Reeves Beach Shooting Gallery

This evening from 6 to after 7 there were 2 separate groups shooting "clay pigeons", one group of 2 vehicles just beyond the last shipwreck and one group of 3 vehicles even further west. They were almost all teenagers, but in the latter group there was an older guy who I chatted to. He claimed that shooting "skeet" at the beach was legal, as long as one uses steel shot and shoots over water. He claimed that he always picked up the shotgun cartridges and that the clay pigeons would rapidly disintegrate. I pointed out that I often picked up both on the beach but he said it must be "other guys". The explosions were deafening as I walked by and could be heard a mile away. As I walked back the western sky turned brilliant gold (it's the fall equinox today so the sun sets due west, over Old Field Point), and I reflected on the contradictions of human experience: a stunning sunset stroll accompanied by gunfire, and a splendid beach being tormented by tire tracks and ruts.