Wow, gang, it would be hard to top the "Night of a Thousand Candles" for wonderful things to do during
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| "Evening" by Paul Manship - 1938 |
December at the beach. We walked in awe of the beauty of the art, the decorations and the commitment of the folks who keep Brookgreen Gardens forever fresh and new. We saw so many things that took our breath away and we found ourselves using descriptive terms that you might think were 'over the top'; things like "miraculous" or "unbelievable" or "astonishing." Were they miracles? Y'know - I kinda think they were. Yes, they were the products of humans with thought, planning, effort and anguish all going into the mix but what causes us to do all of that? We often view our species as self-centered, frequently thoughtless and sometimes downright cruel. Yet, periodically something inside of us makes us want to do things that are
profoundly generous and thoughtful. When something inexplicable causes us to act on the basis of pure love with no ulterior motive is that not a miracle? I think it is. And, you know what? We are surrounded with other miracles that are so difficult to explain that it simply overwhelms us when we think deeply about them. In our post the other day we talked about 'geocaching' and some of the treasures we found. I forgot to mention one that was particularly interesting. Our
search on that occasion led us through the neighborhoods of Pawley's Island to an isolated patch of woods where we found the item you see over there on the left. It was an actual carousel horse - right in the middle of nowhere!!! No explanation, no reason. In reading the comments about the cache we learned that no one knows how the horse came to reside in this unusual location but it has been here for many, many years. Here's the
thing ... someone found it (or knew of it) and added it as a geocaching site. Well, there is nothing of material value to be found when you solve the puzzle - but - I can absolutely guarantee that when you find it you will stop, look and break out in a big old grin!!! Day after day people are given the gift of
joy. A miracle if I ever saw one. And then - just as we returned from our adventures geocaching we walked out onto the deck and the scene above and to the right greeted us. Whoa. Tell me we weren't some of the luckiest folks
around at that moment. Later as we strolled along the serene, comforting beach I reflected on the miracle of the sea and the panoramic beauty that surrounded us. And then - I paused and bent down to look at the beach surface beneath me. What I saw was the scene on the right, above. Look closely. What at first seems to be just a mix of 'stuff' turns out to be hundreds, thousands of unique, exquisite shells. And I thought - each one of those shells represents a living thing!!!! How lucky we are
to share our planet with them. Those tiny things - and us?? Wow! That led me to consider a sight we saw on the back roads we take when we make the trip down to the beach. It is a heavily agricultural area and on
our travels we saw a sight that was absolutely awesome; thousands - possibly millions - of Red-winged Blackbirds checking out the freshly mown fields for critters that had been uncovered. When they landed, they turned the fields absolutely as black as night, from one end to the other. And when they flew, they temporarily blotted out the sky. Amazing!!!! Driving through the farmland of the low-country
we saw our old friend "King Cotton" being grown and harvested in gradually increasing amounts. It was such a nostalgic sight. The reason is - the fields of cotton we are showing here are but a tiny manifestation of the crops that were grown when we were children. Then, you could ride for literally miles alongside continuous fields of this amazing crop!!! And - in those early years you could see
hundreds of people dragging their enormous 'cotton sacks' down the rows as they picked - by hand - that agricultural treasure. Look at the cotton plants, folks. From that little source will come the T-shirts, slacks, blouses, handkerchiefs and hundreds of other commodities we take for granted. Miracles ... yeah, I think so!!! But, here's the deal ... it is easy for all of us to look at the miracles of nature and kind of 'accept' them as part of the mystical universe that we never can get a really good handle on. We tend to attribute a bit more natural 'goodness' to
the living things that share our world with us and we put ourselves in a bit different category. We tend to think that when we humans do something unique, or 'unnecessarily good' it is sort of an aberration. Well, y'know what? It might not be quite as simple as all that. At the end of one of our busy days we headed over to that remarkable 'take out' store, "Get Carried Away", that we raved about so much during our last trip to Litchfield. We decided to stop in at a coffee shop nearby, a place appropriately named the "Barefoot Barrista." There we met some truly
amazing people - people whose reason for being in business is unorthodox to say the least. Shari and Blair (the actual 'barefoot' part of the team) have created a site where some of the most remarkable things you could imagine are happening. I don't have the space or the time to cover everything in detail so I'll use a kind-of 'shorthand.' First - they are actually a "non-profit" corporation!! Do you believe that? Their reason for being in business is to promote sustainable resources, to help others promote their communities and to offer others a unique place to come together in friendship and support for each other. From Native-American drum circles - to organizations that provide management support to churches throughout the country - to rock-music, jazz and folk music performers at every level. You can find it all here - along with excellent meal offerings and virtually all the coffee drinks you could hope for. Check out their web-site and, particularly, their calendar of events. You'll be amazed. The bottom line for us was, chalk up one more 'everyday miracle!!!' We are so blessed to have met so many extraordinary people (... including you guys!) and that, in itself has to be yet another miracle! So we'll close out this trip to the Carolina Coast and ask you to come back to join us for another adventure in the near future. Hopefully, we'll be in touch before December 25th but, if not, we hope you have an absolutely spectacular Christmas!!! See ya.
