Shuttering

Sophie with Will's Flowers

Photo Credit: Lucille Fidler

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There is and has been a lot of speculation about Emily Dickinson's life as a poet and recluse. Some say she was a lesbian in love with her aunt. Another book I read said she wore white everyday because of a severe eye condition which is why she had a trip to Boston to visit a doctor about an operation. A recent work suggests she had epilepsy. A writer from Tennessee claimed to read abortion in the lines that include a known potion used in her time for said event. Personally, since I heavily identify with her poetic reclusive nature, I don't delve into the why's. I don't like to think of her dearest friend in the family feuding with an outsider. I let them rest in peace. For all I know she might have worn white after reading Alice in Wonderland. At her bidding, the extensive correspondence was burned after her death and it occurred to me, though I would never compare myself to her, that I wouldn't want my correspondence burned. Today's post is about leaving the Shire. It's time to shutter up, to say goodbye to the Shire for awhile and I thought I'd print part of a message I sent so that people wouldn't speculate about me. I have been a mostly contemplative person but an open one. I treasure transparency. If I start a family feud about what I write, I think that is unfortunate but it would be started anyway for those who do feuds. My friend Dian in Roanoke types me as a faerie and I have always liked that image, touching lightly here and there. I think you'll have a good sense of the identity of the blobber from this portion of an e-mail. Alas, with no mysteries to solve, there will be no book written about me and my poems. A very good thing. Old-fashioned correspondence is rare in this age of the quick, texted note but I'm a harker back. I like the pretty stationery, the time-consuming pace of handwriting which is almost an art form, the wax stamps. Here then is my version of Emily's, "Letter to the World"

"good morning to you. i'll be sleeping as you read this. it was a

lovely outing with daff and b.e. to casa ibarra and then getting

some groceries for the remaining few days. henry was with his indian

friend who had moved to vancouver but is back for a visit. it was

nice talking about b.e.'s next year at app. it will be her last for

band. she hopes to go on the trip the band is taking to spain but

money is tight. even at an instate school, her tuition is

outrageous. it was a rare girls night out. i doubt that there will

be another. times change and she will be involved with her friends

and jobs. i've been lucky to be part of her life. i expected to come

down from boone to babysit when she was one and then go back up to

the mountains but here i am still. we talked about mimsey camp when

i was at woods edge and had the little corner screened porch right

by the woods. i was able to put a lamp out there at night and it was

really like camping. deer would come up and fireflies galore. in her

junior year, she hopes to have an apt which will cost less than dorm

living. i'll bet it will be a lot like woods edge as far as decor

goes. i can imagine her staying in boone the rest of her days."

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...may the blessings of old-fashioned correspondence be yours..

Hand-Me-Downs and Pass-a-Longs

Out of the Closet, Housing Works, Angel Street. Those are the names of some of the thrift shops in Manhattan. Ever since I first fell in love with a table (yes, the nine kinds of love such as agape, platonic, romantic, and everlasting don't mention love-of-furniture-with-a-history) at a Goodwill in 1963, I have been a frequenter of thrift shops. I gravitate to the ones whose mission is of particular interest to me. I was delighted to discover that Club Nova in Carrboro--the Town of a Different Flavor next door to Chapel Hill--is patterned after Fountain House in New York City. Mental illness is their focus. I saw The Snake Pit with Olivia De Havilland when I was 12 and it influenced the rest of my life's peace efforts. I felt if something could be done about mental illness, something could be done about interpersonal relations. All good things would come of this! Here is what I found on the web:

"Club Nova is a psychosocial rehabilitation (PSR) program for adults with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) that are over the age of 18 and residents of Orange County. As a clubhouse community, Club Nova guarantees members a place to come, a place to return, meaningful work, and meaningful relationships. Membership is completely voluntary and without time limits. Each member decides his or her level of involvement and participation. Club Nova highly values work as part of the rehabilitation process, providing meaningful work during the day, as well as opportunities for employment in the community though the Transitional Employment (TE) Program (see links to the left for more information about employment). Club Nova also provides a social program and community support services, as well as some case management and crisis intervention."

"Fountain House is dedicated to the recovery of men and women with mental illness by providing opportunities for our members to live, work, and learn, while contributing their talents through a community of mutual support.

We are committed, as we have been since 1948, to bettering the lives of people with mental illness everywhere. We do this through the development of innovative techniques, research and sharing knowledge with others."

A new thrift shop which I will have to post at a later date has the clever combination of "thrift" and "Tiffany's" in the name. It's somewhere along 3rd Avenue as I recall. When I get back to the Treehouse, I'll let you know. Meanwhile, my wish is that you take a couple of items from times past to your local thrift shop and remember the advice of my Uncle Halit, "If you buy something, you have to give something away." In this age of Share, passing along your favorite stuff is the ultimate sharing experience.

The photos include a banner from Fountain House, a logo from the New York City Opera, an inside look at the (diabetes research) Cure Thrift Shop, and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

...may the blessings of the river of giving be yours...