Memories of the ocean

A repost from 2015 

Taken on April 21, 1948
Galveston beach, TX
Top photos have Uncle Chauncey on the left, smallest sunbonnet is Mary Beth, and I'm the blond with bangs, then my dad, George Rogers.
You can see the water was barely getting our feet wet.

In the bottom 2 photos I'm on the left, Mary Beth in the middle, and Gummy, my grandmother Ada Rogers is wearing not only a dress as we sit on this driftwood, but hat and gloves!  What a lady!

Mother or Poppy must have been doing the camera work for this visit.

We spent about a month of that summer traveling to St. Louis, MO and Stevens Point, WI, going through the Smoky Mountains for my first view of mountains.  We then moved to St. Louis.  After I grew up my first job was in Miami...

All my adult life I've had to think whether I wanted to live near the beach or the mountains.

When I lived in Knoxville TN, I'd go visit the beach for vacations, but once a month would go hiking in the Smokies.

I would yo-yo between mountains and beach almost yearly.  If I lived in the vicinity of one, I'd go visit the other.

Then I moved back to Florida for about 12 years (in different cities).  I just recently found a post card which actually has the house in which we lived in St. Augustine, FL.  Sorry I didn't scan it, but just took a photo with my phone.

At the top of this photo is Anastasia State Park, which not only has a beach, but a campground.  In the middle you see the fishing pier. There is no entertainment.

Close-up view of Hampton Inn and our apartment

The four story red brick hotel (Hampton Inn) to the lower left was built while I lived there (1996-2000.)  The little street just above it going toward the ocean is 15th Street, and directly across that street is the small 2 story grey house with dark grey roof which was our apartment (ground floor). This photo even shows one of our cars in the parking lot.  We were the 4th house from the Atlantic Ocean.  As you might notice, we didn't exactly have a swimming beach unless it was low tide, as there was a pile of rocks making a sea-wall next to those waves.  I would walk up to the state park and wade in that water between the rocks, or drive to one of the beaches further south where you could drive a car and swim.

And the reverse side of the post card is as follows:

Thanks to John Nyberg for the great photo!

The apartment was empty and for sale when I last drove by the area a few years ago.  I hope the real estate market has improved and others are enjoying by now.

I have some really great memories from my living there.  But now I'm happily retired and living in the mountains of North Carolina.

I might like to visit a beach sometime soon, however. Nothing definite planned yet.

Today's quote: 

Beyond the obvious need for public officials to occasionally be held accountable for breaking the law, the culture of elite impunity for criminal acts that Trump has thrived in needs to end. Trump has shown over and over that he will continually push the envelope and engage in allegedly criminal behavior. Why shouldn’t he? Up to now, no one has forced him to suffer the consequences. Trump may not be that bright, but he’s not necessarily stupid either. If you constantly put your hand against a burning stove and never get burned, what’s the point of stopping? MSNBC Columnist Michael A. Cohen 

The Enlightened One (Part One)

Memories from 2011.
I vaguely remember the first time she came to the Women's Spirituality Group at our church.  Very intelligent, knew lots about diverse topics, wanted to share, had some issues with health.

At the next time we met, we teased about how one of the women had just came back from a retreat in Myrtle Beach.  I remembered going to that retreat center in my past, and said I'd love to go again, did anyone else want to go?  The Enlightened One did, as well as several other women.  In the end three of us did take the 5 hour road trip in my then 15 year old Toyota, to Myrtle Beach and stayed several days in February 2011.

Each of us had been there before and had very diverse but spiritual-growth kinds of experiences.  And the same thing happened with this visit.   I'll respect each of our own paths and leave it at that.

After that trip, I tried to have more social interactions with The Enlightened One, but I didn't pick up on her transportation limitations right away, of  living on the side of a mountain about 2 miles from the center of the town of Black Mountain and having no car.  Her daughter was taking her places, she said, but she lived a ways away.

After a while she did ask for rides to various doctor appointments.  But she continued to say she was walking to the grocery store and library herself.  As I was the chairperson (at that time) of our church committee that looked after the needs of people who were sick, I kept up with her, as well as several other folks dealing with illness.  She was concerned about my saying we were limited in how to help people.

The Enlightened One brought a friend to train the committee at the church in how to share caring for other members who were sick.   During that summer she looked after her garden and mowed the grass on her hilly lot.  (This was more than I could do!)  Other folks at the church also had close relationships with her, and were visiting frequently.

The second part of this story will be posted tomorrow.