Come from Away was magnificent. I read the book a few years ago, heard about the musical, and several months ago watched in on Apple TV. It's coming to Burlington this coming winter, and I'll go again, plus I plan to watch the movie/play again. Beautiful story in all respects. As someone who has done theater with students for years, every time I watch I see more nuances. That in itself is its own story - I need to get on that one.
Dean and I "did" the UP twice in our cross-country travels. The first time was the north shore, staying in Marquette at a motel across from the Leake, but too foggy to see anything - then headed to the canal and came back to Vermont the Canadian route. The second time was in 2013, along the southern route. Being a Vermonter at heart, it was like coming home We kept stopping at pull-outs to walk the beaches, watch when folks pointed out eagles, and stayed in St. Ignace (which I still want to pronounce wrong), and had a great meal in a small diner. Spent the night sitting on our third floor balcony, watching the lights flicker on in Mackinaw, reminiscing about our first trip there in 1989. Way up north it stays light so much longer...as in Vermont, but we hardly ever get to see the Northern Lights. I understand the draw - Vermont does that to me. I'm a Flatlander, Dean was a Burlington boy, but we met in Vermont, and I have incredibly fond memories of so many great experiences teaching and doing student theater here. My Lake Champlain isn't as big as yours, but it has always felt like home. But then, so does Maui - first teaching position, and I'm drawn to the mystical of the indigenous Hawaiian, as in three years there, and one trip back, the island is and will be always with me. I want to visit you, Maui, and Route 100 in Vermont again. It's that not being able tom drive myself that's forever bugging me.....Thanks for the memories.
I don't think our winters are too far apart...that's why I've been to Tucson for the last two winters for a month or so...but last year we had snow in Tucson in February...so wrong....Love "chatting" with you!
I really was blown away by 'Come From Away'. I love discovering those hidden gems, but I wonder how I ever missed it. I love so many things Apple TV puts out. I must be on their wave length--or they're on mine.
I've always heard the UP was much like Maine and Vermont. It you ever get back again you must do the Keweenaw Peninsula. It's rocky and craggy and more like what I would expect the ocean shoreline looks like at your end.
Funny you should mention Maui. We lived there for a year and a half, starting in Dec. 1966. Ed worked at U of M's Institute of Science and Technology then and they took over one of the observatories on Haleakala. He had that drive every weekday, but they car-pooled, so he didn't have to drive it himself. Meanwhile, I stayed down below with the kids and enjoyed the hell out of every day there, along with the other U-M wives.
A lot of the locals worked there, too, and we got to know them all. They taught us so much about their cultures--Hawaiian, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese--and I guess we taught them about ours. I don't know. I do know we laughed a lot. We kept in touch with many of them for years afterward.
I'm there in UP with you ... The woodsy laundry, fruit cocktail cake, new teeth, and the countless reminders of Ed. Giggles between tears. Thank you.
I was also 'there' on 9/11. By 'there' I mean in Nova Scotia which also accepted over 40 diverted planes when American airspace shut down with 20-minutes notice. I accompanied the Premier of Nova Scotia when he visited the relief centres, which had been quickly assembled in school gymnasiums. At one site I counted 11 different languages being spoken and left my government-issued cell phone behind so passengers could call worried families in various countries to assure them of their safety. The many acts of kindness I witnessed that day secured my faith in humanity. An unforgetable experience.
I adore 'Come From Away.' Roughly the same number of planes landed in Newfoundland, but Gander is a tiny town, so the impact was far greater. I think you'd also enjoy the documentary that covers a reunion event. The reflections of passengers, crew members and locals are fascinating. And to get a genuine appreciation of Newfoundland humour (the best in Canada), you should watch "The Grand Seduction" - one of my all-time favorite movies. Tho, I'm one-quarter Newfie, so I may be a bit biased. Lol.
Nancy, your 9/11 story is fabulous! I didn't realize planes were diverted elsewhere, though that would make sense. I changed the wording in my piece to reflect that. Thanks!
I didn't know you worked for the government, either. It must have been a memorable time for all of you.
I can't believe I've missed 'Come From Away' and only just found it. I'll probably watch it again at some point. I thought it was fabulous. I'll look for 'The Grand Seduction'. Have you read 'The Shipping News'? That's one of my favorites, too.
