I stumbled across the stuck in the sand play a few days into 2024 as I walked the beach. The first thing to grab my attention was a mountain of expired Christmas trees, dry, brittle, and basking in the winter sun.

Then I glanced further down the beach and saw three large 4-wheel drive trucks, one towing a large trailer stacked with more forlorn Christmas trees, each buried axle-deep in the sand.

The dude belonging to one of the trucks explained that he got stuck after unloading some trees, the guy with the trailer got stuck on his way in, and the cop got stuck when he came to help. Trailer Guy was digging sand out from around his rear tires. The cop was on his phone, calling in reinforcements. None of them seemed upset or discombobulated about the situation—it was just one of those things that happened

I wished them luck and continued my walk up the beach, eager to see how things had progressed on my return trip.

Half an hour later, the stuck in the sand play was underway. More dudes in trucks had arrived with shovels, tow ropes, wrenches, coolers of beer and sodas, and everything else necessary for a sunny Saturday afternoon rescue mission. There was an abundance of joking, digging, planning, good-natured teasing, creative cussing, and joyful comradery.

Stuck In The Sand Wrap-Up

The 3 trucks were still stuck when I moved on, but the next day they were gone, as were the mountain of dead trees.

I’m unsure if this is an example of work as play or play as work. I suppose it doesn’t matter. I also wonder if any of the 3 drivers got stuck on purpose so they could spend a few hours at the beach getting unstuck. There are many less inviting ways to dispose of a sunny 65-degree Saturday afternoon.

In any case, getting stuck in the sand, whether intentional or not, was an excellent excuse to hang out with friends and play with toys at the beach.

Wondering about those Christmas trees?

They lit up the sky that evening in a huge bonfire.

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