[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 14261-14262]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       RECOGNIZING SANDCASTLE DAYS IN IMPERIAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SUSAN A. DAVIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 25, 2004

  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a 
country of patriots. A nation entering a hot summer, full of turmoil 
and uncertainty.
  The coming three months will be marked by many significant world 
events; the transfer of sovereignty in Iraq, the Olympic games in 
Greece, an escalating November election at home.
  The world will spin a little faster this summer and to compensate we 
must all pull together as a nation.
  It is time for us to reconnect, to remind ourselves what it is that 
makes us uniquely American.
  We are all neighbors, and that which divides us will never outshine 
that which unites us.
  We are all neighbors, and for that reason I share with the community 
what is happening in my yard this summer.
  In one month time the 28,000 residents of Imperial Beach, California 
will be holding their city's 48th birthday commemoration.

[[Page 14262]]

  Proudly anchored as the country's most southwesterly city, this 
diverse seaside town is preparing to celebrate the same way it has for 
the past quarter-century. Come early July, the city of Imperial Beach 
will be holding its 24th annual U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition.
  For three days, creativity and civic pride will be honored. In 
addition to the sand-sculpting contest, festivities will include a 
community ball, street parade, and nighttime fireworks display over the 
Pacific.
  The weekend long celebration will draw over 250,000 spectators. 
People will swarm the sand to see creations that will not last the next 
tide. In the spirit of ingenuity, modern marvels of dirt will be 
erected and destroyed in an afternoon's time.
  For three days the sun will shine and the children will smile. The 
world will slow in this corner of the country and we will celebrate the 
anniversary of a city, the essence of a nation.
  We are a ``can do'' people, but that does not mean we should have to 
do it alone.
  My district is only 1 of 435, and so I ask my fellow Representatives 
in the House, what is your District doing this summer? Let us share in 
this most public of forums, that which unites us as a country.
  We are each other's neighbors and we should not let an opportunity to 
come together pass us by. The world will seem a smaller and safer place 
if we know what is happening in our own backyards.
  So as summer quickly comes to our countryside, let us give voice to 
our originality, and champion all that makes our society truly 
extraordinary.

                          ____________________