No worries. Halifax is a small city, but a city nonetheless. We had more resources to deal with the crisis - like hotels and such. Haha Little Gander, Newfoundland deserves much more credit for pulling off a near impossible feat, and doing it so lovingly. One of the places our premier visited that night was our new emergencies management facility. One of the staff told me that at any given time of the day, Nova Scotia has 100 planes in the sky above us - mostly European flights headed to the US. It's geography. On a map, it doesn't look like we'd be in that path, but with the curvature of the earth factored in, that's where we are and there's a lot going on up there. ;) I also learned that the new facility involved amateur ham radio operators and provided space for coordinating their communications. What happened to comms in NY when the towers fell was confirmation that making space for old-timey backup is a good idea. Yes, I was in the provincial gov't for 10 yrs. At that time, I was the premier's principal speech writer, but on that day I had to play press secretary because the actual press secretary was on an exchange program at the Pentagon. I kid you not! We knew he was scheduled for a meeting that morning, but didn't know the time. We were freaking out, until he sent word that he had been on his way to the Pentagon when the plane struck. He hit a road block and returned to his hotel. I vividly recall watching the towers fall from the premier's boardroom. I sobbed. Absolutely sobbed. I'm welling up now with the memory. Another interesting tidbit: Nova Scotians lined up to donate blood. They were desperate to do something helpful, so that's what our office advised - just in case New Yorkers needed it. Sounds crazy as I type that, but sweet also. Haven't read Shipping News. Clay has. We've both seen the movie. Loved it. Oh, just thought of another memory... The diverted planes were held in Halifax until Friday (when US air space reopened). That was our very first visit to our newly purchased cottage. My family stood on the beach and looked up to the dark sky to see the lights of 40 planes flying in a perfectly straight line. I'm assuming they were all given the same flight path and told not to stray from it. I'm also assuming there was a fighter jet or two on standby. Shivers.
Oh my god, that is so fascinating. Why haven't you written about this? All that juicy info and you're hoarding it!
About the Shipping News: our professional writers group invited Annie Proulx to come to Detroit to talk about her book and she did and she was so shitty we were sorry we'd ever invited her! She made fun of everything and everybody and acted as though we should feel privileged to have her in our presence. I loved reading The Shipping News so I was sorry I hadn't stayed home that day. It ruined the whole book for me. It didn't seem possible that someone like her could have written it.
Oh, no! What a shame. That's terrible. Well, I suppose even assholes can be talented writers. I had the opposite experience once. Met the wife of a former prime minister who had been much maligned by the media for being uppity. I had no idea who the media was talking about. The woman I met was delightfully grounded. She even said 'shit' at one point. I adored her. Haha
I'll give some thought to writing about my 9/11 experiences. But I still lack the desire to write anything. My career writing was so high pressure, I think I got whatever lies beyond burnt out but comes close to PTSD.
That's a shame. I was about to say I'd do everything I could to get you back on track--and I would--but I'm not getting in the middle of you and your PTSD!
But you might think about lurking over at Writer Everlasting--hanging out with us just to see if you might want to try it...
I'm a Michigander (Detroit and Grand Rapids) and I would love your Fruit Cocktail cake recipe. I was "home" about 6 weeks ago and I still marvel at the smell of Michigan (that's a good thing) when I deplane in Grand Rapids. Welcome home!!
Hi Kathryn, my grandson lives just north of Good Hart along the Tunnel of Trees. I stayed with him for a couple of weeks after he had wrist surgery this spring and we went to Harbor Springs quite often. (I was his chauffeur as he was forbidden to drive.) I love it there!
I'll write up the recipe and figure out how best to share it.
Good Hart is one of our favorite spots! We are actually a tiny bit north of Harbor Springs, right at the beginning of the Tunnel of Trees. I am throughly enjoying your essays and love seeing the UP through your eyes. Thank you for that and thank you for the recipe ❤️💙
Ah, we have Maui in common! We might have been there at the same time. I taught at Baldwin High School in Wailuku from 1970-1073. Was very involved with establishing the community theater there as a charter member. So expensive to live, especially as a single teacher. I took Dean to Hawaii for our 20th anniversary, and if I thought the changes were extreme when I was there in the 70s, it was nothing compared to `96 - and I can't imagine now. All the public beaches in Kihei seem to be gone, and I'm sure the nude beaches out Makena way are all built out. A lot of Boone's Farm apple wine was consumed on those beaches. With Haleakala, sometimes when school got out and the mountain was completely clear, I would drive up for the sunset, narrowly missing some cows. One time, the sun was setting over the West Maui mountains and the moon was coming up over Mauna Kea. I have pictures...and even with drunken rides back from Lahaina over the Pali, I still looked for the woman in white. I miss standing on the North Shore Pali on Oahu - such magic in the air. Such a short time of 3 years, and yet I feel it in my DNA. And yes, would love moo figure out a way to get back to the UP...in the summer. If I could fly to Lansing.......
