The Bittersweet Paradox

These pics are amazing...had to share. The man's name is Chuck Ritchey Sr. He toils to make these works of art only to have them washed away by the ocean.

Is that Ocean City?

I'm not sure...I just got them in a forward and thought they were cool...it could very well be ocean city.

I'd toil away on the beach any day.

yeah, if I'm not mistaken, that is at Ocean City in MD. I go there a few weekends every summer and my sisters and I always stop to see this guy's work... it's really awesome, and draws tons of attention. It's certainly a unique way to share one's faith. :)

Where did you get this????? (This is Chuck Ritchey, Sr. )

Sorry, I have to set the record straight.
This is not the work of "Chuck Ritchey, Sr.", whoever that is. It's Pastor Randy Hoffman. I know. He is a friend of ours. He's been doing it for 30+ years and we've known him for at least 26 of them.
The location is Ocean City, MD., next to the boardwalk in front of Plim Plaza.
The tide does not destroy the sand sculptures. Rain, wind and people do. As you can see, the beach is quite deep and the tide could only reach the sandart in a hurricane (and has). He used to do a new one every day, did it for many years, but sometime in the 90's or so, he started mixing water with huge bottles of Elmer's glue and he now sprays the sculptures with the solution which hardens and stands up well against the coastal weather. Now he does about 4 of them at a time and touches them up as they need it, so it is basically the same sculptures all summer long. At 55, I think he is working toward semi-retirement. But he is still very active at The Sunspot, his home church which is located at the far end of the boardwalk.

Check it out:
www.randyhofman.com