When fellow TNT blogger Stephanie, well-known her for her thoughtful porchside missives, shared a review of the book "Dear Medora: Child of Oysterville's Forgotten Years" about life in the coastal hamlet of Oysterville, WA on September 15, my brain has been quietly engaged in wrestling what memories I have had about this historic spot along the Long Beach peninsula.
Summer blooms frame a Long Beach area doorway. (Photo by Mizu Sugimura c. 2007.)
About a handful of years ago I was a weekend guest of my best friend from high school and her parents, who were vacationing in this beautiful area of the state. During this trip, I accepted an invitation to accompany my friend and her dad on a short outing to the town of Oysterville including a stop at the very same chapel mentioned in Stephanie’s post.
Floats add a colorful trim to a coastal area fence.(Photo by Mizu Sugimura c. 2007.)
The precise details of exactly if the seating her Dad and I briefly parked were metal folding chairs or high-backed wooden ones has already faded. The whole episode by now is surrounded by a warm and hazy sort of blanket, where the actual particulars become less important in comparison to the general rush of feeling and flow of impressions elicited by just one albeit brief but assuredly golden interval when a few bars of a favorite melody my girlfriend was inspired to play on a nearby upright organ or piano filtered through the worship area.
(This blog was originally posted "Oysterville Book Mention Stirs A Melody" on a internet website at The News Tribune, a daily newspaper in Tacoma, WA on 9/30/07 in a reader-generated section entitled "In Your Neighborhood.")
Occasional wooded areas contrast with open space and beach.(Photo by Mizu Sugimura c. 2007.)
This last August the same girlfriend, her folks and yours truly meet again in the Long Beach area to celebrate her successful completion of almost a year’s worth of medical treatments to combat a diagnosis of breast cancer only a summer before.
Unfortunately, this all too brief two-day jaunt featuring the extra companionship of my girlfriend’s three dogs and a fourth canine ambassador belonging to her parents did not in the end allow a repeat getaway to this idyllic little town.
Has the love or affection a friend or family member felt for a particular place or locale radiated from snapshots taken at their favorite vacation spot? When I look at the photos shown with this blog taken in the area this last August, it’s becoming quite apparent that the Long Beach and by extension the area around Oysterville, has undoubtedly become such a place for me.
Roadflowers for sale along Washington coastal highway. (Photo by Mizu Sugimura c. 2007.)
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