I'm kind of waxing poetic. I turn 75 in July, and I Amy coming out of my fog, a seismic shift as I'm calling it. I'm bound and determined to make this a coming decade to remember....starting with Spain and Portugal in October.
I do so enjoy sharing with you. We seem like kindred souls. Also, have you watched Shrinking on Apple TV? Absolutely a gem, as are certain episodes of Ted Lasso...especially the one titled Sunflowers. One of the best bits of TV...and a tribute to Donald in Mathematic land.
Ed and I went back to Maui in 1994--not far from when you were there--and we couldn't believe how it had grown! No more sleepy little towns! The pleasant feel was gone. Baldwin Park was one of our favorite beaches and it looked pretty sad.
We lived in Kihei when we first got there in 1966, then moved to Kuau near Paia. We lived in one of the aluminum houses at "Easter Egg Village", where Mama's Fish House is now, then to Waihee, where we lived in an old sugar cane plantation manager's house--emphasis on 'old', but it was a great place for the kids, and we had every fruit tree imaginable in our yard.
But Maui will always be a special place. Nothing will ever ruin the beauty.
So...I watched Shrinking until the season end and I loved it. I also loved Dear Edward. Have you seen it? They're both about deaths and grieving in their own ways so I thought I might have trouble watching them, but nope. They're both great. I just saw they're not doing a second season of Dear Edward and I'm baffled by that. It's so good!
And Ted Lasso...I don't want it to end! There were some clunkers but overall the writing and the performances are outstanding. The characters grow and change in ways that are so unpredictable. It's pretty brilliant.
I also lived in Tucson for 10 years and the smells of Arizona are very different - but wonderful after a rain. My two favorite places, Michigan and Arizona. Still getting acclimated to Denver and the mountains.
I like Tucson, hate Phoenix! There is a desert smell, isn't there? I do like Denver a lot, but that mile-high atmosphere wore me out, even when I was younger. I can imagine what it would be like now!
Per usual, I love your storytelling. I only infrequently have been to Michigan (but may get there more now that my niece will be attending U of Michigan!) but enjoyed it when I was there. I've never visited the UP but now I want to go! It sounds like such a magical place.
The conversation here in the comments has been phenomenal. I've learned so much about Novia Scotia, Hawaii, Vermont, and Arizona! We're planning on moving northeast, so I hope we can go to many of those places soon.
The 9/11 stories are fascinating. I was a professor in the Counseling Psychology department at the time. They closed the university before lunch; I sat in my office watching the clogged roads as students fought to go home. My husband worked in the federal building in downtown Dallas and I couldn't reach him right away. This was when we didn't know how many attacks there were and Dallas could've been a likely target. He was fine but it was scary for a while. A local Dallas TV station asked some of us to come down there and do a mental health hotline. The drive was like the zombie apocalypse had occurred. There was NO traffic! I was the only car on the road which was amazing but also creepy. I thought they'd shove us in a small room but they put us on the air taking calls. They even interviewed a few of us but I don't know how I looked because no one I knew was watching! The hotline calls were so interesting. Many were parents wanting to know how to help their children not be so afraid. My first piece of advice: turn off the TV! Kids don't understand that the footage was repeating, so they thought there were constant airplanes crashing into buildings. Many of the parents didn't even consider that. Then there were the students who wanted to know if school would be cancelled the next day (LOL). Other calls were from people who were frightened or wanted to tell someone their theory as to what happened. It was an interesting night. I definitely plan to see Come From Away. I could use a little faith in humanity these days.
What a fascinating story, Misty. Wow! The part about turning the TV off when small kids are around makes so, so much sense! I've never thought about it like that, but of course they would process it to mean planes kept crashing into buildings.
