There Are Places I Remember

In North Carolina earlier this week, writer Janie DeVos stood on the deck of her sister's log home and drew in a long, deep breath and absorbed the strength and beauty of "my mountains." She writes wonderful stories about the Blue Ridge, ones that make you feel what she feels and see what she sees. And, at the end of the day, her voice comes from that place she loves.

Spruce Pine, NC

On other writing trips, Nan Reinhardt and I have gone to Michigan. It's one of my favorite places in the world, but for Nan, it is the place. She loves  all the little beach towns that make themselves at home on its west coast and has learned their distinct personalities in the way natives do.

Grand Haven, MI

We are fortunate in this country, for many reasons--some of which are difficult to remember these days--but specifically for its individual places. And I have noticed in social media that even in the case of "where to go on vacation," there is a tendency toward divisiveness. Click bait for the "10 worst vacation spots in American" or "overrated tourist attractions" bounce around the internet. "Flyover country" is considered one large wheat field of no interest to anyone. Those articles are, like this one, opinion pieces, yet they are presented as absolute fact.

Having been to several of those 10 worst vacation spots and some of the overrated tourist attractions and having spent my entire life in flyover country, I call BS. 

Because we don't just look at places we love--we experience them. They activate all our senses, including the elusive common one, and fulfill needs we may not even know we have. They may not provide answers to painful questions, but they do provide an avenue for finding them. They don't have signs saying that "peace at heart can be found here," but sometimes it can; we just have to look and allow ourselves to feel.

I love a lot of places and am grateful for having been there and experiencing them--Johnny Cash songs in an Irish pub? You bet! At the end of the day, though, the one that holds my heart is available right outside my office window. It is in this "place I remember" that I find peace and joy and memories. 

Through the office window

Where are your places? I hope you share either here or on Facebook. Wherever they are, I wish you joy in them. 

Have a great week. Be nice to somebody.