I wanted to write about the unsettling times we find ourselves in
and then there was that date,
September 11, 2021
staring me in the eye.
In 2001, almost a week after that horrible day,
I was on a sailboat in Provincetown Harbor
and witnessed the most magnificent sunset
caused by the dust in the air all the way from
New York City to Cape Cod,
from that terrible tragedy at the World Trade Center Towers.
I lived in Provincetown at the time and my friend invited me out on the water.
Planes were still grounded and it was eerily quiet and peaceful, calm and beautiful.
We talked about how the U.S. behaved in the world
and how that created more enemies than friends.
The Country stood still for a while -
collective grief - shock - compassion - empathy.
And you know the rest of the story.
They said,
"Get on with your lives." "Go shopping."
We'll start a war or two and make it right.
A primitive response lacking insight, intelligence, even compassion for the victims.
It's not what their families wanted.
It wasn't misguided -
it was exactly what some people wanted.
Will America ever be the Beacon of Democracy she promised to be?
Not like that.
Not like that.
©Laine Quinn 2021, photo September 17th, 2001.
To see such craft...
And the dish ran away with the spoon!
Which Provincetown Restaurant?
Childhood rhyme,
Hey Diddle Diddle.
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon.
The little dog laughed to see such craft,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.
It was the blue that saved my soul
when I lived in this small seaside town.
Perhaps there is someone there now
soaking up the shimmering light and colors,
healing from a loneliness she doesn't even know is hers.
Provincetown Blues.
A good day indeed.
Finback Whale and Humpbacks off Cape Cod on the Dolphin Fleet out of Provincetown.
Thank You!
On our way back to the dock,
leaving the Humpback whales to their stomping grounds,
and the humans to forage on land.
Whale watching on Cape Cod with the Dolphin Fleet.
This I miss the most!
More photos tomorrow!
What is it about the moon that speaks to us?
Perhaps it is that our ancestors from long long ago admired and loved that rocky orb,
and it is deep in our cells to respond somehow to its beauty.
Last month's super moon,
the night before the eclipse.
The eclipse!
Earth's shadow moves across her moon.
Sun, Earth and Moon in perfect alignment.
On vacation and settled into a little cottage on a clear night, on Cape Cod, without my tripod!
(These shots are a testament to the genius of the engineers who developed digital cameras.
I was able to change the "ISO" (film speed) to a whopping 1600. The only wobbly shots are the ones in total shadow.)
© Laine Quinn
Lobster traps and buoys.
And a place to sit,
On your way down the pier.
Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
(Apologies to the friends I didn't get to see!)
The clouds above us join and separate,
The breeze in the courtyard leaves and returns.
Life is like that, so why not relax?
Who can stop us from celebrating?
The poet Lu Yu quoted in The Tao of Pooh, by Benjamin Hoff.
Photo of celebrating flowers taken in a small New England town while waiting for lunch!