Even all these years later I still get a pain in the pit of my stomach when I think of that day and the aftermath.
Thanks so much sharing your thoughts. As for Ed, I'm glad you had so many years, but wish you could have had many many more. We're reaching an age where I wonder more and more which of us this is going to happen to and how we will deal with it. But humanity has been dealing with it forever, so I know we will manage.
I know the story of Come From Away and just hearing what happened makes me tear up and grateful for the good in humanity.
I'm wishing many, many more years together for you and Brent, and wherever you are is home. You're building your own spaces, your own memories, and the one left will keep them and love them and they will bring peace. I promise.
Thanks for the lovely wishes Ramona. I'm sure they will bring peace, but I'm imagining it's probably a somewhat bittersweet peace. Then again, it's that bittersweetness that I think makes us human.
Love the rocks and woods of the UP. We spent a few days there (in summer)as siblings, saying goodbye to our parents in one of their favorite places, Marquette. We were smalll enough when we lived there to remember only bits and pieces, so coming back was like uncovering a hidden part of your past. Glad you're home!
I'm so glad you were able to make the trip to Marquette. Your parents and I had that in common. I love that town and the surroundings. Beautiful and peaceful. I hope you had a chance to get to Presque Isle Park. The drive around the loop is very special.
So nice to think of you back where "you belong." And, I suspect, after the stories that have revealed themselves in the comments, that you could knit together an Anywhere, U.S.A. 9/11 recounting as a future Constant Commoner piece. Welcome home, Ramona!
I live not too far north from the UP, so knew instinctively what a Yooper was. Welcome home!
Thank you!
Love your voice and your storytelling. Looking forward to more! Have a lovely pine-scented weekend.
Thanks so much for your kindness. And for being here!
Come from Away was magnificent. I read the book a few years ago, heard about the musical, and several months ago watched in on Apple TV. It's coming to Burlington this coming winter, and I'll go again, plus I plan to watch the movie/play again. Beautiful story in all respects. As someone who has done theater with students for years, every time I watch I see more nuances. That in itself is its own story - I need to get on that one.
Dean and I "did" the UP twice in our cross-country travels. The first time was the north shore, staying in Marquette at a motel across from the Leake, but too foggy to see anything - then headed to the canal and came back to Vermont the Canadian route. The second time was in 2013, along the southern route. Being a Vermonter at heart, it was like coming home We kept stopping at pull-outs to walk the beaches, watch when folks pointed out eagles, and stayed in St. Ignace (which I still want to pronounce wrong), and had a great meal in a small diner. Spent the night sitting on our third floor balcony, watching the lights flicker on in Mackinaw, reminiscing about our first trip there in 1989. Way up north it stays light so much longer...as in Vermont, but we hardly ever get to see the Northern Lights. I understand the draw - Vermont does that to me. I'm a Flatlander, Dean was a Burlington boy, but we met in Vermont, and I have incredibly fond memories of so many great experiences teaching and doing student theater here. My Lake Champlain isn't as big as yours, but it has always felt like home. But then, so does Maui - first teaching position, and I'm drawn to the mystical of the indigenous Hawaiian, as in three years there, and one trip back, the island is and will be always with me. I want to visit you, Maui, and Route 100 in Vermont again. It's that not being able tom drive myself that's forever bugging me.....Thanks for the memories.
I don't think our winters are too far apart...that's why I've been to Tucson for the last two winters for a month or so...but last year we had snow in Tucson in February...so wrong....Love "chatting" with you!
I really was blown away by 'Come From Away'. I love discovering those hidden gems, but I wonder how I ever missed it. I love so many things Apple TV puts out. I must be on their wave length--or they're on mine.
I've always heard the UP was much like Maine and Vermont. It you ever get back again you must do the Keweenaw Peninsula. It's rocky and craggy and more like what I would expect the ocean shoreline looks like at your end.
Funny you should mention Maui. We lived there for a year and a half, starting in Dec. 1966. Ed worked at U of M's Institute of Science and Technology then and they took over one of the observatories on Haleakala. He had that drive every weekday, but they car-pooled, so he didn't have to drive it himself. Meanwhile, I stayed down below with the kids and enjoyed the hell out of every day there, along with the other U-M wives.
