Monday, December 17, 2007

Merry Christmas!

Hi. This is Philip. I am wishing all of our readers a very Merry Christmas a tad early because we will be posting somewhat erratically for the next month or so. During this holiday season I plan to spend most of my time with family and friends (my brother might even be coming to the island for an extended visit, and of course Lou Ann will be here for a while), and I may just turn off my computer! I also have some winter-time projects here at Village Craftsmen and at my home that need attention. So, I will be counting these next several weeks as my annual vacation.

While I am otherwise occupied I am hoping that Jude or Amy might share a few thoughts now and then. It will be good to have another perspective on island life. I'll be back at the Journal sometime in February.

But before I leave you all for six weeks or so, I want to share an Ocracoke Christmas story. It's about the wreck of the steamship Ariosto on Christmas Eve of 1899. You can read it here.

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:45 PM

    Philip, hope you enjoy your much deserved break from your writing. I know I speak for many when I say we all appreciate your terrific effort helping us keep in touch with such a wonderful place. I'm sure when you get back "on line" you will have many fresh stories to relate. But in the meantime, Merry Christmas to all at the Village Craftsmen and to our friends on the island.

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  2. Anonymous5:27 PM

    Merry Christmas to you and yours from Pittsburgh, PA, Philip. We'll miss your dispatches, and look forward to your return.

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  3. Anonymous6:59 AM

    Life on the island well some neighborhoods on the mainland may well as bump along as if they were isolated. however your true isolation I suppose forces a more elevated civility --or are you all a bunch of anti-regulation free spirits do as I please or are you the barn raising types even the new generation settling in on Oracoke? Do you quickly nip in the bud the neighbor's habit with the dog running loose or the loud music blaring often these are matters that fester on the mainland matters which drive a person from the New Urbanism to a mini ponderosa

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  4. Merry Christmas Phillip, and enjoy your time off (though it sounds like with projects and family, it's likely to be quite busy). I'm picturing to cold dark Christmas Eve on Howard Street, and hope you have a wonderful time with your family. Thank you for sharing O'coke with those of us who can only spend a couple weeks a year there.

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  5. Anonymous8:13 PM

    Philip, Enjoy your hiatus..Hope that you are able to recharge and come back to Village Craftsmen with more stories to tell...Looking forward to our usual May trek to Ocracoke...

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  6. Anonymous2:22 PM

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Philip!! I just returned home from a great week on your island. New Year's Eve and Day were 2 particularly beautiful days! The amount of heavy construction equipment on the island made it obvious that they are SERIOUS about attacking those bridges!

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