Gamming
Ashore on Ring's Island
before the New Harvest Moon proves fruitful ... |
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Towards
summer end ~ before the high tides of the New Harvest Moon ~ Ray and
Wendy Pike held a gam on the Salisbury town pier
at Ring's Island. The gam was a gathering of assorted friends before the Pikes headed off to a southerly harbor for the winter ~ with Ray planning to return later to end his first boating season as Salisbury's harbormaster. In a Motion of Comity, the Pikes invited some of the Waterside people from across the river to join them. |
Gathering
in this setting would prove an perfect
opportunity to view the Waterside from the Salisbury town pier ~ and
to review the prospective Plan in Motion
~ from a different perspective and with different, fresh perspectives. |
At
the gam on the Salisbury town pier, everyone brought something to the
table. Amidst it all was Captain Pike in his blue harbormaster cap. Eric
sat at the table, sharing food and food for thought. While "gamming" with Eric ~ it became exceedingly clear that he would be an important "Comity connection" ~ And that as a sixth grader in the Newburyport School System, he would help build a strong bridge across the Merrimack River and between generations. |
Earlier this year, Eric had sailed on Captain Pike's old gaff-rigged ketch
when she sustained damage during inclement weather on her abandoned voyage
homeward from Chesapeake Bay. As he retold the tale of misadventure, it
was mentioned that Misty Isles was the flagship
for the Waterside movement. The conversation turned to Plan
in Motion, the recent Once in a Blue
Moon opportunity and the next milestone to remark should Lord Tim
return home again the last weekend in October ~ for the next leg of the
journey. Eric encouraged plans for Lord Timothy Dexter's next adventure on October 30th ~ sharing insight and suggesting how to make this a truly inter-generational affair.1 ~ With the consent of his parents ~ Eric enthusiastically agreed to be our emissary at the school, and urged we contact his social studies teacher, Mrs. Carol Snow about (what he considered) an extraordinary extracurricular activity for young and old alike. |
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Then,
as if on cue, a seal appeared in the estuary at the mouth of the river.
The gamming hushed as the humans silently watched the creature disappear
and reappear in the waters. |
The Amerindian peoples consider seals to be powerful totem animals.2 Seal totems are said to bring several powers to humans including lucid dreaming, protection from danger, and creativity. Gentle, playful and adaptable, the medicine of the seal totem is said to assist humans to move through emotions with ease and contentment ~ and to help integrate reasoning with intellect. However, when channeling these powers, humans should beware of a tendency towards talkativeness (and even laziness) and redirect or revive energies appropriately. | |
Reflecting on the earlier conversation ~ and the Plan in Motion (putting words into action) ~ Eric quietly stood at the Ring's Island town pier, with Newburyport and the setting sun in the distance ... |
Eventide befalls the Waterside and lights shine along the Newburyport boardwalk. The tide rising, the sun setting ~ there is much to accomplish if Lord Tim is to come home again in a Motion of Comity ~ bringing history to life with the first "figger" from his "mouseum of grate caricters" to remark the 215th anniversary of George Washington's 1789 visit to Newburyport and surrounding communities. |
The sun setting, this is the last image captured that eventide ~ the perspective southwesterly, with Newburyport on the horizon. And so we head for our homestead across the river, facing better prospects for the time and place where we can see our tommorrows dawn. |
That
morrow ...
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At
the Salisbury town pier on Ring's Island, this image captured the place
where Eric stood the evening before ~ a photo opportunity lost in the
dark. Truth be told, Eric is superimposed in this image, much as he
had posed then ... In
the background is the Pike homestead. This photo captures the American
flag, as Eric had hoped it would fly, its stars and stripes unfurled.
Sometimes, it takes a bit of design and fabrication for our dreams to
unfold in reality. |
With
the high tide of the new moon on September 14th, there would be many
goals to reach by the Full Harvest Moon of September 28th, and further
progress still for Lord Tim to come home again by the Full Hunters Moon
of October 28th. |
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1Eric
was interviewed for his point of view and impressions. He made several
key points during the exchange ~ which is an appropriate outcome for
a "gam" (defined as a social interchange at sea or ashore
that offers an opportunity for mariners and adventurers to discuss where
they are and where they are going and adapt their course based upon
one another's experiences). Eric
then regaled us with stories about the social teas with new friends
and a class tour of the Old South Church, including facts about the
crypt beneath the church pulpit where the remains of George Whitefield
repose. (Visit this interesting external
link to review an article originally published in the early 20th
century.) |
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2Native American or Amerindian tribes considered animals to be spirit guides or totems. The Celts, Chinese and other cultures have similar beliefs, with each animal providing a certain strength or power to humans. | |
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