Even though Lou Ann has retired from teaching, she continues to have storytelling performances in the Midwest, and needed to return. This coming week she begins a ten day show at the Indianapolis Fringe Festival. If you are in the area be sure to stop by to hear her perform. You can read more about the festival here.
Amy, Lachlan, & I carried Lou Ann and Julie, Amy’s mother, to the train station in Newport News on Wednesday. Lou Ann was heading to Indiana; Julie to Washington state.
Because of the festival, Lou Ann left Ocracoke earlier than usual…and because she has a number of other performances scheduled this fall, she won’t be returning to Ocracoke until mid December. But at least when she comes back she can stay longer, since she won’t be teaching school. I am planning to make a trip to see her in the meanwhile, sometime this fall.
We had a wonderful, and busy, ten weeks. Lou Ann (I should say Mad Mag) contributed her storytelling talents to the island once again as she led Ghost & History Walks. She also volunteered at the Preservation Museum, opened the lighthouse for visitors, produced a Friday night show, and performed at the Wednesday evening Opry.
But chatting on the pizer (before breakfast, and late at night) are among my fondest memories. This summer we also lay in the yard looking for shooting stars, walked on the beach in the moonlight, biked around the village, visited friends and neighbors, enjoyed meals together, and took several quiet rides in my skiff in Pamlico Sound.
It is quieter in the house as I write…and lonelier…but I look forward to spending more time together as Lou Ann transitions from there to here! As Elizabeth Parsons once said to Lou Ann, “You are one of us!” No accolade from a native O’cocker is sweeter.
Farewell…for now. Your Mad Mag Studio is just as you left it...ready for your return!
Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is Lou Ann’s story of the Night Blooming Cereus Cactus. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news072111.htm.
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Memories like you have, Philip, are the grandest, most precious treasures of all. Blackbeard would be envious.
ReplyDeleteAlways remember, absence makes the heart grow fonder.....:)
...but presence gets results.
ReplyDeleteAnd presents aren't bad, either.
ReplyDeleteWe could give you a ride to South Bend in either mid-Sept or end of Oct.
ReplyDeleteGary & Trisha
Thanks Gary & Trish, but those dates won't work for me.
ReplyDeleteSmiles to my fellow bloggers (Anon 9:14 and 9:21)....Anon 7:45
ReplyDeletePhilip, thank you for the lovely blog. It was a wonderful summer to be there...thanks also for all the support from your bloggers and from the island of Ocracoke. I will miss you all very much.
ReplyDeleteAlways hard to be apart from those we hold dear...
ReplyDeleteI had a great visit with Lou Ann on Monday at the Ocracoke Preservation Society. It was great to finally get to meet her. Such an active life she leads, as do you Philip. Now to look forward to the next season. We will be leaving Ocracoke for home tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteBesides reading Philip's blog filled to the brim with such pleasant memories, I have just spent another lovely evening watching the most breathtaking orange, mango and dark blue-grey sunset over Silver Lake Harbor. It's just past 8 p.m. and Captain Rob has docked the handsome Windfall II after letting off his passengers who were so fortunate to sail on such a gorgeous evening.
ReplyDeleteThe magic of it all is that I am 225 or so miles away in the northern piedmont of NC and yet, I experienced another lovely Ocracoke sunset.
Hearty appreciation to the folks @ Captain's Landing & the Ocracoke Harbor Inn for offering these amazing web-cams.
Instead of letting "Calgon, take me away...." I simply click on the computer to my favorite web-cams and watch the beautiful Ocracoke island sunsets and sunrises.
It's a must-see when one can't be on Ocracoke island as much as one would love to be!