Reflections of Place

Grandmother’s Cornbread

After the funeral, nourishing plates of condolences brought by friends and neighbors are sitting on the table. Nothing looks good but the cornbread does offer a certain familiarity.

One bite, the memories gather, connect, conspire and fling me back in time. Not lost in thought but transported- body, mind and spirit. For a split second I am terrified. I have crashed at my grandmother’s feet in the middle of her kitchen. My Grandmother, on seeing her face and her hands I feel comforted.

Standing in her kitchen, butter beans on the stove, her cornbread still in the iron skillet. It’s been more than forty years since I would have eaten cornbread that she baked. If you had asked, I couldn’t have said if I had ever eaten cornbread that she’d made. I would have said-‘well of course I’m sure she made cornbread but I just don’t remember it.’

Now, nearly trembling, I offer it to my sister. “This is Grandmother’s cornbread, it tastes terrible.” Puzzled, she tastes it and nods, “It’s the bacon grease, it’s rancid.”

Bacon grease, that is the connecting memory. Sometimes saved too long and often used in baking cornbread. Someone is still baking their cornbread that way and offered it on a plate of condolence.

Memories, long forgotten, triggered by a taste. In an instant I had been picked up and plopped down in that other time; a little scary, but at the same time, a hug from the past. Enough emotion to quickly take my breath away and make my head tingle. For a split second , I am actually there. My heart is overwhelmed. I know I’ll be longing for her on my return, so I take her sweet smile back with me and now I carry it in my heart.

Be Well. Stay Safe. Much Love.

Punting the River Cam Cambridge & Clematis

**“Rivers are roads that move & carry us whither we wish to go.” Blaise Pascal**

It was Weisspargel season in Deutschland, when we left Cologne yesterday. Arriving in Cambridge it is merely early spring. My friend and I seize the opportunity for a glide on the River Cam. We are here on business but this is pure pleasure. Our punter, a student at Cambridge brings us rolling past The Backs. He follows the path of the gravel ridge for a smooth ride. The flat bottomed boat glides over the river. The swans on the river are majestic, the English Gardens are filled with color and King’s College Chapel is immediately recognizable.

The banks are lush with gorgeous blooms. My friend asks me “what are those flowers?” I tell her “Clematis; I’m not sure how to pronounce it, my mother always said ‘kle-mat-is’ but recently she said she’d heard ‘kle-mAy-tus’.” Here our punter offers, “ahhh, the actual pronunciation is Klem-a-tus.” So, as we pass under the Bridge of Sighs, I agree with the dashing punter of Cambridge. ‘Klem-a-tus’.

Be Well. Stay Safe. Much Love.
Story & Photos: © 2020 Molly Cox

1972 Biden Campaign Trail

**My Little Brother on the Biden Campaign Trail, Wilmington, DE- 1972**

“Joe Biden, He understands what’s happening today.”

My little brother called. He rarely calls. Excitedly he says “This isn’t about politics, I don’t even know your politics and don’t need to know; but do you remember when we lived in Wilmington and Joe Biden was running for his first senate seat?”

“Yes?”

“I just wanted to remind you that I worked for his first campaign that year, an unpaid volunteer!”

“You were 12 or 13!”

“Yes, remember my friends Bill and Bob? Their Dad was a Biden supporter and he came home and handed us all the campaign leaflets and told us, ‘Now, go and hand these out at every door’!”

“Oh that’s a great memory, Biden was running that campaign on a shoe string and his youth!”

Now he’s counting on those same voters who elected one of the youngest senators ever to become the oldest elected president of the USA.

‘Joe Biden, He understands what’s happening today.’ That was his campaign tag line in 1972.

Be Well. Stay Safe. Much Love.
Story & Photo: © 2020 Molly Cox

Last Flight Out to Villahermosa

It’s late September and the weather has already cooled . It will get warmer before winter is here but today presents a chilly warning.

The hummingbirds are still here, a dozen of them. They know I’m their human and they’re quick to let me know when the feeders are empty. They’re on a feeding frenzy right now – chattering loudly and their wings are pounding like drum beats. They’re keeping me busy filling the feeders. The mornings are when I talk to them.

