Is the written word ineffectual these days? As a columnist in a weekly beach rag, do my accounts of the surf, editorializing of atmospheric events, small-town social commentary and general saltwater silliness still make anyone think, especially now that we’re some two decades into the digital age?

Lately, I have been considering how I might have more impact, so I set up one corner of my shed to look like a sound booth. That took a lot of moving of twin fins and fishing poles.