A lot of the locals worked there, too, and we got to know them all. They taught us so much about their cultures--Hawaiian, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese--and I guess we taught them about ours. I don't know. I do know we laughed a lot. We kept in touch with many of them for years afterward.
I'm there in UP with you ... The woodsy laundry, fruit cocktail cake, new teeth, and the countless reminders of Ed. Giggles between tears. Thank you.
I was also 'there' on 9/11. By 'there' I mean in Nova Scotia which also accepted over 40 diverted planes when American airspace shut down with 20-minutes notice. I accompanied the Premier of Nova Scotia when he visited the relief centres, which had been quickly assembled in school gymnasiums. At one site I counted 11 different languages being spoken and left my government-issued cell phone behind so passengers could call worried families in various countries to assure them of their safety. The many acts of kindness I witnessed that day secured my faith in humanity. An unforgetable experience.
I adore 'Come From Away.' Roughly the same number of planes landed in Newfoundland, but Gander is a tiny town, so the impact was far greater. I think you'd also enjoy the documentary that covers a reunion event. The reflections of passengers, crew members and locals are fascinating. And to get a genuine appreciation of Newfoundland humour (the best in Canada), you should watch "The Grand Seduction" - one of my all-time favorite movies. Tho, I'm one-quarter Newfie, so I may be a bit biased. Lol.
Nancy, your 9/11 story is fabulous! I didn't realize planes were diverted elsewhere, though that would make sense. I changed the wording in my piece to reflect that. Thanks!
I didn't know you worked for the government, either. It must have been a memorable time for all of you.
I can't believe I've missed 'Come From Away' and only just found it. I'll probably watch it again at some point. I thought it was fabulous. I'll look for 'The Grand Seduction'. Have you read 'The Shipping News'? That's one of my favorites, too.
No worries. Halifax is a small city, but a city nonetheless. We had more resources to deal with the crisis - like hotels and such. Haha Little Gander, Newfoundland deserves much more credit for pulling off a near impossible feat, and doing it so lovingly. One of the places our premier visited that night was our new emergencies management facility. One of the staff told me that at any given time of the day, Nova Scotia has 100 planes in the sky above us - mostly European flights headed to the US. It's geography. On a map, it doesn't look like we'd be in that path, but with the curvature of the earth factored in, that's where we are and there's a lot going on up there. ;) I also learned that the new facility involved amateur ham radio operators and provided space for coordinating their communications. What happened to comms in NY when the towers fell was confirmation that making space for old-timey backup is a good idea. Yes, I was in the provincial gov't for 10 yrs. At that time, I was the premier's principal speech writer, but on that day I had to play press secretary because the actual press secretary was on an exchange program at the Pentagon. I kid you not! We knew he was scheduled for a meeting that morning, but didn't know the time. We were freaking out, until he sent word that he had been on his way to the Pentagon when the plane struck. He hit a road block and returned to his hotel. I vividly recall watching the towers fall from the premier's boardroom. I sobbed. Absolutely sobbed. I'm welling up now with the memory. Another interesting tidbit: Nova Scotians lined up to donate blood. They were desperate to do something helpful, so that's what our office advised - just in case New Yorkers needed it. Sounds crazy as I type that, but sweet also. Haven't read Shipping News. Clay has. We've both seen the movie. Loved it. Oh, just thought of another memory... The diverted planes were held in Halifax until Friday (when US air space reopened). That was our very first visit to our newly purchased cottage. My family stood on the beach and looked up to the dark sky to see the lights of 40 planes flying in a perfectly straight line. I'm assuming they were all given the same flight path and told not to stray from it. I'm also assuming there was a fighter jet or two on standby. Shivers.
Oh my god, that is so fascinating. Why haven't you written about this? All that juicy info and you're hoarding it!
About the Shipping News: our professional writers group invited Annie Proulx to come to Detroit to talk about her book and she did and she was so shitty we were sorry we'd ever invited her! She made fun of everything and everybody and acted as though we should feel privileged to have her in our presence. I loved reading The Shipping News so I was sorry I hadn't stayed home that day. It ruined the whole book for me. It didn't seem possible that someone like her could have written it.
