I've had a wonderful few days in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area with Molly Weston, mystery maven and reviewer par excellence (and the most obliging and thoughtful hostess imaginable), along with two fellow mystery writers, Mary Anna Evans and Mark de Castrique. Our whirlwind tour of one library and three bookstores went beautifully and I'll talk about it and Molly at length in the September newsletter.
But now I'm home!
My pulse always quickens when the mountains come into sight as I leave the flatlands and by the time our own particular mountain is in view, I'm bearing down on that accelerator as if I were nearing a finish line.
I used this in Old Wounds, putting some of my feelings into Rosemary's thoughts as she returns home:
She smiled, feeling the tug of home and family. Words from one of Shakespeare's sonnets ran in her mind
. . . it is an ever fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand'ring barque,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. "
It's good to be back.
12 comments:
As much fun as it is to travel here/there, coming home to the mountains just makes my heart skip a beat at the first sight of them!
Welcome home Vicki!!
Thanks, Pat,I see you know the feeling!
Welcome home! You and your lovely posts were missed. :-) And you are so right, there is nothing like nearing home, after a time away.
Tammy
I moved around a lot as a kid, 25+ times by high school graduation, and have been in the mountains longer than any other place in my life. (Nearly 15 years and counting.) For the first time in my life, I feel at home. When we visit my mother-in-law in Georgia, coming home is the greatest thing. Seeing the mountains start rising in the distance makes my heart skip a beat as well.
Welcome home. I know you're happy to be back.
Thank you all -- funny how folks you've never met in person (not you, Susan!) can feel like good friends.
I missed you all.
We live in Georgia, about 30 minutes west of Atlanta. Once or twice a year we come to the Waynesville area for a week. We're near family, friends, and work in Georgia and I've never lived in NC, but the feeling of coming home is so strong when we first see the mountains coming into Waynesville. My husband's family is from the Tennessee mountains so it makes sense for him to feel like he's coming home. My family is all from the midwest, South Dakota and I've lived in Wisconsin, Nashville, and Kentucky, and now Georgia, so I don't know where the connection comes from. Maybe I lived near you in an earlier life time, all I know is we are both home when we spend time in the soul-refreshing mountains. Thanks to your pictures and words, I can have a breath of the mountains most days.
Lynne in Ga.
Years before moving to the mountains of NC, we vacationed in the area. I always cried when I had to leave and got excited when I saw the first hint of blue peaks on arrival. Now I live here where I knew I was always meant to be.
I love reading your blog.
Glenda
Hey, Lynne and Glenda,
As they say, we may not have been born here but we got here as soon as we could.
Hey Glenda and Lynne-
Years ago I got the chance to have a quick conversation with Sharyn McCrumb, and we talked about the "home" feeling these mountains bring. She said many people of Scottish/Irish heritage feel that way and pointed out that these mountains are part of the chain that included those in Ireland and Scotland back when the continents were connected. So, it's basically in the blood.
Any Scottish or Irish heritage in your family line?
Vicki - Sure wish I could have gotten here sooner. I've gotten more writing inspiration from these mountains and the people here than anywhere I've ever been.
But, better late than never.
Check out Sharyn's website http://sharynmccrumb.com/themes.html
(scroll down to SHE WALKS THESE HILLS for more on the mountains and the "serpentine chain")
I have a piece of serpentine by my computer and another on my bookshelf by my writing chair -- just to remind me . . .
I'm Scotch-Irish, with grandparents or great grandparents on my father's side who immigrated to Canada and then to Wisconsin. Maybe it is in the blood...
Lynne in Ga.
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