| |
|
Tropical Tale No. 3 -
Vol. 2 - The Currency of Romance
Today I decided to wear
a lovely coral necklace I bought in Hawaii.
I get a lot of compliments on it because of
its outrageously beautiful orange tone.
Coral is one of the most primitive organisms
and was around when life began in the
ocean. Coral reefs take thousands of
years to form. The oceans are an
enormous collection of minerals, metals, and
other chemical substances that sustain life,
and thus the chemical balance in the oceans
supports life in many complex ways.
Therefore, coral reefs are sea mountains of
minerals, so I cringe when I see boaters throw
trash into our oceans.
I
also have several strands of pearls, including
black pearls, which I have collected over the
years. Pearls, like coral, call the sea
their home, and are from the mollusk family,
and have been around for 530 million years.
The human passion for pearls started long ago,
and they are called the currency of romance
because for centuries men presented pearl
necklaces to their women as gifts.
But it was Mikimoto who founded Japan's
cultured pearl industry by inducing oysters to
secret nacre, and inventing a system of
farming oysters that produced pearls that
became affordable to every woman who wanted a
symbol of elegance.
Although I am a strong swimmer, I once got
caught up in a rip tide in Puerto Rico where I
almost drowned. No amount of training
will help against the insurmountable power of
the waves. I was amazed to hear about
the teenage girl in Hawaii who lost her arm to
a shark but couldn't wait to get back on her
surfboard. How she maintains her
equilibrium with just one arm while surfing is
not only amazing, but I greatly admire
her courage.
Here
in Lighthouse Point we are surrounded by
canals, like in Venice, by boaters who take
their crafts out to fish and play in the
ocean. I like to snorkel and watch the
tropical fish swim around my legs in calm aqua
waters. But the oceans can be
equally treacherous and leave their ghostly
calling card like the recent devastating
tsunami in Sri Lanka. So although I love
the ocean, I have a very healthy respect for
it, and all its living animals, and the
beautiful jewelry it produces.
Swimfully yours,
Alinka
|
|
| Read
previous articles » |
|
Alinka is an
accomplished writer, having worked as a
freelance journalist covering the war in El
Salvador, and having previously published one
romantic novel, FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
Photos: Alinka in El
Salvador.
|
| | |
|
