The Tree, The Creche, The George
Gerry Meets Up With An Old School Friend
"Happy Christmas, Peter!"
Midnight Moon & Fairy Lights
Across the Road From Little Crosby Church
This morning I pointed out to Gerry that it had already been a full month since we left for Christmas; and he responded: "Only a month!" To me it didn't seem all that long ago, even though we had already been home for two weeks. For him, however, it seemed ages ago! And dear Auntie Margaret wrote to say, "It is only 16 days since you left here but feels more like 16 weeks." Funny how the passage of time can be skewed that way.
Looking at photographs from one of my previous trips, my friend Burnetta asked:
"How do you feel when you are in England? Do you feel as if you are home or close? I have always thought I would feel like that. The photo albums were great, seemed very familiar. Maybe it was due to some of the books I read as a child. I also feel similar about NYC, having never spent much time there but having watched lots of movies set in the city.I responded to Burnetta's intriguing observations:
"I suppose the name Carriker is Irish though? I thought I was mostly British in ancestry but found out that I am mostly western European, 44% French and German; however, there is 33% Irish and 19% Great Britain. Interesting. I have always responded so strongly to photos of Great Britain. Wish we could time travel sometimes."
"The fact is, traveling to England often feels to me the way it is for American families going to Ohio or Kansas, because we spend most of our time driving around in a rental car visiting cousins and elderly relatives, and sleeping on foreign futons. You can see how jaded I have become!Regardless of our genetic ancestry, I think what Burnetta and I feel in our bones is the literary lineage of all the English novels we have ingested over the years, filling our hearts and heads with visions of a British Christmas Past.
"So it was kind of nice to hear it from your perspective and tap back into the historical magic and not take it so for granted. I must say, assembling the photo albums always helps me reclaim some of the literary romance of the country! Just before we left for England, one of my neighbors in Indiana said, 'You were so smart to marry a Brit!' I said, 'I know!'
"As for ancestors, you're right, I don't have any from England that I know of. Most are from Ireland and Germany and some from Sweden and Switzerland."
Kitti, your photos are so evocative of some kind of ancient memory perhaps since I had so many Englsih, Irish, Wales and west European ancestors. I guess we all did in one way or another, but how interesting to get to know these places! Thanks fo sharing.
ReplyDeleteDear Burnetta -- you are the sweetest --plus the most mystical! Thanks for combining those two traits and for being such an appreciative friend and colleague. You have always understood what I've been trying to do through literature all my life. If there was ever anything I wanted to do with my education, it is to evoke those very omnipresent connections that you describe! As E. M. Forster put it, "Only connect!"
Burnetta: Yes! That rings so true. The other night I had a dream in which I thought that I had come up with a real discovery - finding doors and connecting. We need to be connected to each other now that there is so much at stake in the world. There always has been, but it seems so much more urgent with this new year.