B[ur]P: You're Feastin' on Oil, Gulf Coast!

Besides preparing for and hosting a prenuptial feast at our home and making sure that the big day for Daughter and future (now) Son-in-law proceeded "without a hitch" (except for the ultimate one, haha), not much has been going on here lately for me to write about. Well, except for the usual odd thought or two. I couldn't help but wonder about the incredible amount of traffic going to and from Pensacola Beach the past couple of weekends. The normal 40-minute drive to and from home became a much-extended (try twice as long) time for reflection and counting of blessings. What could be enticing these hordes of people to nothing more than a long stretch of sand held together by saltwater on one side and big buildings on the other? After all, aren't there still tar balls floating around after three years?

Pensacola Beach in much happier days (January--when the tourists were not here yet)

Was it just the long, stormy, and very snowy Winter making everyone and her brother ache to fly South and escape the cold and darkness?

Shrimp expertly prepared and arranged by Steven's Market Deli and Catering in Pace

Or was the promise of seldom-seen and tasted seafood delicacies like these succulent shrimp just too much temptation to resist for those unfortunate enough to live inland? Actually, that last bit might be closer to the truth. You see, BP money has been spewing its way all across the Southeast and even farther north, enticing people with "slick" advertising to come and visit the Gulf Coast and forget all about Winter...and tar balls. Oh yes. Those pesky little things.

Walk2Write's Famous Meatballs--not tar balls

Well, for the most part they now exist only in the bellies of certain bacteria that love to feast on oil and in the minds of some attorneys who probably keep them in jars or maybe in mothballs as evidence for future litigation. Because billions of dollars might not be enough to satisfy so many businesses hungry for more tourists and the money that they spend. How many businesses? It's hard to say for sure. According to one law firm (above link), "businesses do not need to be located on the Gulf Coast to file a BP oil spill claim. Any business owner who can show that their operations experienced a revenue decrease in 2010 may qualify for compensation from the settlement fund." Apparently, the fun(ding) may never end, or at least not until BP does.

If only there were more weddings instead of drilling disasters keeping the economy going. I happen to know a couple of weary wedding planners who nevertheless do a great job of mixing things up and noting little ironies--like, how weird is it that the bride and groom's seemingly random pouring of sand for part of the ceremony yielded an image remarkably similar to one of yin and yang? Very. Weird.