INNOCENCE....Another Word For Freedom

A series of essays.....

~~~LYDIA~~~

 














.....as seen through my eyes!



INNOCENCE.....

is simply another word for freedom. Free of guilt, sin, moral wrong, with the lack of knowledge of evil or wrong doing. Generally associated with the very young and the naive, we visualize youth as not having been tainted by the negativity of life itself and walk the earth within a shell of purity and bliss. My aching heart cries for the loss of childhood innocence in so many places around the world: Syria, Africa, India.....the mighty United States of America. 

Tears roll down my face and I ache for this blatant, selfish, unnecessary theft of pure innocence and freedom. I am ashamed of mankind. We have failed to evolve. We have ignored our gift of intelligence and placed greed upon the altar to be idolized, worshipped, and adored. We have put our children's lives at risk. And, the most grievous part is that many of us will not admit to it. A blanket of ignorance will never be good enough to cover-up for the lack of simple common sense.

There is a freshness that surrounds the truly innocent. Like a cool mountain breeze that gently skims across our skin or the delicious aroma of freshly baked bread cooling on the countertop as your Mother hums a simple tune in the kitchen, innocence is captured. With this freshness comes possibilities. With this innocence, dare we dream of hope?

"Those who are incapable of committing great crimes do not readily suspect them in others," wrote La Rochefoucauld, a French writer and moralist, in the late seventeenth century. Most of us continue to conduct our lives believing in the good of mankind, discounting the rumors of guilt-laden souls filled with cunning, guile and senseless hate for other human beings. Most of us are incapable of 'great crimes.' We, too, are the Innocents. We often hear the phrase that 'no one is perfect' and understand it epitomizes the essential characteristics of people we love and admire the most; people with kindness in their hearts, but never claim the essence of perfection within their own lives. They learn and grow because of their mistakes. They love life and fill the lives of others with joy. "If we had no faults of our own, we would not take so much pleasure in noticing those of others." ...Rochefoucauld wrote.

"Is Man kind? Are we good? Look through their windows so that you can understand their views. Set at their tables so you can share their tastes. Sleep in their beds so that you may know their dreams. Find out just how kind the he's and she's of this mankind are." .....Courtesy of airbnb. Let us travel this breathtaking world and introduce ourselves to its he's and she's and share and compare our knowledge with one another to help preserve our Earth and keep Her safe.

BREAKING NEWS:

Even the Innocents are questioning the souls of others today! As I write this essay, I am being alerted about two innocent lives that have been taken from us in Moneta, Virginia this morning. Two victims of senseless violence. BREAKING NEWS: Reporter, Photographer Shot & Killed On Air In Virginia..... What can I write or say right now? What could possibly make any sense from this heinous act of violence against two innocent beings delivered by another? May God bless and keep you, Alison Parker, twenty-four years young, and Adam Ward, twenty-seven years young.

My heart is crying.

It's funny to me that all of the pounding negativism I was feeling thirty minutes ago as I was beginning my story has not been ramped-up by this 'act of hate' against Alison and Adam. Extreme acts of sadness affect each of us differently and I am a bit bewildered by my own emotions at this moment. I am calm, focused and tied to the earth.....as if my body has become one with nature and my soul is at peace with the world. Crazy.....given the circumstances. It's as though my life is honoring the two lives that have been taken from us and for now, I am one with their spirits as they leave this world and go on to the next.

What a truly engaging experience for me.

I am sure there will be time for numbness, contemplation of reality and questioning of motives in this case.  The understanding of it will take so much longer, if ever, I fear.

Thinking back to the young innocents who began my story today, I believe that their freedom from guilt, sin and moral wrong has a timeline that continues to dwindle with each school shooting, theater massacre, and 'attention based' killing that takes place. Circumstances that are certainly not beyond our control are shortening their freedom and elongating their fears at such extremely young, vulnerable ages. As adults, it is our responsibility to protect them and allow them to be carefree longer. I understand that we can't hide them in their rooms until they're thirteen. But, we can assist in regulating the weapons used in these crimes, as well as help educate others as to how and why these weapons must be properly controlled.

