We've seen it on t-shirts, we've heard it way too often: "Life's a beach." Seems that some surfers took the cynical "Life's a bit__" and gave it a fine turn. But while the meaning may be obvious to people for whom riding the waves is a passion, what exactly does "beach" mean to others? Does the word signify more to them than just wave-washed sand?

A young man from San Jose told me that when his high school buddies said they were going to the beach they actually meant some place--a willow-shaded creek, for instance--where they could gather without being bothered. That information was a seed from which grew this special issue of Coast & Ocean, "Beach Talk."

We asked several of our contributors to approach people in public places along the coast and inland and ask them about their beach experiences. What came back surprised us. We were moved as we read the interviews, often to laughter, sometimes almost to tears.

Whether they go to the beach frequently, rarely, or barely ever, the people interviewed considered beaches important and assumed that they have a right to go to them. Almost nobody said he or she had been prevented from reaching a beach--except by traffic or lack of parking--nor had anyone been bothered by anyone on a beach. We talked with just a scattering of people--this is by no means a survey. We did not send anyone to Malibu, for example, where public access continues to be fought over. What we have is an impressionistic sketch, but it's revealing, especially because the people you'll meet in these pages are so diverse. We think we have compiled a group portrait of today's Californians, which also includes a few visitors from elsewhere.

An astonishing number talked of freedom when asked what beaches mean to them. Along the ocean's shore, their worries melt away, stress dissipates, and solutions to difficult life problems can take shape. On the beach, conversations happen that just don't occur elsewhere. People find they can be with friends and families in more profound and intimate ways than is possible in their daily lives. Some like to go alone, to sit and walk and consider the great mysteries to the music of the surf. Others love to examine life in tidepools or gather around bonfires. On a beach, people breathe freely and experience their connection with nature. Oh sure, some beaches are messy or dirty, or polluted, or too cold. But there's much more to a beach.

We didn't ask people whether they knew about the Coastal Act, about the many years of struggle for an open, accessible, and beautiful coast. We just wanted to know how they relate to beaches. It's encouraging. People assume they own the beaches. As long as they assume that--and take action when needed--they will own them.

--RG