I feel a special connection with the Gulf of Mexico, particularly that stretch of shore along Florida's panhandle. My grandparents had a house on the beach in Panama City, so my summers growing up were filled with white sand and blue-green waters, as well as all the adventures of my mischievous father and his brothers and clan.Teenaged and college summers were spent predominately in Ft. Walton with an eye toward drinking and bikinis rather than the natural magic of the place, but by my settled-in adult years that sweet body of water had whispered the memories and promises back into my ear, planting the rhythm of its undulating waves firmly alongside my heartbeat.The recent oil disaster there was heartbreaking and infuriating, and hard to fathom from my vantage point here on the Jersey Shore. A client of mine asked if I'd be willing to write a song about the Gulf for a project he had in mind. Naturally I jumped at the chance, and the resulting song demanded that it become the next Marble Tea single. And so it has.Please visit www.marbletea.com for more music, most of it absolutely free. Thank you.