I offer you a few excerpts from a book entitled 'Abstract Poetry 4Life' by Deneene A. Collins that stretches the imagination and challenges our protective abilities when it comes to our children; our lives: "If I were a bee I would sting to protect everything important to me including my sweet, thick honey..... Though a sting may hurt you temporarily, it kills the very bee that makes the choice to sting you permanently. So never think that it is something a bee wants to do but realize it is only what they feel they have to do. Humans sting each other all the time with hurtful words, foul actions, and vicious lies. If your sting would take your life wouldn't you think twice before imposing ill actions on another?"

Most importantly, we must teach our children how to love.....  Learning to love one another, in the basic sense of respect and kindness, should be the number one priority of each of us, ranging from birth to the day we finally leave our earthly home. I may sound like a broken record when it comes to this mind-set, however, I ask you, if the repetition of something so basic and simple can help to reinforce and support the freedom we all deserve, would you be tired of hearing about it? Love is the key to opening all doors. Allow it to open your heart.

In Loving Memory of Alison and Adam.



Copyright © 2015 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
All rights reserved

SEPTEMBER THOUGHTS

A series of essays.....

A PERFECT PICNIC SPOT NEAR LAKE
MICHIGAN ALONG MICHIGAN'S WEST COAST

.....as seen through my eyes!





By: Jacqueline E. Hughes


"Dig deep within; everything you need exists within you."

I am a fan of Alex E. Carey! Alex is a YA or 'Young-Adult' author whom I met via social media and her quotes continue to uplift and encourage me each day. Especially, as the month of September looms on the horizon and a fast-paced summer carries on with a bang before slowly winding down with more thought provoking characteristics and qualities heading into fall and winter.

September is, by far, my favorite month of the year!

This time of the year reminds me of one of my best-loved fiction authors from Scotland, Rosamunde Pilcher, who released her novel entitled "September" in nineteen ninety, published by St. Martin's Press. The novel begins in May as invitations are being written for a party in September. "September in Scotland is when a brief but glorious summer is ending and the long, gray winter has yet to begin. It is a time of almost frenzied rounds of parties and houseguests and reels. September is a month when marriage is proposed and marriages break up, when people drink a little too much, dance a little too late into the night, when promises are made, hearts are broken, and long-buried family secrets can come to light." ......St. Martin's Press.

I enjoy a book that temps the reader with layer upon layer of interesting characters and becomes a curl-up-under-the-covers kind of old-fashioned read. Even though her most popular book is "The Shell Seekers," I have always been partial to "September." As for being an author, Ms. Pilcher says her stories are "not so much love stories, but more about human relations..... If the stories do not have a happy ending, then they always have a hopeful ending."

I love the healthy 'crunch' of the fallen leaves beneath my feet when I take a mind and soul-cleansing walk through the neighborhood at dusk in late September. While breathing in the heady scent of the leaves, I think about all things related to the season as in the harvesting of pumpkins and the warm, spicy scent of golden pies cooling on a rack. My vivid imagination allows me to hear the sudden cracking sound of juicy apples snapped right from the tree and inhale the cinnamon scented, mulled apple cider steaming in the pot, soon to be ladled into thick, brown mugs. Definitely hand warmers for the body and soul.

Fall always has me looking forward with sweet anticipation to Halloween, a holiday originally influenced by Samhain, a Celtic autumn festival, and picture happy, little faces disguised by masks, red clown noses, and cascades of Princess sparkles. My own birthday, hiding in the shadows of this spirited holiday and just a few days afterwards, warms my heart!

And, I think about color.....yellow, red, orange, crimson, and gold, as well as the green leaves that are last to change; chlorophyll holdouts. Nature is having one last fling before settling down into winter's sleep and we are being provided with one of the most fantastic photo ops we could ever imagine.

But why, for goodness sakes, does this season between summer and winter have two names? According to Slate Magazine, before it was autumn or fall, it was harvest. Forrest Wickman writes, "While the modern names of winter and summer have been around for more than a thousand years, the names of fall and spring are more recent and less constant. This is partly because the two seasons were long viewed as secondary to summer and winter. As late as the 18th century, English speakers were less likely to think of the year as having four seasons, focusing instead on the coldest and warmest portions of the year.

