Sand Castles
It was a drip castle
On the beach
The sun drifting low
Into a Western fog
Far out on the horizon
The Pacific tide
At low ebb
Leaving a wet playa
Where I could play
Where time and dreams
Were just words
The castle grew
As tall . . .
As tall as I was
Casting its long shadow
To draw a small crowd
To watch
To take a picture
Or two
Of the boy
With time and dreams
Still unfolded
But tomorrow does come
The tide flows back
The castle crumbles
Beneath the waves
Time and dreams
Become real
To embrace a memory
Of a castle
Made of sand
And time . . .
And dreams.
cgb – 2010
SAN JUAN BAUTISTA – Carroll G. Briggs, 82, will be remembered for a lot of things. Most notably as the best laugh in the audience for his fellow thespians, the multitude of hand-painted watercolor cards depicting boats, landscapes and the ocean that he gave to almost everyone he met, the sea stories he told to folks on the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Cruises he loved so dearly, his loving enjoyment of the many whom knew of him as the “Big G”, his plethora of writings and especially his expression of life itself both on and off the stage. He truly found happiness in most every situation and was of good health and hearty laugh until April 2011.
Born in Glendale California in 1928, he moved to Lagunitas as a young boy and then to Carmel where he attended Sunset School and graduated from Carmel High in 1946. His family ran, for a period of time, the Fruit Stand at the corner of Dolores and Seventh in Carmel. Carroll was in the Navy and served on the USS GURKE, a Gearing class destroyer in Korea, one of six “sitting duck” ships sent in to draw enemy fire during the invasion of Inchon in 1951. He continued in the Navy Reserve and retired as a Lieutenant Commander. He attended UC Davis where he graduated with a B.S. in Agriculture and a PhD in Genetics in 1961. Carroll lived most recently in San Juan Bautista after moving there in 1973 to relocate a farm for Asgrow Seed Company. In 1980, he left Asgrow to go to Shamrock Seed in Salinas and later IPB Seed. Carroll was world-renowned vegetable seed breeder. He served as a Trustee on the Board of Gavilan College in Gilroy, CA and was a perennial student at the College taking Art, Theater and Video/TV classes so he could stay in Theater performances. His last performance was in April 2011 in Something Funny Happened on the Way to the Forum. Late in life, he developed an interest in videography and filmed for GavTV, theater performances, and commercial footage up through 2010. To see more of Carroll’s life and arts visit his blog at http://watercolor.posterous.com/
Carroll’s favorite place in the world, other than his home itself, was the Carmel Beach. In years past, he could be found frequently running out into waves, to body surf back to shore with a slide he would tell stories about later. Now, he has successfully ridden his wave to another shore altogether because of an inoperable type of brain tumor, glioblastoma. He died peacefully in his sleep at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital on May 29, 2011.
Carroll will be remembered and missed always by his family for whom he provided in many loving ways until his untimely death. He was married to Ardith Morriseau Briggs whom preceded him in death in 2005. He had five children and eleven grand-children: Carroll (Mary Lynn) – Laya, Bryan, Adriana; Chandler (Kimberly) – Cole, Chase, Killian; Cymry (Daniel) – Dylan, Taylor; Baranduin (Marc); Rowan (Loretta) – Rowan, Andrew, Zion and 4 great-grand-children: Aisha, Jayla, Jean, Amaya.
Carroll would appreciate donations to El Teatro Campesino in San Juan Bautista or the Gavilan College Theater in Gilroy or Moss Landing Marine Labs. A public celebration of his life will be held on June 26, 2011 at Westside Grill, Corner of Santa Teresa Blvd and 1st St., Gilroy CA. A private ceremony will be held to spread his ashes on the Monterey Bay.
