Tuesday 11 September 2012

i know it's not fashionable to say so in Australia

i know it's not fashionable to say so in Australia
but 
i love America*



maybe it's cos i have some history here
but i think it's a bit more than that

i've had wonderful times here
many pleasant encounters
deeply quiet moments
amusing conversations
along with unfailing politeness and courtesy

i'm as familiar with the woods in New England
as i am with the sclerophyll forests in Oz
thanks to my mother who told me what was which
when i was little

this week past i took some days
flying solo
on a roadtrip north from Boston to Haystack
and then back down again
an excursion for which i didn't once need a map
...that says something, i think

waiting at Logan airport for my flight home
reflecting on the journey
and gazing happily at my new boots
[bought in New Hampshire cos 
the stitching finally gave out on my old trusties - 
which will now become the sloppy farm boots for home]
i am well content
especially with the thought
that i will be back
very
soon



*and that doesn't mean i am being a disloyal Australian,
just that i feel i have two [and quite possibly more] homes....
things that happen in childhood seem to have long-lasting effects

23 comments:

  1. amen! and hallelujah! you are right about those childhood connections. and, i, for one, have seen you stride through the great northern woods, comfortable as a woodwytch.

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  2. me, too!! born and bred aussie, back here now, but spent 10 years in the states and i'm definitely an honorary american. xxx

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  3. there are places on this earth when you know you just belong . i feel that way about venice italy . i am never lost there .
    i am happy to hear you will be back . i look forward to a class in the bay area next summer . (:

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    1. me too...still working on finding a nice space near trees. shouldn't be too hard :o)

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  4. India, I've never been to America but I've known any number of Americans who've shown me a genuine open-heartedness and goodwill I've not encountered anywhere else. So, yes, God bless Americans and America!

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  5. then i read it...quite possibly......yes, you might be a little bit at home in this old europe..........

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  6. you may love america - but I'm in love with that final (tiny) pic of yours ^ up there^ I see little whirlds, planets, atoms, cells, moons....

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    1. must admit quite fond of that little collection of marks myself...ink made from plants gathered at the Deer Isle rubbish dump, small papers from the Japanese Paper Place in Toronto

      planning an Oz version when i get home

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  7. I have lived in many places around the globe but there is one place that is the land of my heart, where the light sings, the smell off the sea, where instantly I know where I am. Like a homing pigeon I must return there now and again to renew the links forged from those years of belonging. And that place is the far west of wales. Sometimes high on the moor here in deepest darkest Devon I come close to the spirit of the west wind, and this is the longest I've lived anywhere. But it's not home. Safe journey,

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    1. agreed, the far west of Wales is indeed a magical place. i last set foot there in 1983, thinking it's probably time to wander in that direction again too. so many wonderful places and welcoming folk, so little time...

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  8. Glad you've had good times in the U.S. Glad to know some of us here do some things right some of the time.

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  9. I have been taking some summer time off and so have been scrolling down to see the posts I have missed... a number of them I see. I have been to Boston and other places along the eastern U.S... I can understand why you have such wonderful feelings about American... childhood memories can be very strong.

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  10. I'm happy you love America, yet sad to see the title of your post. Having traveled more than a bit myself and lived outside of the states, I know how important it is (traveling and living abroad) to enjoy and understand and appreciate the true sense of place and people. You are an ambassador for sure........

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  11. Great that you feel comfortable in other parts of the world especially since you travel so much. Childhood connections hold fast. I agree with Ronnie about the tiny pics. Please enlarge them and let us swoon.

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  12. New Boots!! That's on my list this time. Welcome home.

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  13. You were so close I could smell eucalyptus on the air and knew....

    I have several homes... ocean and forest... at present, I think my heart lives in the mosses and ferns.

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  14. I & 4 girlfriends went to America last year for a quilt show & a self-drive tour thru Pennsylvania, Nashville & Philadelphia and we too found everyone to be so helpful and polite. Jen (Melbourne)

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  15. Dear India, a bit farther north and you would have found yourself at my little home in the woods of Maine, with my sheep, ducks, etc! I only just received your EcoColour today, literally an hour ago and I have spent that hour pouring over this most marvelous treasure! More in depth study to follow. I feel like it is Christmas!

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  16. Who says you can't have two homes? Especially for a wanderer like you. Maybe four homes..

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