Captain's Cottage

The window in the eyebrow dormer of the cottage was a dark eye peering from beneath a wind-sculptured layer of snow. The red paint on the window frame was flaking and sections of  silver-gray cedar siding were curling away from the sheathing beneath. On the first floor, moonlight reflected dully in the smudged windows flanking the heavy front door. The narrow portico sheltering the entrance to the cottage listed to the left.

In contrast to the exterior disrepair, my flashlight revealed an inviting interior. I could imagine a time when a ship's captain sat pulled up to a sturdy oak table puffing on a pipe and studying charts by the light of an oil lamp.

Aroma Embrace

It gathered me up the moment I set foot in the house, the welcoming aroma of home made soup that had been simmering for hours.

Even before I closed the door the January cold was forgotten. As many images flashed through my mind as there were spices in the soup. A country kitchen with blazing hearth and a trestle table set with simmering bowls, an upholstered chair with a jumbled afghan in the seat, my grandmother conducting dinner preparations with a wooden spoon.

Giving myself over to the comforting embrace of special memories I forgot to shed my coat on the way to the dining room. I dropped it next to my chair, a jumble of fabric just like the pictured afghan. Then I dropped myself into a chair and inhaled the aromatic steam rising from the porcelain bowl. An aroma that promised a real time embrace after dinner.

Signs of the Times

It used to be that the instructional signs on interstates and highways read:  Keep Right Except to Pass
Recently, in our area at least, the new message is: Slower Traffic Keep Right
Which suggests that those who monitor our roadways are admitting that posted speed limits have become guidelines rather than requirements - and that drivers who can't deal with it need to get the hell out of the way.

Why Wait?

Social media has been flooded with David Bowie tributes today.  While music appreciators have collectively mourned the loss of a talented artist they have also celebrated the music David Bowie gifted us with.

It's not an uncommon occurrence - sharing in grief - but technology has exponentially increased the impact. People around the world are brought together in a finite time period and the results are - well nothing short of amazing.

But why wait for tragic circumstances to come together as a community of music artists and music appreciators?  Why not celebrate annually  those uniquely gifted artists that cross generations?

Arrival Days they would be called. The anniversary of the day an exceptional artists first made his, her, or their impact. On Arrival Days we, as a worldwide community would share the impacts those artists have had on our lives - and the artists themselves could benefit from the world giving back.