Oh, no! What a shame. That's terrible. Well, I suppose even assholes can be talented writers. I had the opposite experience once. Met the wife of a former prime minister who had been much maligned by the media for being uppity. I had no idea who the media was talking about. The woman I met was delightfully grounded. She even said 'shit' at one point. I adored her. Haha
I'll give some thought to writing about my 9/11 experiences. But I still lack the desire to write anything. My career writing was so high pressure, I think I got whatever lies beyond burnt out but comes close to PTSD.
That's a shame. I was about to say I'd do everything I could to get you back on track--and I would--but I'm not getting in the middle of you and your PTSD!
But you might think about lurking over at Writer Everlasting--hanging out with us just to see if you might want to try it...
Just saying... ❤❤❤
I'm a Michigander (Detroit and Grand Rapids) and I would love your Fruit Cocktail cake recipe. I was "home" about 6 weeks ago and I still marvel at the smell of Michigan (that's a good thing) when I deplane in Grand Rapids. Welcome home!!
The smell is different, and, according to my Arizona relatives, so are the clouds! I don't know why that is.
I'll get the recipe out soon.
I am reading this essay at our home in Harbor Springs (we are only here part time-alas) and I would love your fruit cocktail cake recipe!
Hi Kathryn, my grandson lives just north of Good Hart along the Tunnel of Trees. I stayed with him for a couple of weeks after he had wrist surgery this spring and we went to Harbor Springs quite often. (I was his chauffeur as he was forbidden to drive.) I love it there!
I'll write up the recipe and figure out how best to share it.
Good Hart is one of our favorite spots! We are actually a tiny bit north of Harbor Springs, right at the beginning of the Tunnel of Trees. I am throughly enjoying your essays and love seeing the UP through your eyes. Thank you for that and thank you for the recipe ❤️💙
Such a small world! 💖
Ah, we have Maui in common! We might have been there at the same time. I taught at Baldwin High School in Wailuku from 1970-1073. Was very involved with establishing the community theater there as a charter member. So expensive to live, especially as a single teacher. I took Dean to Hawaii for our 20th anniversary, and if I thought the changes were extreme when I was there in the 70s, it was nothing compared to `96 - and I can't imagine now. All the public beaches in Kihei seem to be gone, and I'm sure the nude beaches out Makena way are all built out. A lot of Boone's Farm apple wine was consumed on those beaches. With Haleakala, sometimes when school got out and the mountain was completely clear, I would drive up for the sunset, narrowly missing some cows. One time, the sun was setting over the West Maui mountains and the moon was coming up over Mauna Kea. I have pictures...and even with drunken rides back from Lahaina over the Pali, I still looked for the woman in white. I miss standing on the North Shore Pali on Oahu - such magic in the air. Such a short time of 3 years, and yet I feel it in my DNA. And yes, would love moo figure out a way to get back to the UP...in the summer. If I could fly to Lansing.......
I'm kind of waxing poetic. I turn 75 in July, and I Amy coming out of my fog, a seismic shift as I'm calling it. I'm bound and determined to make this a coming decade to remember....starting with Spain and Portugal in October.
I do so enjoy sharing with you. We seem like kindred souls. Also, have you watched Shrinking on Apple TV? Absolutely a gem, as are certain episodes of Ted Lasso...especially the one titled Sunflowers. One of the best bits of TV...and a tribute to Donald in Mathematic land.
Ed and I went back to Maui in 1994--not far from when you were there--and we couldn't believe how it had grown! No more sleepy little towns! The pleasant feel was gone. Baldwin Park was one of our favorite beaches and it looked pretty sad.
We lived in Kihei when we first got there in 1966, then moved to Kuau near Paia. We lived in one of the aluminum houses at "Easter Egg Village", where Mama's Fish House is now, then to Waihee, where we lived in an old sugar cane plantation manager's house--emphasis on 'old', but it was a great place for the kids, and we had every fruit tree imaginable in our yard.
But Maui will always be a special place. Nothing will ever ruin the beauty.
So...I watched Shrinking until the season end and I loved it. I also loved Dear Edward. Have you seen it? They're both about deaths and grieving in their own ways so I thought I might have trouble watching them, but nope. They're both great. I just saw they're not doing a second season of Dear Edward and I'm baffled by that. It's so good!
And Ted Lasso...I don't want it to end! There were some clunkers but overall the writing and the performances are outstanding. The characters grow and change in ways that are so unpredictable. It's pretty brilliant.
