Anything that belongs to the ocean

We went to Venice Beach yesterday afternoon.

Being a musician with a thing for the past, with an affection for visiting the places where history has pivoted, I thought all afternoon about Jim Morrison singing Ray Manzarek "Crystal Ship" on this stretch of beach: the birth of The Doors.

My daughter, at age five, has her own vivid sense of the past, and her own fierce loyalty, which impresses me for a small child.

Still, being five and confronted by the immensity of the ocean and a beach that at least looked clean, she only wanted to play. So I played.

We threw rocks into the sea.

When we came upon dandelions or bits of seadrift while rummaging for rocks, we threw that into the sea, too.

"Anything that belongs to the ocean," Leyla said, "let's throw it into the ocean."