Today: “ What time is your flight out? It’s getting cooler and you’re getting fatter. The geese are honking and headed south. When do you need to leave?” and now they tell me about Villahermosa, their winter home in Mexico, and Marisol. Marisol, their human who lives there and feeds them well during the warm winter in their own tiny corner of Mexico. They think she looks like me. Travel dreaming lives here, in this tiny corner of north Texas.

Be Well. Stay Safe. Much Love.
Story & Photos: © 2020 Molly Cox

Enchanted~La Faune Dansant

After 23 years, I was delighted to be back in Paris. With no particular place to be on that first day, we strolled the streets and gardens. A turn down a path and we encounter the faune, La Faune Dansant. A Roman god of shepherds and herds

“Enchanté”, he greets me. “Enchantée”, I reply, and I am at once enchanted by his obvious joy and love of music and dance. Joy and love in a Paris Garden, “Oui, we will return. À bientôt.”

Sculpture Faune Dansant by Eugene Louis Lequesne (1815-1887)/ Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris

Be Well. Stay Safe. Much Love.
Story & Photos: © 2020 Molly Cox

Return to the Shore

**Welcome to my Alabama… come outside and play in the gulf and the sand..Heron- Gulf Shores, AL**

And we return to this shore to unplug, refresh and strengthen our spirit. The gulf water, the sun, and the sand here are relaxing. It’s our place to refuel, reenergize.

Be Well. Stay Safe. Much Love.
Story & Photo: © 2020 Molly Cox

5 Reasons to Travel More

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”-Henry Miller

On the road to Giverny. — On the Road to Giverny

Open your mind and your heart to the wonders of the world.

Broaden your horizons, increase your knowledge of the people in the world.

Experience other cultures for a deeper understanding of their culture and your own.

Feed your soul with experiences of the new.

And the best, savor the local breads and the local brews all in a place where the locals meet!

A Slower Pace

Downtown Little Rock, AR

Once upon a time, far, far away in a quiet garden along the banks of the Arkansas River she waits. The dancer poised in her graceful and delicate performance. She stands perfectly balanced, arms lifted, one foot on the hoop and one foot high in the air. Her bronzed figure, frozen in motion, in her timeless “infinite dance”. Enjoy the slower pace among the whimsical and the calming sculptures in the Volger Schwartz Sculpture Garden.

Artist Carol Gold: #116, “Infinite Dance”, 2018: Volger Schwartz Sculpture Garden, Little Rock, AR.

Be Well. Stay Safe. Much Love.

Italy in My Mother’s Pen- Middle March 1972

Forty-Seven Years ago, in the middle of March, my Mother began her Italian adventure. I have her travel journal. This, my treasure among her things. I love to travel, I love my Mother, I loved traveling with her. On this trip, she was traveling with a friend and with her twenty-seven year old niece, Linda.

Recently I read the journal, and found seeing my Mother’s pen comforting, the familiar cursive writing. Momma, it is so good to see you there on these pages.

ROME: Friday March 17, 1972: “6:00 AM Up and at’ Em” – Jammed pack day the first full day in Italy, after a good night’s rest….”.breakfast at 7:00” … “bus tour 8:45”…a full itinerary. Tours of the sites of Rome; Vatican City … “Morning at St Peter’s Basilica…the pictures don’t prepare you for the size of it.” ….“the Swiss Guards were something to see.”… “Saw everything on the itinerary!”, “Florence tomorrow”.

Mother didn’t list the full itinerary. What she did write touches to the heart of her. She expresses the things she wanted to remember, the daily happenings in Rome, about the people, about what she found so interesting. The monuments of Rome will always be in the travel guides. These. The moments she wanted to remember.

“Strolling through the buildings seeing the patios and the beautiful flower gardens.” She savors the smell of the blossoms as they open and show their shiny faces to the sun, capturing the image of their colors as they glow. “People hanging out the windows to get some fresh air.”….

“ Laundry hanging out the windows to dry. The sheets drying in the sun are so white” … she wants to remember this and she hears – the flick of the laundry on the clothes line as the wind helps them to dry…”wonder what detergent they use?”.