Harvest as a word to mean not just "a time of reaping" but, also, "the third season of the year" lasted up until the 16th century. But, it was joined by autumn---a word borrowed from the French---at that time. Spring and fall likely gained popularity in conjunction with each other. They initially appeared in the 16th century as 'spring of the leaf and fall of the leaf,' respectively. The two complemented each other nicely and were soon shortened to the more succinct fall and spring with the longer phrases disappearing over the next few hundred years."

Wickman further explains, "Sir Walter Raleigh, one of the first English explorers of North America, uses the word fall to contrast with spring in his writing and poetry. When the British came to implement "The King's English" here, however, they conceded that by the use of 'fall,' North Americans applied the superior term and expressed their envy: Fall is better on the merits than autumn, in every way. It is short, Saxon like the other three season names, picturesque; it reveals its derivation to everyone who uses it, not to the scholar only, like autumn."

While I am on the subject of 'harvest.......,' may I interject a particular fall activity in France that begins, generally, around the first part of September? The French refer to it as la vendange which means grape or wine harvest or vintage; grapes harvested; grape crop. And, for this, many of us shall remain eternally grateful! Vive la France!

Ms. Pilcher may have written that September is a month when marriage is proposed and marriages break up, however, I see it differently. Dan and I planned our marriage in September and on the fifteenth day, coinciding with the college football kickoff season....we dragged all of our family and friends to the church! This included season ticket holders and diehard football fans alike,  as well as my handsome groom. Our MSU Spartans were slated to open the season playing Northwestern. The sports loving contingent sequestered in the church on that sunny, blue-skied afternoon were smiling, wishing us well and even shedding a few tears as Father Adams pronounced us a married couple. I still wonder if missing a Michigan State, Notre Dame, or University of Michigan opening game had anything to do with the tears I saw on those dear, sweet faces as we walked back down the aisle.....

And, who knew that thirty-eight years later, on September 12, 2011, our twins would be born? Kerrington and Brendan, our beautiful grandchildren, born to our youngest daughter, Corinne, and son-in-law, Matthew. Life today is filled with their gusto and exuberance that helps define, deepen and complete the meaning of family.

Autumn, a term used in a most scholarly manner, I might add, often marks the transition of time....the latter part of someone's life or of something's existence. "Autumn of My Life" is a metaphor which likens one's life to the season when the time for planting, growing, and flowering is over and the natural world edges toward dormancy. A time of full maturity, especially the late stages of maturity or the early stages of decline. Oh, no....I did not just go there!

You're right. Aging is never a very popular topic of conversation, especially among the aging themselves. Oh, it is with a soft, muted sensibility that we inform one another about our own aches and pains. Our younger versions always dreaded the thought of growing older. Personally, I am quite delighted to have come this far and be right where I am.

Growing older affords one a certain perspective on life not available from the earlier parts of the journey. Gratitude comes forward as the prevailing consciousness. What could be better than that? Sensing the presence of the 'finish line' is a vivid reminder that every day matters.  

Miracles occur when human beings step up to the life they've got, young and old alike, in good times and bad, and discover they're far more creative and capable than they ever dreamed they were. Miracles occur when we learn to blossom right in the middle of what we told ourselves we could never survive or get beyond. Miracles occur when we have the courage to choose from our deepest and highest self. I know this to be true because I am married to a man who has never lost faith in himself, through very lean and impossible times, and continues to reinvent himself on a daily basis. He represents the true and undeniable meaning of strength and tenacity.

Dr. Judith Rich, aka Dr. For The Soul, once wrote, "Autumn is a time to update the operating system of our life. There are old files and programs to be deleted, hard drives that need cleaning and random access memory to be added. It is time to push the "refresh" button and invent one's self again. Then, choose who you want to be and how you want to live out the remaining years of your life."

I say to all who have pocketed a Medicare Card, approached the age of retirement or, at least, decided to slow down a bit, it's time to become creative in ways never dreamed possible in our younger years. All artists, writers and poets come forth. It is time to push that "refresh" button. It is time to be passionate and fall madly in love with life once again!

September.....

I will leave you with a paragraph or two from the beloved children's book by Charlotte Zolotow entitled, "Say It!" I used to read it to both of my girls and it became one of their favorites, by far:

"It was a golden, windy autumn day. The leaves twirled around the little girl and her mother. 'Say it say it say it!' shouted the little girl. And the mother did say it in all sort of different ways---'It's a wild, wondrous, dazzling day. It's magic. It's a golden, shining, splendiferous day!'---until at last she said it in exactly the way the little girl wanted to hear it!
