Comment by hn_throwaway_99

2 years ago

> Ritchie isn’t digging with any destination in mind; he digs for the pure joy and meditation that comes with it.

> “I just feel like a kid again,” Ritchie said. “It really puts me in the moment and relieves stress.”

In a world saturated with "productivity porn" and side hustles, I just absolutely love that.

45 comments

hn_throwaway_99

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sharkweek  2 years ago

I’m nearing 40 and when I’m at any beach with sand you better believe I’m gonna see how deep I can dig a hole. Brings back a lot of that childhood joy of being absolutely certain I was almost about to dig through the earth’s crust once it started to get hard.

Only about 19.999 miles short if we’re talking about averages.

  • hackstack  2 years ago

    I’m in the same age bracket and hole-digging enthusiasm bracket as you but recently became aware of the dangers of this whimsical pastime! [1]

    That’s not to dissuade you or anyone else from doing it (I have continued!), but I think everyone should be aware of the very real danger. As they say, knowing is half the battle!

    1 - https://www.npr.org/2022/05/19/1100068725/beach-holes-sand-c...

  • Arrath  2 years ago

    The fact that digging a hole on the beach somehow summons children and adults both out of thin air excited about the project and offering to help is something I love oh so much.

    The best I've done was a three tier well rounded circle about 15 feet across and it took the better part of two days for an entire house party size crew to dig. In tiers because it was sunken seating around an even more sunken firepit, to keep it out of the wind and solve the smoke-in-faces problem. While sitting on the first level your shoulders would be level with the surrounding ground. Far enough back to be above the tide, and when not in use we put traffic cones around it so it would be at least a little obvious in the dark and not a death pit. Filling it in at the end of our trip was a ballache but the only proper thing to do.

  • lostlogin  2 years ago

    Building a dam on a stream can be like this too.

    • fudged71  2 years ago

      For 10 years I’ve been building hotspring pools at one spring. The material you add gets coated in limestone deposits pretty quickly. So it really feels like building a legacy for my young ones to play in when they’re older.

      21 replies →

    • xattt  2 years ago

      We’ll build trenches from the waterline to see how far into the beach can make water flow.

      A good mash-up in building beach holes and water play.

  • riffraff  2 years ago

    I'm past 40, my older child is 9.

    First time I went to the beach with her, I had this sudden memory blast: we should dig a hole. It is indeed a weirdly satisfying feeling which I had forgotten.

mjklin  2 years ago

“Get a hobby: work with rocks and cement like John Dunsworth”[0] - you can tell that this actor really dug it!

[0]: https://youtu.be/3mcQfP8k51s?si=UQCa_-tzkSDoEvMl

  • rpmisms  2 years ago

    John Dunsworth was such a gem. Arguably the best portrayal of alcoholism on-screen ever. One of the kindest people ever, according to absolutely everyone. Brilliant actor, and an excellent stonemason privately. He explicitly wanted his hobbies to outlive him.

    For those who don't know, John played Jim Lahey in the surprisingly excellent series "Trailer Park Boys". Give it a watch, you may be surprised.