Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it (Psalm 98:7).

Knowledge is power! It can be acquired by a person through experience or education. To be considered knowledge a statement must be justified, true, and believed. Knowledge can be the difference between life and death.

Everyone was having a grand time and enjoying the day. What a perfect vacation - then I saw her - the little girl on the boogie board.

When my grandmother warned me of the dangers of swimming in the ocean it was no wonder that her words were disregarded. This was not done out of disrespect. I knew to ignore most of what she preached because she had an old fashioned way of thinking and a history of imposing her outrageous views. For example, she often lectured me to be wary of people of color. I don't believe that she was a racist. She lived in a "small world" and did not recieve much exposure to people of different cultures. Her ideas were shaped by stereotypes that she witnessed on television and news programs.

She also believed that I should be ashamed of my Italian heritage. She cautioned me of never revealing that I was of Italian descent. If the subject came up I was to simply say that I was an American. She warned me that if others knew that I was an Italian American they would associate me with the Mafia. Derogatory terms such as dago and wop would be cast my way and I would likely develop an uncontrollable temper like "most" Italians. Ironically, her preaching had the opposite effect. Instead, I very proudly embraced my Italian culture while shunning my Polish heritage that came from my grandmother's side of the family.

My grandmother also cautioned me of the perils of swimming in the ocean. She said that the best of swimmers are unable to navigate the ocean's strong currents. As a young boy about to leave for a vacation at the beach, this was the last thing that I wanted to hear. Besides, I did not believe that her advice applied to me. I had passed all of the swimming tests at summer camp and had been promoted to the status of "Intermediate Swimmer". I assured her that I was a very good swimmer and planned on swimming out to the large waves where the water would be over my head. I believed that the ocean was meant to be my playground and I had no fear of it. Although my grandmother was a kind lady who wanted the best for me, I was not going to let her ideas influence my time at the beach.

We didn't go on many summer vacations when I was a young boy but when I grew older I made it a point to visit locations that featured beautiful beaches such as Ocean City Maryland, Cocoa Beach, Aruba and Hawaii. Of them all, I think my favorite were the beaches of North Carolina's Outer Banks.

When I think of the state of North Carolina images of the Appalachian Mountains, Barney Fyfe and the town of Mayberry come to mind. The Tar Heel state is also known for its pristine beaches. I looked forward to vacationing along a 200 mile string of beaches known as the Outer Banks in the seafront town called Kitty Hawk. The Outer Banks is a major tourist destination and is known for its beautiful beaches. It is also rich in history.

The Wright brothers' first flight took place on December 17, 1903, at Kill Devils Hill near Kitty Hawk. The English Roanoke Colony - where the first person of English descent, Virginia Dare, was born on American soil -vanished from Roanoke Island in 1587. The 117 pioneers of Roanoke Island had vanished into the great wilderness and into folklore. Their collective fate subject to many theories and controversies, and their story reenacted every summer during performances of The Lost Colony, the nation's longest symphonic drama.

Colorful stories of shipwrecks and pirate folklore helped name places like Kill Devils Hill, Nags Head, and Kitty Hawk. The name of Nags Head was derived by pirates drinking moonshine while sitting against the sand dunes. They said that "it was strong enough to kill the devil". The name Nags Head also goes back to the days of piracy. The pirates would tie a lantern around the neck of an old gentle horse, and then this old "nag" was led up and down the tallest of the sand dunes, Jockey's Ridge, so that the light shone out to sea. This gave the impression of an anchored ship in a "safe" harbor. When the ship tried to dock at the harbor it would be attacked by pirates who would make the crew walk the plank. Not all of the towns in the Outer Banks were named by pirates. The town where we would be staying, Kitty Hawk, was stemmed from the Native American name "Chickeawk" or "Chickahawk", a time or place to hunt geese.

The Outer Banks feature a myriad of beautiful houses to choose from for rent. Many are equipped with swimming pools and hot tubs. Places with several bedrooms and bathrooms are common making living accommodations ideal for multiple families to share one house. Some homes have wrap-around decks that offer a good ocean view. Some offer spacious living arrangements with gathering places to spread out and relax. Most houses available for rent are tastefully decorated and reside in close proximity to the beach. Our house had a recreation room with a pool table, dart board, and a TV mounted on the wall of each corner. This was going to be a very comfortable stay.

Just across the North Creatan Highway lies the pristine beach of Kitty Hawk. As your feet transverse the wooden board walk that leads to the sandy white beach where blue water rolls, your senses are filled with the scent of salty air and suntan oil. Carefully you troll along being mindful of the sporadic sandcastles and written messages in the sand. You take baby steps to insure that you will not kick sand onto the many sun worshipers who are napping on blankets or sitting in beach chairs reading magazines. You are also careful not to step on the sharp edges of a beached seashells that were washed ashore and not deemed worthy of a collectors beach bucket. And of course it would not be summer at the beach without the intermittent air plane towing an advertisement for the evening's diner special at one of the many fine eateries. Looking up into the sky also presents a picturesque view of a popular beach time activity - kite flying. Picnicking is very popular at the beach as well and it is not uncommon for some to pack coolers with their favorite beverages. The only thing missing from this day were the cries for "fudgy wudgies" from the ice cream man, but I guess that ended in the 70's.

