So we beat on

 So we beat on, boats against the current, ceaselessly into the past,  so says Nick Carraway recalling Jay Gatsby’s faith in a future that will bring him his dream, Daisy Buchanan and everything she stands for.  We are all Gatsby’s muse, longing for a far away ship that will carry us to our promised land.

The land is not enough, it represents the past or the present. The future is the ship on the vast ocean blue that represents our hopes and dreams.

Sitting on the porch at day’s end viewing the sun glinting off the ocean, my wife said, This is what vacations in Maine are for, and I replied, completing her thought, absolutely nothing, to sit and Think of things that matter not and mean everything.

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You got to get up

You got to get up, you got to get up,you got to get up in the morning. The morning, the morning, it was my mother’s warning.

You got to get up, my mother said, to study hard, to get ahead. Oh, let me sleep a minute more, I said to her, the day will wait for my dreams. You got to get up, she said to me, you got to get up, she said to me, a broken record, a refrain that repeats, brush your teeth, comb your hair, the bus won’t wait, the teacher will scold you if your late.

Later on, I joined the infantry and sang the song all soldiers sing while lying in the cot at dawn. Me a lowly private, and all I want is my privacy, a bit of sleep, the war can wait, while I dream and sleep in peace.

‘Oh! how I hate to get up in the morning
Oh! how I’d love to remain in bed;
For the hardest blow of all, is to hear the bugler call;
You’ve got to get up, you’ve got to get up, you’ve got to get up this morning!
Irving Berlin

Now, I am older, wiser, no mom, no sergeant telling me what to do, and a wife who likes to sleep and stay in bed.

Me, I have changed my tune, I get up to let the dog out, and make a cup of coffee, just to watch the sun rise over the tree tops. It is quite a show and just for me, the dreams are gone, the day can’t wait, there is much to do.

Hazel’s Cafe at Robyns Lake House

And the song I sing, is by Carol King. You will agree, it is beautiful, and quite inspiring. Perhaps, you will even sing along with me.

You’ve got to get up every morning with a smile on your face
And show the world all the love in your heart
Then people gonna treat you better
You’re gonna find, yes, you will
That you’re beautiful as you feel

I rise, I shine, I am at my best, with a little rest, and a cup of coffee in the early, early morn, making up a poem for you.

I want to be alone

I confess that I am torn between twin desires – I love to travel, I love to stay at home. We travel, some of us, forever seeking other places, other lives, and other like-minded souls, and yet, we always long to return home, to be alone.

As the Russian ballerina Grusinskaya (Greta Garbo) in Grand Hotel (1932) said, “I want to be alone.”

To book your stay, visit Robynslakehouse.com

What will the New Year bring?

What will the New Year bring?

Hopefully boundless joy, loving family and friends, few cares and an abundance of God’s blessings, then, my friends, it helps to have a nut or two to tide you through the winter days, an adventure that lets you venture somewhere you’ve never gone before, and, at the end of the day, when you are tired from your honest toil, a thought to keep you warm in bed, may there be peace on earth.

 

P.S. Sue Grafton, We will miss you even while Kinsey Millhone is always there to entertain us with her saucy attitude and wit.

 

The eyes tell the story

Traditions Home has an extensive collection of artwork. Each one tells a story.

Speculum mentis est facies et taciti oculi cordis fatentur arcana. St. Jerome letter to Furia 394

In a letter dated 394 AD to Furia, a recent Roman widow, St. Jerome advises her to not remarry and instead devote her life to her children and aging father. He goes on to say, “The face is the mirror of the mind and a woman’s eyes without a word betray the secrets of her heart,” which has come down to us as general advice to both sexes. Perhaps that is why eyelids are painted, closed, or hidden by bangs.

The most valuable jewels

“Not on one strand are all life’s jewels strung,” says William Morris.

 

Quoizel chandelier

 

Men and women have adorned themselves with jewelry throughout history, but why?

It serves no immediate purpose. No one is made stronger or more healthy by the use of jewelry. It does not serve to protect us from the weather. Its value lies not in practical things, but in the esoteric.

Stones that glitter are attractive. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and a beautiful necklace, bracelet, or set of earrings will attract our attention to the wearer. One sees something extraordinary. One becomes beautiful by association.

Jewelry also becomes a status symbol. Precious stones are rare. They are reserved for the rich and powerful who can afford the price of purchase.

Lastly, let us not forget that jewels are powerful symbols. Gems are both brilliant and long lasting. Diamonds are forever, and hopefully so is the love a diamond is given in token of. Consider the Crown Jewels which are synonymous with the power and dignity of the British Royal Family.

A gem is fine, but nothing compares to the value of the love and friendship that is behind the stone. William Morris is right, look not to the wealth of the jewel. Look instead to the love of two people for each other.

This bond is unbreakable.

It’s a most magical time of the year

And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.
Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.
-Roald Dahl

 

 

Wishing you the Merriest of Christmases, the Happiest of Hanukkahs, the sweetest of holidays. Wherever you are and however you celebrate the season, remember that no act of kindness, however small, is wasted or lost, and know this that kindness is the greatest magic of all, for it blesses two.