I just realized that my blog is one week old now, and what follows will be my 8th post, the start of a new week. I began this blog on a Friday--Dec. 30, 2011--for no particular reason other than that it seemed the right time to start. It has been a good week--an interesting week of island exploration, and I pause here to say that I hope there are many yet to come.
Today, before going very far, I dropped down to a rock shelf on the northeastern edge of the island, less than a minute's stroll to its northernmost point. Here, in the side of the hill or cliff or acclivity or whatever you wish to call it, there is a cavity in the rock perhaps ten feet deep. There is plenty of room for someone--or even as many as ten someones--to sit in this cavity, sheltered from the elements, and ponder the facing channel where it has just veered off from the main body of the river. It's a lovely place to sit on a bright sunny day--and not a bad place to take refuge on a rainy day, if you've come prepared with a good book or simply a contemplative frame of mind. For we all need refuge every now and then, do we not? Whether from the rainy, windy, sleety elements, or from ... other elements. We all need alone time, and some of us need and crave it more than others. So why not seek peaceful, solitary refuge in a cave? After all, it's something we humans have been doing for a very long time. From where I sat, here is what my perspective looked like:
It continues to amaze me how I can sit in such an idyllic, picturesque, and largely unobserved nook and yet be so close to a pretty decent sized city. But then, I suppose even when I lived in New York, there were occasions when I happened upon such places. But this is special: I am on an island (hmm, just like New York), I live on this island (hmmm, I lived on Manhattan island too), and I sit gazing out on the Mississippi River (well, I had the Hudson and East Rivers). I can't say I spent a great deal of time gazing at the Hudson or East Rivers. Some. But not a lot. Maybe all I'm trying to say is that I feel that my presence here, now, at this time of my life, with this river, and this island, feels special and right. It is my time to get to know the Mississippi, to explore the only inhabited island it hosts, and to take what pleasure and insights I can from the experience.
Here is another perspective, sitting in the same place but this time looking out toward where the river comes down from the north. (If you click on these pictures, they get bigger ... I don't know if everyone knows that.) I sat there for a while, then clambered down to the shore and followed it around the island's northern tip, and then further down the western shore until I reached the place where a houseboat is moored. I'll save this houseboat for a future post. I climbed some crude steps back up to W. Island Ave. and continued around the island as usual. After my walk, my lovely companion and I had lunch at a Lebanese restaurant in the Northeast area. There are so many restaurants in the area, and we've had a lot of fun trying different ones. But when you're not with others, or a significant other, and not eating in restaurants or working or whatever other things occupy your time, I maintain that it is good, every now and then, to seek refuge in a cave. If nothing else, it may help you better appreciate all the comforts of home.
Life flows on, in and around us--it flows on, even when we stop and sit in a solitary refuge, looking inside and looking outside.
D.E.S.
Today, before going very far, I dropped down to a rock shelf on the northeastern edge of the island, less than a minute's stroll to its northernmost point. Here, in the side of the hill or cliff or acclivity or whatever you wish to call it, there is a cavity in the rock perhaps ten feet deep. There is plenty of room for someone--or even as many as ten someones--to sit in this cavity, sheltered from the elements, and ponder the facing channel where it has just veered off from the main body of the river. It's a lovely place to sit on a bright sunny day--and not a bad place to take refuge on a rainy day, if you've come prepared with a good book or simply a contemplative frame of mind. For we all need refuge every now and then, do we not? Whether from the rainy, windy, sleety elements, or from ... other elements. We all need alone time, and some of us need and crave it more than others. So why not seek peaceful, solitary refuge in a cave? After all, it's something we humans have been doing for a very long time. From where I sat, here is what my perspective looked like:
It continues to amaze me how I can sit in such an idyllic, picturesque, and largely unobserved nook and yet be so close to a pretty decent sized city. But then, I suppose even when I lived in New York, there were occasions when I happened upon such places. But this is special: I am on an island (hmm, just like New York), I live on this island (hmmm, I lived on Manhattan island too), and I sit gazing out on the Mississippi River (well, I had the Hudson and East Rivers). I can't say I spent a great deal of time gazing at the Hudson or East Rivers. Some. But not a lot. Maybe all I'm trying to say is that I feel that my presence here, now, at this time of my life, with this river, and this island, feels special and right. It is my time to get to know the Mississippi, to explore the only inhabited island it hosts, and to take what pleasure and insights I can from the experience.
Here is another perspective, sitting in the same place but this time looking out toward where the river comes down from the north. (If you click on these pictures, they get bigger ... I don't know if everyone knows that.) I sat there for a while, then clambered down to the shore and followed it around the island's northern tip, and then further down the western shore until I reached the place where a houseboat is moored. I'll save this houseboat for a future post. I climbed some crude steps back up to W. Island Ave. and continued around the island as usual. After my walk, my lovely companion and I had lunch at a Lebanese restaurant in the Northeast area. There are so many restaurants in the area, and we've had a lot of fun trying different ones. But when you're not with others, or a significant other, and not eating in restaurants or working or whatever other things occupy your time, I maintain that it is good, every now and then, to seek refuge in a cave. If nothing else, it may help you better appreciate all the comforts of home.Life flows on, in and around us--it flows on, even when we stop and sit in a solitary refuge, looking inside and looking outside.
D.E.S.
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