Later that afternoon, another site seeing tour ends, the bus leaves them just below the Spanish Steps at the Plaza di Spagna. They roam the area admiring the sites, the Plaza and its fountain Fontana della Barcaccia. The Spanish steps and the rise to the Plaza Trinità dei Monti, with its church at the top.

“Linda had her portrait painted by an artist at the Spanish Steps.”. “Might get mine done, if we can find our way back”… “The streets are crammed with cars and they drive like maniacs.”…

“ Funny- I haven’t seen a dent fender.”… “All the cars are small-mostly Fiats. I saw one large car and it had a California license plate.”

They wind their way through the streets, immersed in the city, feeling the breath of the people, the breath of the city, to relish the place. People watching at sidewalk cafes, cappuccinos, “bought charms for my bracelet and a flower for Kaycee”; the flower for her youngest daughter, Kaycee…a glass rose.

A taxi ride back to the hotel. “The taxi driver wants to take Linda out on a date ..says he’ll call her after we get back from Naples”… “Florence tomorrow, at 7 AM”… then Naples, Pompeii, Sorento before we return to Rome.

Momma, Becky and Linda. Buckled Up on the Plane to Rome.

Florida Keys- Slow Ride- A Mile Marker Guide From Key Largo to Key West

Two and a Half hours will get you there. One hundred and fourteen miles, it’s a short drive from Key Largo to Key West, but sometimes you just want to take it slow. Grab your sunscreen and bring a hat, you are going to want the wind in your hair on this trip. With the taste of the salty seas on your lips, the Atlantic Ocean rolls in from the east as the Gulf of Mexico washes the shores on the west. Your journey across the water over the forty-two bridges and causeways will wind you through the Florida Keys. The mile marker count down begins now.
Upper Keys
At MM 107 – Key Largo: Best start, explore the marine life of the Keys at John Pennecamp Coral Reef State Park- this park is mostly underwater so take a ride on the Glass Bottom Boat …see living coral, sponges, shrimp, lobster, crab, turtles and 600 + species of fish.

At MM 81.5 Visit the Hurricane Monument – this monument honors those who died in the Labor Day hurricane of 1935.

At MM 74 – Islamorada: Take a break in Islamorada the Sport Fishing Capital of the world. Even if you are not here to fish you will enjoy the walk around the town- taking in the shops and the art galleries. Feed the tarpons at Robbie’s Marina. Visit the History of Diving Museum.

Middle Keys
At MM 50 – Marathon: Take a picnic break at Marathon- Find your favorite picnic foods and head for Sombrero Beach. There’s plenty of shade with pavilions, grills and restrooms. An Atlantic side designated Turtle Nesting Beach. From April-October the Loggerhead Turtles cross the beaches at night to lay their eggs. Watch for areas closed off to protect these nesting areas.

At MM 47-The Seven Mile Bridge – Rising 65’ above the water with an unobstructed 360* panoramic view of the water is the 6.79-mile bridge connecting the Middle Keys at Marathon to the Lower Keys at Little Duck. The older bridge completed in 1912 is a great place to get out and take a walk.

Lower Keys
At MM 30- Big Pine Key: ‘The Natural Keys’. Visit the National Key Deer Refuge – This refuge is home to the Key Deer; the miniature white-tailed deer found only in the Florida Keys.

At MM 36.8 – Bahia Honda State Park: On the Bahia Honda Keys stop and play on the award-winning beaches. This 500-acre state park is a fun spot for dolphin watching or beachcombing. These beaches offer the best snorkeling and kayaking. Rent your equipment at the park.

MM 0 – Key West: Old Town and seven square miles of fun and funk to explore. Take in Mother Nature’s performance of Sunset at Mallory Square – enjoy the crowd and sip a drink on the square. Next up the Southernmost Point Buoy…. This buoy is located offshore at the corner of South and Whitehead Streets and marks the most southern point of the US. You’re here! This is the end of the line so take a moment to stop, smile and wave at the 24/7/365 live webcam.