Your Tax Dollars at Work

Post-Hurricane Isabel beach replenishment continues around the clock in front of my house.

Wednesday after work, we gathered with the neighbors to watch the sand pumping procedure over cocktails. The operation is similar to this one in nearby Virginia Beach. Naturally, all the men are sages, carefully explaining every bulldozer turn to each other and agreeing approvingly with the sand distribution strategies of the contractor. The women are pointing out the best spots to sit come July. In a nutshell, the process works like this:

A large dredge boat loads up on sand at the Thimble Shoal channel serving the southern Chesapeake Bay. The dredge then anchors offshore a couple hundred yards and pumps its spoils, while bulldozers busily distribute it around the beach The plan is to continue the process another three miles along the Norfolk bayfront.

The Navy gets a dredged channel, the birds get some fresh whelk meat, and we get a new beach. Everyone wins, with the exception of every taxpayer not living along the six mile Norfolk bayfront. Pictures are pending, so stay tuned for riveting action shots.