'Say it,' shrieked the little girl. 'Say it say it say it!'
'I love you,' said her mother. 'I love you I love you I love you!' And she twirled around and around with the little girl in her arms until they were both dizzy."

May this September bring you all of the Joy you require....


Copyright © 2015 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
All rights reserved                   

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS ON SANIBEL ISLAND

A series of journeys.....

THE SIGN AT THE ENTRANCE TO SANIBEL COTTAGES

.....as seen through my eyes!





By: Jacqueline E. Hughes


Thirty-two years and half a lifetime ago......Dan and I discovered Paradise. We ambitiously secured a small slice of it for ourselves and have never looked back with any kind of sadness or compunction.



SEASHELLS WASHING ASHORE

The innumerable seashells that wash up from the aquamarine depths of the Gulf waters stud the golden sand beaches with their delicate varieties and shapes. Variegated shades of deep mauve and yellow blend with powdery white, stone gray, and copper tones making-up the unlimited ribbon of color that highlights the undulating shoreline.  Sanibel is a barrier island which is part of a large plateau that extends out into the Gulf of Mexico for miles. This plateau acts like a shelf for seashells to gather. Sanibel has an east-west orientation. Most islands along Florida's Gulf Coast run north-south. Consequently, this beautiful island is gifted with great sandy beaches and an abundance of shells.

The decision was made and our tenth wedding anniversary was to be celebrated together for one long, glorious week on Sanibel Island. We had heard from friends that the Casa Ybel Beach Resort located at Knapps Point would be perfect accommodations for our visit. Without the Internet to cross-reference our decision at that time, we trusted their advice and booked our September getaway via telephone.

Off we flew to our little island paradise leaving our two young daughters with Grandma to be spoiled and loved for the week.

CASA YBEL RESORT



A STORM ROLLING IN OVER THE GULF

We enjoyed so many adventures that week! Heading out from Casa Ybel, we hiked down the beach nearly three miles to the Sanibel Lighthouse on the most eastern tip of the island. After taking many pictures and resting our sand and shell scuffed feet, we could see the purplish-gray clouds coming in from the north and knew we had better begin our long trek back to shelter. For the first half an hour we watched the Gulf waters transform into a brilliant green glow as the sun and storm clouds vied for control of the sky! We had heard how the raindrops from a heavy storm could pummel your head like small fists and that prospect quickened each step we took until at about a half of a mile to go.....we had to run for dear life! The fists came down on our heads, arms, and legs so fast that by the time we huddled under the gazebo near our resort's pool, we were hysterical with a mixture of laughter and relief. Two souls finding solace within the joy of adventure; two hearts building a solid foundation while celebrating their love for each other.

More than half of the island is made up of wildlife refuges with the largest being J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Preserve. We had read that the refuge was home to over two hundred and twenty species of birds native to the island. Visitors to the refuge could walk, bike, drive, or kayak through the wildlife drive which took you through five miles of mangrove tree forests and tidal flats, just perfect for watching the island's wildlife and discovering the island's native vegetation. We chose to drive, for the most part, getting out to take pictures and stroll along the man made footpaths that meandered the mangrove forests that were so thick....they would totally block-out the midday sun. The brochure I had picked-up told us that "the refuge worked to ensure that these lands are preserved, restored and maintained as a haven for indigenous and migratory wildlife as part of a nation-wide network of Refuges administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The lands also serve to provide a home for many endangered and threatened species." I just liked saying the name over and over in my head. J.N. "Ding" Darling had such a magical ring to it.




CARTOON COURTESY OF THE
J.N. "DING" DARLING
FOUNDATION



JAY NORWOOD DARLING

In later research, I discovered the man behind this interesting title, Jay Norwood Darling. He was an American cartoonist who had won the Pulitzer Prize for his Editorial Cartooning in 1924 and again in 1943. Wikipedia states that "Darling penned some conservation cartoons and was an important figure in the conservation movement who was recognized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and appointed head of the U.S. Biological Survey, forerunner of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service." To this day I still enjoy saying his name and thinking about his humble contribution towards helping to preserve this amazing island for all generations to enjoy its natural ecosystem and true splendor. Job well done, J.N. "Ding" Darling!

