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Dear Family and Friends,It is Sunday afternoon here in Northern Indiana. It is a day of gray and drizzle of fog and ice, all rolled into one. I would call it a reflecting day, a day of resolutions and woven wandering thoughts. To you I send these rambling thoughts.I am home after two weeks with Philip. We settled into his old cottage, put up a tree, and spent time with family and friends on Ocracoke. I really love it there in the Winter. It is quiet and gentle there then and yet there is much to do. Folks often wonder what the islanders do in the winter…I think much of it involves the fact the tourists are not there!We walked on the beach every day. It wasn’t a warm walk as in Florida, but a sweatshirt and jeans walk. One day we were encased in a rainbow from one side of the beach the other. It was as if we=2 0could walk right under it! I think it was the kind of beauty that novels and movies are made out of!There were community pot lucks, oyster roasts in the middle of the village, Boxing Day parties, and folks to visit. One day last week we participated in the Christmas Bird count on Portsmouth Island. On New Year’s Eve morning we packed up once again and headed towards Williamsburg for First Night. It was cold and windy as we strolled across the campus of William and Mary. Electric candles glowed in all the windows, and I had to stop and just marvel at the beauty and the history of that old town.Molasses Creek (one of Ocracoke’s finest groups) was the headliner for the evening, so we wanted to show our support by sitting in the front row for one of their shows. We also attended a gospel sing in which everyone was on their feet dancing before it was over, a German polka bank in which we also did the chicken dance. (Philip said he never did the chicken dance before.)20“Really?” I said. I thought everyone in the world knew the chicken dance.By midnight we were out in the stadium as Molasses Creek played in the sub zero temps. They ended with a fast fiddle tune. We all counted down to Midnight as the stadium lights went out and the fireworks began. They were splendid and we cheered as we all huddled on the stadium seats.By morning we had left Williamsburg and crossed the Appalachian Mountains on an old single lane highway. We made no mileage headway, but stopped to hike along old Confederate trails and enjoy the history.The New Year rings in promises that we all hope can be kept. It brings in joys and situations that have changed the lives of many.My Dad spent New Year’s Eve in the hospital where he is still recovering. I thought about him so much in Williamsburg as it was the only place as a teenager I was grounded and had to sit in the car. I was totally impatient to get to Virginia Beach to get a suntan! When we finally got to the beach, my sisters and I fried to a crisp and didn’t sleep for nights on end! My Dad has so many stories to tell, and I haven’t heard them all yet. My brothers and sisters and I all want to go to Texas, but my level headed Mom says to stay put. None of us have ever crossed our Mom, believe me!My own resolutions? I have made them, as always. This year I am going to lose ten pounds…or not. I am going to write every day, that is a promise to myself. My love of photography and my guitar are still in the top ten as well!I want to be gentler to the earth this year, my pocketbook, and actually to myself as well. I want to choose my activities and do well by them.I have also decided to keep Sunday Passage to 750 words just as my column, for the discipline and to keep writing. Reading it is up to you! Thanks for the wonderful comments through the years!Today’s color is purple for sky and dusk. My book is The Septembers of Shiraz by Dalia Sofer and my heart book is A Sand County Almanac, Leopold.Until next week, I hope this New Year brings peace to your own life.Lou Ann |