I also lived in Tucson for 10 years and the smells of Arizona are very different - but wonderful after a rain. My two favorite places, Michigan and Arizona. Still getting acclimated to Denver and the mountains.
I like Tucson, hate Phoenix! There is a desert smell, isn't there? I do like Denver a lot, but that mile-high atmosphere wore me out, even when I was younger. I can imagine what it would be like now!
I know that missing - and in a way I am glad. Life goes on and I have no complaints, but he is missing - I don't want to totally forget what was.
Per usual, I love your storytelling. I only infrequently have been to Michigan (but may get there more now that my niece will be attending U of Michigan!) but enjoyed it when I was there. I've never visited the UP but now I want to go! It sounds like such a magical place.
The conversation here in the comments has been phenomenal. I've learned so much about Novia Scotia, Hawaii, Vermont, and Arizona! We're planning on moving northeast, so I hope we can go to many of those places soon.
The 9/11 stories are fascinating. I was a professor in the Counseling Psychology department at the time. They closed the university before lunch; I sat in my office watching the clogged roads as students fought to go home. My husband worked in the federal building in downtown Dallas and I couldn't reach him right away. This was when we didn't know how many attacks there were and Dallas could've been a likely target. He was fine but it was scary for a while. A local Dallas TV station asked some of us to come down there and do a mental health hotline. The drive was like the zombie apocalypse had occurred. There was NO traffic! I was the only car on the road which was amazing but also creepy. I thought they'd shove us in a small room but they put us on the air taking calls. They even interviewed a few of us but I don't know how I looked because no one I knew was watching! The hotline calls were so interesting. Many were parents wanting to know how to help their children not be so afraid. My first piece of advice: turn off the TV! Kids don't understand that the footage was repeating, so they thought there were constant airplanes crashing into buildings. Many of the parents didn't even consider that. Then there were the students who wanted to know if school would be cancelled the next day (LOL). Other calls were from people who were frightened or wanted to tell someone their theory as to what happened. It was an interesting night. I definitely plan to see Come From Away. I could use a little faith in humanity these days.
What a fascinating story, Misty. Wow! The part about turning the TV off when small kids are around makes so, so much sense! I've never thought about it like that, but of course they would process it to mean planes kept crashing into buildings.
Even all these years later I still get a pain in the pit of my stomach when I think of that day and the aftermath.
Thanks so much sharing your thoughts. As for Ed, I'm glad you had so many years, but wish you could have had many many more. We're reaching an age where I wonder more and more which of us this is going to happen to and how we will deal with it. But humanity has been dealing with it forever, so I know we will manage.
I know the story of Come From Away and just hearing what happened makes me tear up and grateful for the good in humanity.
I'm wishing many, many more years together for you and Brent, and wherever you are is home. You're building your own spaces, your own memories, and the one left will keep them and love them and they will bring peace. I promise.
Thanks for the lovely wishes Ramona. I'm sure they will bring peace, but I'm imagining it's probably a somewhat bittersweet peace. Then again, it's that bittersweetness that I think makes us human.
Welcome home Mona! You embrace it all so sweetly. And your home embraces you.
Lisa, I'm sending love and huge, huge hugs. Thank you. 💖
Right back at you Mona. 💖
Okay, here's the recipe for the Fruit Cocktail Cake. I hope you like it as much as we all do. I'll add it to my post, as well.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ii6a_1GJOFd03lloGVw-cB1Fb9U_Cr762ASs-hmH-_Q/edit#heading=h.k6vgkkanbfev
Love the rocks and woods of the UP. We spent a few days there (in summer)as siblings, saying goodbye to our parents in one of their favorite places, Marquette. We were smalll enough when we lived there to remember only bits and pieces, so coming back was like uncovering a hidden part of your past. Glad you're home!
I'm so glad you were able to make the trip to Marquette. Your parents and I had that in common. I love that town and the surroundings. Beautiful and peaceful. I hope you had a chance to get to Presque Isle Park. The drive around the loop is very special.
Yes i did. Very lovely.
So nice to think of you back where "you belong." And, I suspect, after the stories that have revealed themselves in the comments, that you could knit together an Anywhere, U.S.A. 9/11 recounting as a future Constant Commoner piece. Welcome home, Ramona!
Thanks so much, Elizabeth. And what a great idea! I did love those comments...