When you jump into the water you brace yourself for an abrupt chill, but instead you are treated to a refreshing bath in crystal clear water that average 78 degrees in the month of August. I saw sting rays and other sea life swimming along the sand below the water. Occasionally twin pelicans would take to the air and skim the water surface searching for an afternoon snack. Looking out into the horizon, a school of dolphins soared in and out of the water flying through the sky with great ease.

There were dozens of swimmers in the ocean that day, men and women both young and old. Some were swimming others were wading. A man and his son were tossing a Frisbee back and forth. Everyone was having a grand time and enjoying the day. What a perfect vacation - then I saw her - the little girl on the boogie board.

She was enjoying the day riding waves on a brightly colored blue and yellow board that was attached to her wrist by a black leash. She seemed comfortable in the water. When the big waves would break, she would ride them, and then paddle back to her original position. She was about ten years old with brown hair and hazel eyes. Her cheeks were round and puffy. The kind any grandmother would love to pinch.

She was floating along enjoying the day without a worry in the world, playing and swimming in the water as if she were a baby seal. At times she would swim back to the beach and annoy her mother with silly questions like "Why is the sea salt?" Then she would run back into the ocean swimming out to her father and chide him saying that her eyes were burning from the chlorine in the water. This small child certainly had no fear of the water and she was not alone. As the strength of the surf gradually intensified I too could not resist the temptation of body surfing on the incoming waves.

While body surfing is great fun it also has its risks. The key is to time your launch, then pick a direction, then use your back and outstretched arm, to ride the wave. Exiting the wave is key to safety. In shallow water the safest maneuver is roll sideways out of the wave letting the feet tumble forwards. In stronger waves a person must drop the head and execute a very rapid tumble forward to exit the wave, flipping the feet over as fast as possible. This must be done with no hesitation, to avoid injury.

As the day progressed and the currents changed the life guards became more vigilant. The ideal day at the beach frequently became interrupted by sporadic whistles. Swimmers that had waded out too far were regularly called in by the life guards.

I decided to ride one more wave then call it a day. When I turned to catch the next breaker I noticed that the little girl was much further away than she was a few minutes ago. I could hear her father warning her that she was drifting out too far. The girl assured her dad that she was okay. She reasoned that there were other people out much farther than her. The father refused to debate and abruptly demanded that she ride the next wave in.

When the following wave broke the young child was not on it. She now had drifted a good 10 feet from her original position. Her father had enough. He was now getting angry and ordered his daughter to ride the next wave in - immediately! The little girl showed no sign of remorse and promised her dad that she was fine. Again, when the next wave broke she was not on it. Now she was rapidly drifting out to sea. The young child did not realize it but she was caught in a rip current.

The biggest safety risk with ocean swimming is not sharks, jellyfish, or any other sea critter - it's rip currents. Most ocean swimmers know that rip currents can appear in exceptionally breezy or stormy weather, however they can also occasionally appear in the most ideal of weather conditions with a passing stray current. Rip currents are often mistakenly called undertows. These powerful currents pull even experienced swimmers away from shore. The currents are formed when water rushes out to sea in a narrow path. Rip currents can extend 1,000 feet offshore; reach 100 feet in width and travel up to 3 mph. It is important that a swimmer not panic when caught in a rip current. Swimming parallel to the shore will break you out of the rip current. They are rarely more than 30 feet wide.

Fortunately the young girl did not panic. As far as she was concerned, everything was fine and she was still playing. Conversely, anger turned to fear as the girl's father tried frantically to reach his daughter but his effort were to no avail, for he too was caught in the rip tide along with several others. Realizing the potentially dangerous situation, I quickly turned to summon the lifeguards. The life guards of the Outer Banks are a division of the Ocean Rescue division of the fire department. They were already in the water rapidly racing to the rescue. I was amazed to see that how quickly the beach transformed into a sea of rescuers.

By flowing with the tide the girl's father was eventually able to reach his daughter, grabbing her wrist with vice like precision. Just then two waves each towering over 10 feet, conversed simultaneously. They came upon the distressed couple wave on wave. He yelled to the young girl to hold on in hope that the wave would bring them to safety. I looked on in despair as I watched the two get sucked under the twin breakers while the blue and yellow board floated above the water as the waves finally broke.

The beach remained closed for the remainder of the week. Ocean Rescue determined that the currents were too strong for swimming.

Sometimes knowledge is best acquired by being passed from by one person to another. From one generation to the next.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

The "Lessons of the Sea" is a true story based on one of the scariest moments of my life. The little girl on the boogie board was indeed rescued that day. Airman Angela Pascali is now serving in the United States Air Force.