Escaping the heat…..
Isn’t it funny how we always want what we don’t have? It seems like just yesterday I was shivering
and longing for warm weather to come and rescue me from double soaks! Now that
it’s here, that summer sunshine, I find myself concocting way to escape to
cooler climates.
One of my favorite things to do when it’s hot is go to sea.
There is something about being out on the water that cools me off. Okay, maybe
it’s just the sight of all those wave caps that does the trick or maybe it’s
the sea breeze. I’m not sure it matters.
One of my favorite research materials are logs from people
at sea. There is a tranquility out on the water that inspires deep thoughts.
The ocean also has a way of reducing a person to their core, stripping away all
the things they thought were important and leaving them facing what they really
long for. Inside the pages of a seventeenth century sailor’s diary, you’ll find
letters to his sweetheart and delicate black and white sketches of marine
animals she’s never seen. That same log book will become a grandchild’s
favorite bed time story, read to him by his grandfather who he only knows as an
old man. The Pilgrims leaving ‘The Old World’ behind for a new life in what
would become America wrote down their dreams of freedom and hope. Young men
caught in the grip of World War Two scribbled down their deepest feelings and
dreams of making it back home to the simple pleasures of life. Today, a hand
written letter still brings a lot of joy to a deployed soldier. When there isn’t
a power source, those little folded papers light up faces.
In today’s world, we don’t have to wait for a letter anymore
but when I go sailing, I discover myself reaching for a pen instead of the lap
top. I know, old fashioned of me but there is something about being out on the
water that just makes the feeling of a pen…well…right. The wind whips up from
the surface of the water and if you’re lucky, a dolphin or two just might make
an appearance.
There’s something about those hand written pages that brings
the ‘flavor’ of history back. I write a lot of historicals and many times they
begin with pen and paper while I’m sitting on the deck of a ship. So who still
has some letters tucked away? I know I do. I’d love to hear about some of them
and when it’s hot, sitting under a shady tree is a great place to read one of
those old letters.
Cheers!
Mary Wine
Mary, there is an old trunk out in the garage that has a whole stack of letters tied with a ribbon. They are all the letters that Husband wrote when we were "dating"
ReplyDeletevia the US Mail service. He was in Germany with the Army and I was in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. Every few years I get them out and re-read them...and am amazed all over again!
I often ready for ink and paper as well, Mary. Sometimes the computer just isn't the tool I need.
ReplyDeleteAmelia
Unfortunately, good penmanship is a lost art and I know that my handwriting is deplorable which is why I prefer to type my correspondence. Fortunately, there are plenty of beautiful fonts available to play with.
ReplyDeleteHey Carolyn-That's what I mean, that goose-bump feeling. Now that is courtship.
ReplyDeleteAmelia- I have a little book that I outline stories in.
ReplyDeleteAnd
ELf2060- It's a very messy book!
Sometimes I get away from my computer, which can provide a lot of distraction, and just write the scenes by hand. I've written 10-14 pages front and back that way and sometimes get a LOT more written. I do a lot of research as I'm writing though, so I have to go back and research details to add in later.
ReplyDeleteLovely post, Mary. Read like poetry. And I envy you the opportunity to go boating so often. I can definitely see how it would inspire.
ReplyDelete