We were a bit fickle when it came to the feast we would partake in on our actual anniversary night and made reservations for dinner at Chadwick's in the South Seas Island Resort on the tip of Captiva Island. Captiva is just north of Sanibel and connected by a bridge located at Blind Pass.

SUNSET OVER SANIBEL

I remember driving our rental car along Tarpon Bay Road, going past Periwinkle Way, the main road that links the two islands to the Sanibel Causeway and the mainland, and turning left onto Sanibel Captiva Road. The sun was softly setting over the islands and its warm glow wrapped us in a blanket of gold as we listened to the radio. Bonnie Tyler was belting out "Total Eclipse of My Heart" from her album entitled "Faster Than the Speed of Night" released earlier that year, 1983.
"And I need you now tonight
And I need you more than ever
And if you only hold me tight
We'll be holding on forever

I really need you tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight"

Music has such a wonderful way of capturing precious moments in time and never letting you forget them.....no matter what.

Our greatest adventure on the island was yet to come.

Heading out for a morning beach stroll early in the week, we turned north along the shoreline. Carrying our sandals in hand, we gingerly avoided walking on the sharp shells. It soon became a habit not to crush the delicate shells so that others employing 'The Sanibel Stoop,' the local's lingo for tourists bending down to pick out the best shells, would be able to find them easily and intact.

It became apparent early on that some new construction was taking place not far from Casa Ybel. Especially when my husband's ears, modified by his years of building multi-family structures, had become fine-tuned to these particular sounds.

PERIWINKLE WAY

There they were, right before our eyes, four pod-like structures each in various stages of construction. Where the possibility of three more 'pods' existed stood three pastel houses. Today, we might even call them 'tiny homes' or small cottages. Eventually, we learned that these pink, pale green, and light blue buildings were part of the original set of 'cottages' that had existed at this spot long before the Sanibel Causeway was built to replace the ferry back in May of 1963.

I wished that their walls could talk and relate to me the many stories about the people who had vacationed there in the past. Who had wiggled their toes in the warm sand, chased their siblings into the rolling surf, and collected seashells to bring back home to Ocala, Sebring.....Orlando? What would the people be thinking now watching them being moved from their majestic location along this amazing beach? Where would they be relocated? What sherbet-mix of colors had the first four homes been: pale yellow, lavender, softest orange, periwinkle blue?

So many questions were conjured up from my inquisitive mind only to be nudged aside, at that moment, by the prospect of the future. We saw the signpost anchored in the sand proclaiming "Sanibel Cottages Resort, Sales Office Located Near the Tennis Courts, Please Follow the Path." We followed the stone path like small children mesmerized by the colorful coattails of the Pied Piper.....not to our doom (we hoped) but, rather, to our destiny.

UNCOMPLETED POOL AND GATSBY VS. THE 1980'S

Passing the uncompleted swimming pool, our attention focused in on the basic design, style, and colors of the new buildings and decided that Jay Gatsby himself would happily reside in these condos that were influenced by a potent 1920's charm. In short.....we fell in love! Hook, line and sinker! So much so that, a mere two and a half hours later, we had purchased a time-share unit for one week each year on an upper floor of a building that currently was displaying a skeletal structure comprised of blocks and sticks.

The furnished second floor model unit was bathed in creamy white with shades of blues and burgundy adding splashes of color. Standing within the large screened-in porch, we were offered vistas of sand and sea punctuated by rows of palm trees, their feather-shaped fronds swaying in the mild Gulf breezes. Our heartstrings had been tugged at, pulled on, and sweetly played by the prospect of enjoying with our children, even for one week a year, this solid slice of paradise. Yes, the foundation for so many wonderful memories yet to be made.....!

And....."The rest is history," as they say.

We could hardly wait to return to Michigan, swoop-up our girls and tell them the great news about the 'little' gift that Daddy and Mommy got for all of us while away in Paradise celebrating ten years of marriage. At the tender ages of seven and four, they had no idea just how our yearly family excursions in early June to Sanibel Island would gratefully impact all of our lives......forever!



Copyright © 2015 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
All rights reserved