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Reader Opinion: Oak Island Trespasser?

July 7, 2012 - Oak Island, NC - Sad news today from my favorite place in the world. Oak Island. I love you so much. Your creeks and your shrimp. Your markets and your foxes. Your tides and your beautiful sound. I have so many memories of your waters and your sands. Nowhere else on earth has been constant for my entire life. From the south, to the west coast, to New England, I know many beaches, but Long Beach has been my family's stomping ground since long before my time.

Unable to join them for the Fourth of July, I was eager to hear the joys of Oak Island's charming casualty and southern American patriotism. I miss the old pier, and those old-timers that considered it's many reconstructions sacred ground. I am horrified by the report from a holiday broken by an un-named newcomer to our paradise. A neighbor that knows nothing of the kites that I've flown, or the boomerangs that I've thrown on his once beautiful piece of land.

Ok, I'll get to the point. My step-father fell off his paddle-board in the sound the other day, and was unable to climb aboard again without slicing his feet open on the oyster shells below. He could have swam the fifty yards to our dock, but he was much closer to our neighbor's, and that was his best option at the time. Soon, he was once again enjoying his fourth of July, happy as a clam.

Two hours later, there was a knock at the door. Someone was very upset about the abuse that his dock had recently endured. My mother was speechless. A "no trespassing" sign was displayed that same afternoon.

Yes, we all want our space, that's reasonable, but we want others to enjoy it too. That is why we bring our friends to Long Beach. Because it is so spectacular. That is why we don't complain when people build houses within an arm's reach of our own. That is why you can always find a friend and a helping hand on our dock if you need it. I don't want my niece or nephew to be scared of people at Long Beach. I want them to know the Oak Island that I once knew. The friendly one.

Michael Finn
Lifetime Long Beacher