is back in session, but that doesn't mean the fun has to end. The city of Huntington Beach offers children, teens, adults and seniors classes to fulfill any interest, and winter classes are just getting started. Here is a list of some standout offerings, but for the full class schedule and information, check out the Sands Community Services Guide at http://www.hbsands.org. Preschool Art: Preschool Picassos The class, for children 3 to 5 years old, will teach tots how to make collages, prints, sculptures, drawings and paintings.

Sand bags are available for Huntington Beach residents as the rain continues. The city's Corporate Yard, 17371 Gothard St., has sand and bags for Huntington Beach residents with proof of residency. Residents can show a photo ID or a current utility bill. Residents can take up to 20 bags, which they must fill with their own shovel. The yard is open 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, but may stay open later depending on the weather conditions. For hours call (714) 960-8861.

If you build it, they will come. That slightly modified quotation from the movie "Field of Dreams" has become a popular maxim of modern times. The implied meaning is that if we put our all into setting up an event or gathering, our faith will be rewarded. And it's a message that, sadly, doesn't always pan out when it comes to organizing protests. As a reporter, I've covered more demonstrations than I can count, and they tend to be remarkably hit-and-miss affairs. When Jimmy Carter came to UCI a few years back to speak on his book about Palestine, the Jewish student groups on campus put on a massive, organized protest outside the Bren Events Center.