I have a thing for sea urchins. The word “urchin” is a latin word that describes a hedgehog. Doesn’t that make this littly guy seem just a little more fuzzy and cute? I would liken the sea urchin more to the rambutan fruit that I first discovered in Australia or one of those tacky fluorescent key chains that were popular a while ago. Come to think of it, there is a striking resemblance between this ocean dweller and an Incredibly Persistent Gapper from Frip. Does anybody out there reads George Saunders?(If you don’t read George Saunders, this is a good time to stop reading this senseless blog and pick up one of his books.)
Back to sea urchins: Before we trashed the ecosystem, at a time when sea urchins were thriving, my dad used to pluck the creatures off of rocks in the sea, slicing them in two and eating their raw meat.
Inside the prickly shell, called the “test,” lies a goopy globular jelly with the texture of the inside of a passionfruit. I never really cared for passionfruit – or for urchinfruit – but I am still fascinated by the sea creature.
A stroke of its spine and the sea urchin, an awfully motionless creature is brought to life. It retracts almost before I am even in contact with it, each spine flattening away from my finger every slowly. Amusing. Enough to keep me occupied from swimming until I consider that my endearing attention to this particular sea urchin might actually be torture.
I drop it back in the water. I am not far behind, joining the odd creatures under the sea for a swim.
