"A man is what he thinks about all day long." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Monday, July 19, 2010

The Arm of a Fiddler Crab

Location: Strathmere Beach


I found a crab arm on the beach. It smelled strongly of the ocean and was probably decaying, but I picked it up nonetheless. The arm was a shade of grayish-white, decorated with maroon speckles. I identified it as most likely the arm and claw of a fiddler crab.

The first thing I did was ask questions to myself that I knew I would never know the answers to. Is a crab still out there somewhere, alive and missing its right claw? If this is true, how did it lose its claw? Was it the work of a fisherman, a predator, or a disease? Was this missing limb the work of man or an accident of nature? Although the answers these questions will never be found out, I love to wonder what the answers may be. To me, this is just as valuable as knowing every answer in the world.

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