|
The Artist’s
Almanac
November 2006
download and print this installment as
a PDF
(you will need Adobe Acrobat reader to open this file, you can
get
it here free)
Hope springs eternal in the
human breast;
Man never is, but always To be blest.
- Alexander Pope
November, and reality
sets in. The last roses have bloomed, the brilliant leaves mulch
underfoot, and we see distant things - such as Caribbean beaches and
Arizona sunsets, in travel photos. We have worked hard and really do
deserve a break from driving to and from work through dark cold
drizzle and heavy traffic.
Two years ago we took
one, at a famous Louisiana plantation with the magnificent avenue of
Live Oaks. The azaleas were bursting and we had a nice cottage on
the grounds. But we were miles from nowhere, there was no
restaurant, and, after taking the tour of the mansion and
photographing gardens and trees from every angle, there was nothing
to do.
Twilight at Oak Alley Plantation – Bill Puryear, photographer
Then, just at twilight
fell, we heard from down river the distant horn of an approaching
boat. There was just time to run to the landing and climb up the
high levee to the river. There, plowing the mighty current, passed a
parade of laden barges, lights port and starboard, propelled by a
huge towboat, wake churning, set grandly against the evening sky. It
was the most vivid memory of our vacation.
Home next week, I was
startled just at candlelight time by the deep note of a boat horn
and the deeper thrum of a passing barge tow. Looking down from my
library window I watched enthralled as the lights passed slowly
upriver beyond the screen of trees. It took a trip from home to
recognize the beauty of the daily.
Much of our time is
spent in fretting ourselves about world politics, our work, or in
planning the next vacation to escape these. Glossy travel brochures
fill our mail and our imaginations. Tomorrow’s pleasures blind us to
the grace of today.
While we may today
travel more or less at will, relive the past or anticipate the
future, we can live in but one place, and in one time – here, today.
When I take inventory of where I live I find within a one mile
radius the river and the spring branches which feed it, ancient
white oaks sheltering pioneer traces and old cedars handsome as
redwoods, turkey and deer, fish and bald eagles, ducks and geese,
sparkling sun and fogs rising from hidden valley, distant blue hills
and creeks flowing from them, well-worn friends and loving family.
Winter brings beveling snows and in summer we have towering storms
filling the horizon with awesome clouds and thunder to quicken the
pulse.
Safe Harbor – Bill Puryear, Artist
Those who serve us we
scarcely note and seldom thank. What of the linemen, out at all
hours and all weather to restore light and heat to our homes? Do we
even think of the plumbers, electricians, garbage collectors,
grocers, firemen, police, mechanics and military who keep the
machinery of our civilization purring? Gas utility and telephone
workers are a call away and hospital staff stands ready around the
clock to serve our emergency needs. These are paid, to be sure - but
rarely thanked.
Our society has ease
and pleasures aplenty. We describe the thrill of a pleasure as a
rush, and so it is. Giving thanks is more than just taking inventory
– it is the mother of all good pleasures, for it makes all things
good.
May Thanksgiving give
you a great rush this November.
Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.
I say to the Lord: “You are my God.
My happiness lies in you alone.”
He has put into my heart a
marvelous love
For the faithful ones who dwell in his land.
O Lord, it is you who are my
portion and cup;
It is you yourself who are my prize.
The lot marked out for me is my delight:
Welcome indeed the heritage that falls to me!
And so my heart rejoices, my
soul is glad;
Even my body shall rest in safety.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead
You will show me the path of
life,
The fullness of joy in your presence,
At your right hand happiness for ever.
- Psalm 16
Venues
Fine Art in Brentwood
– Show and Sale December 1-3 2006, Brentwood Academy 219 Granny
White Pike, Brentwood, Tennessee 37027.
Junior League of
Nashville – Decorators’ Show House, December 1-3 2006, 6123
Hillsboro Pike, Nashville, Tennessee.
Art Sumner Annual
Show, Gallatin City Hall, November 3rd –30th.
Currently appearing on
Tennessee’s Wild Side, Episode 1208 currently showing on
selected public television stations throughout the state.
|