profoundly generous and thoughtful. When something inexplicable causes us to act on the basis of pure love with no ulterior motive is that not a miracle? I think it is. And, you know what? We are surrounded with other miracles that are so difficult to explain that it simply overwhelms us when we think deeply about them. In our post the other day we talked about 'geocaching' and some of the treasures we found. I forgot to mention one that was particularly interesting. Our 
search on that occasion led us through the neighborhoods of Pawley's Island to an isolated patch of woods where we found the item you see over there on the left. It was an actual carousel horse - right in the middle of nowhere!!! No explanation, no reason. In reading the comments about the cache we learned that no one knows how the horse came to reside in this unusual location but it has been here for many, many years. Here's the 
thing ... someone found it (or knew of it) and added it as a geocaching site. Well, there is nothing of material value to be found when you solve the puzzle - but - I can absolutely guarantee that when you find it you will stop, look and break out in a big old grin!!! Day after day people are given the gift of 
joy. A miracle if I ever saw one. And then - just as we returned from our adventures geocaching we walked out onto the deck and the scene above and to the right greeted us. Whoa. Tell me we weren't some of the luckiest folks 
around at that moment. Later as we strolled along the serene, comforting beach I reflected on the miracle of the sea and the panoramic beauty that surrounded us. And then - I paused and bent down to look at the beach surface beneath me. What I saw was the scene on the right, above. Look closely. What at first seems to be just a mix of 'stuff' turns out to be hundreds, thousands of unique, exquisite shells. And I thought - each one of those shells represents a living thing!!!! How lucky we are 
to share our planet with them. Those tiny things - and us?? Wow! That led me to consider a sight we saw on the back roads we take when we make the trip down to the beach. It is a heavily agricultural area and on 
our travels we saw a sight that was absolutely awesome; thousands - possibly millions - of Red-winged Blackbirds checking out the freshly mown fields for critters that had been uncovered. When they landed, they turned the fields absolutely as black as night, from one end to the other. And when they flew, they temporarily blotted out the sky. Amazing!!!! Driving through the farmland of the low-country 
we saw our old friend "King Cotton" being grown and harvested in gradually increasing amounts. It was such a nostalgic sight. The reason is - the fields of cotton we are showing here are but a tiny manifestation of the crops that were grown when we were children. Then, you could ride for literally miles alongside continuous fields of this amazing crop!!! And - in those early years you could see 
hundreds of people dragging their enormous 'cotton sacks' down the rows as they picked - by hand - that agricultural treasure. Look at the cotton plants, folks. From that little source will come the T-shirts, slacks, blouses, handkerchiefs and hundreds of other commodities we take for granted. Miracles ... yeah, I think so!!! But, here's the deal ... it is easy for all of us to look at the miracles of nature and kind of 'accept' them as part of the mystical universe that we never can get a really good handle on. We tend to attribute a bit more natural 'goodness' to 
the living things that share our world with us and we put ourselves in a bit different category. We tend to think that when we humans do something unique, or 'unnecessarily good' it is sort of an aberration. Well, y'know what? It might not be quite as simple as all that. At the end of one of our busy days we headed over to that remarkable 'take out' store, "Get Carried Away", that we raved about so much during our last trip to Litchfield. We decided to stop in at a coffee shop nearby, a place appropriately named the "Barefoot Barrista." There we met some truly 
amazing people - people whose reason for being in business is unorthodox to say the least. Shari and Blair (the actual 'barefoot' part of the team) have created a site where some of the most remarkable things you could imagine are happening. I don't have the space or the time to cover everything in detail so I'll use a kind-of 'shorthand.' First - they are actually a "non-profit" corporation!! Do you believe that? Their reason for being in business is to promote sustainable resources, to help others promote their communities and to offer others a unique place to come together in friendship and support for each other. From Native-American drum circles - to organizations that provide management support to churches throughout the country - to rock-music, jazz and folk music performers at every level. You can find it all here - along with excellent meal offerings and virtually all the coffee drinks you could hope for. Check out their web-site and, particularly, their calendar of events. You'll be amazed. The bottom line for us was, chalk up one more 'everyday miracle!!!' We are so blessed to have met so many extraordinary people (... including you guys!) and that, in itself has to be yet another miracle! So we'll close out this trip to the Carolina Coast and ask you to come back to join us for another adventure in the near future. Hopefully, we'll be in touch before December 25th but, if not, we hope you have an absolutely spectacular Christmas!!! See ya.
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