When I got out of my car after work yesterday, I was greeted with such a strong, salty scent of the ocean that I could almost hear squawking seagulls and rolling waves behind my parking spot. I don’t even live in walking distance to Boston Harbor but on rainy days, for some reason, the air carries that salty air far enough to where I am. On these days especially, I truly love where I live.
A speeding biker and a screaming ambulance jolted me back into reality, but as I walked to the grocery store to purchase dinner for the night, I lifted my head and took another deep breath to see if I could take in another wave of that scent – and I could.
The Atlantic Ocean practically encroaches upon the city of Boston, which is five times bigger than it used to be since we pushed back the boundaries of the ocean to make new land. Today, tunnels run underneath the water for transportation and a river that splits my current city from downtown, and extends way into the suburbs, pours quickly back into that dirty water, bringing it all together.
The scent of the ocean reminds me of nothing really. There’s a nostalgia tied to it that I can’t really pinpoint and perhaps that void is what draws me to it even more. When I was younger my family and I headed up to Maine for vacations, but mostly for winter activities like snowmobiling, ice fishing, skating, sledding and all the other wintry things us New Englanders like to do. In fact, much of what I associate with the ocean is intangible to me. Like the fact that I have old relatives from Nova Scotia who built ships and lobster fished for their livelihood. This close, but indirect connection to the ocean kind of resembles the connection you feel to your heritage or your family history. My mom, for example, has instilled a great sense of pride in me for my Irish background, but again, she, not me, is the link.
Maybe my connection to the ocean is that for me, it has always been there, no matter what. As the harbor hugs the jagged edges that make up the coast of Boston and all of Massachusetts and the water of the Charles River cuts through the city to rush back home, the ocean is in my heritage, it’s in my intangible memories and on some days, it’s in the air when it rains.
I’ve always lived by the sea, and I’m going to find it hard being away from it when I start field work this year in northern south africa, and then move down to Cambridge. There’s something magic about the ocean – it represents freedom and possibilities! And that smell of the salt seems to cleanse away the worries of the rat race…
the title of this post? i said it out loud to a friend yesterday. the thought of being without that salt air, that sea breeze? I can’t even begin to contemplate it. so, so in love with this city.
I love this post, because I can relate so much! I feel “at home” when I’m near the ocean. I’m landlocked right now in Charlotte, but I will eventually live near the ocean again. Before living in Charlotte I was near the ocean for 9 years (Charleston, San Diego, and NYC). When I was living in NYC I lived on a street called Water St. haha!!!
I’m the exact same way, not being near water makes me feel so claustrophobic. Nothing smells better than the ocean.
I might be a big huge dork (or just very emotional!) but I have tears in my eyes from reading this! So gorgeous. I feel the exact same way about the ocean. It does something to me that words can’t really explain. Your words came pretty close though
Excited to see you tomorrow!
[chels]
I know what you mean. When I’m in OC I feel the same way.
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SO with you. Countless times people have told me I’d love living in Chicago or Colorado… my immediate response is always a shudder of claustrophobia and a stubborn “I could NEVER live that far from the ocean.” I don’t know what it is… I just know that I need it there.
I wish I lived closer to the water – in college we were right along the river (and I spent tons of time there with crew) and close to the Chesapeake Bay and in Cork I could always see the Lee and I’m excited to be in Connecticut because I’ll be on the water all summer.
I’m weird because I need the water close to the mountains!
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