Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Gwynn's Island Sunset








On my screen, these pictures are blurry. If they are on yours too, try squinting and imagining the most beautiful sunset in the world. This was over on Gwynn's Island looking towards the vicinity of the Piankatank River. You may now unsquint your eyes.

I had every intention of writing about sunsets today, and I was going to talk about the sunset in Key West at Mallory Square. (By the way, Key West has absolutely nothing to do with life in Mathews, but by now surely you know how easily I stray from any topic.)

As I was considering what I would say, I wanted to talk about how three girls, with no fear and not a lot of common sense among them, drove from Charlottesville to Miami in one session. I was going to say something about it being the equivalent of driving from (insert a country here) to Saudi Arabia. Contemplating just the right country, I looked for a world map and instead came upon my childhood diary.

So, never mind about that story. This particular entry from 1974 caught my eye:

___________________________________________
July 9

Dear Diary,

Today was realy [sic] rough. I had to be at the orthodontist's by 8:30. Then when I got home, I hit my head on a box at the pool. I had to get 3 stitches. Boy! And before that Mamma ran over my bycicle [sic].

-Chesapeake Bay Child

___________________________________________

I have always said that when I have a bad day, I do it up right: When it rains for me, it typhoons. I am surprised, however, that it started at such a young age.

Let me explain why each and every one of the statements above is so traumatic.

1. The orthodontist was located in Denbigh, which is approximately an hour's drive from Mathews. If I had to be there at 8:30, that means I had to get up way earlier than usual. No good.

2. The orthodontist was tightening my braces. Back then, braces were like wearing a steel vice around your head. I would be in pain for a good couple of days after the vice-tightening. No good.

3. I already wrote about the time I ran into a fire extinguisher box at the Islander. That was the only time in my life I've ever had stitches. They were IN MY HEAD. No good.

4. My bicycle was my life, my only means of transportation. I rode that thing hard and often. But, I would leave it in the driveway on occasion, without using the kickstand. I was in a hurry and had no time to stop and tend to such details. The bike was casually tossed wherever I got off. In this case, it happened to be behind the car. My mother drove over more than one bike in our childhood, and each and every time it was very traumatic. The bike was done. Stick a fork in it. Twisted and mangled beyond recognition. NO GOOD.

So how can I relate this story to (possibly blurry) pictures of a sunset? Easy.

No matter how awful a particular day is, and the above one should go down in the history books for me because of the sheer volume of traumatic events, the sun is always going to set and always going to rise on a fresh, new day.

Hopefully that new day won't be filled with stitches and braces and mangled bicycles.

Or blurry photos.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

oh my goodness. i need to get one of my diaries out of that chest of drawers in your spare bedroom and do a blog, too. how succinct we were in those days?! i love it!! poor mamma, i know she ran over more than one bike but we left that driveway like a training obstacle course for the marines.

-middle sis

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Middle Sis - I have plenty of other entries that are hilarious.

Hmmmm. Maybe I'll mosey upstairs and check out that diary myself.

Could make for some interesting stuff.

MommyTime said...

ouch, ouch, and ouch! I keep meaning to go check out my old diaries, all sitting on a shelf in my office, but I keep forgetting to do it... Now I will.

Anonymous said...

I second the other two comments - fantastic idea to pull some old stuff from my diary. If only I can find it. I do have a fun letter that my grandma wrote to her mother-in-law when my dad was a tot... maybe I'll blog that until I can dig through the boxes in the storage room...

Bear Naked said...

Beautiful sunset photos and another good twisting and turning story from you.
So when will you tell us about the trip from Charlottesville to Miami?

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

mommytime-Pull that diary out. I guarantee you will be laughing. Or crying. Or both.

soup - It will be well worth it to find yours. Start the excavation process. Can't wait to see the letter on your site.

bear - Thank you (the pictures aren't blurry?). I've decided that twisting and turning is my thing with this hobby of mine. It also happens to describe how I plod through life.

Oh, and the Key West story? Perhaps one or both of the two college roommates of mine referenced will contribute to that. Icey and Lenja, feel free to either comment here and/or e-mail me. That was an incredible story.

Unknown said...

I love your sunsets. It's on a different shore, but it so reminds me of the sunsets in So. CA. I miss them.
I don't have any old diaries, but I was going through my father's yearbook from 1939...yikes!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful sunsets! I don't even have to squint to enjoy them. I wish I kept a diary when I was a little chicadee, but instead I drew strange pictures of martians and unidentifiable animals. I have my "art" in a box in the attic, where it will stay until it disintegrates or I get discovered, whichever comes first.

foolery said...

Happy birfday to Kaffy, first and foremost.

I think if you ever reach the end of writing about Mathews (doubtful) and need a new blog, you should call it "I Told You That So I Could Tell You This." I use it a lot, but I haven't used it up. Think about it. You might want it. Have your people call my people. Send smoke signals.

And no, the photos didn't look blurry to me, and Yes, those were spectacular sunsets, and I'm a sunset connoisseur.

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

kaffy - Happy Birthday! You look 14, not 46.

foolery - I do like that for a blog. My folks will be in touch. Look for some smoke.

Thanks to you all.

Anonymous said...

An absolutely spectacular sunset. I love this picture. This truly reminds us of the beautiful handiworks of our creator. If one can not look around and see that things like this were put here for our enjoyment tnen we really need to open our eyes.

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

cats - amen.