Month: December 2014

STARK APPROACHING NOON

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 1 Comment

On a hot sunny day in summer, this beach would be jammed with bathers. But that season is short, unlike the cold months and their repeated storms.

That's snow atop the sand at Long Sands beach in York, Maine.
That’s snow atop the sand at Long Sands beach in York, Maine.

Turning around, you get a view of some of the cottages overlooking the beach from the cliffs of Cape Neddick.

This is at low tide.
This is at low tide.

ROAD WORK

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

I’ve spent a lot of my life behind a steering wheel, and that’s where a number of my poems originate.

From this, I can look at a concept. Lines from the road. Basho? Brautigan? McCord?

Flight or escape remains a central theme in American literature. Kerouac’s On the Road and Hunter Thompson come to mind, along with Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Blue Highways. Of course our two greatest American novels also reflect this action, often with its male bonding and fields of discovery – Moby Dick and Huckleberry Finn. It’s not just some vague sense of the liberty of a frontier to resettle, but with wheels, there’s the thrill of speed more destructive than hiking or canoeing or sailing. As for hobos and the rails? Another era. Outlaws more than vagabonds? As for the Gypsy, there’s an entire community to consider. As well as flights with a destination, in contrast to those lacking.

GUERRILLA CHRISTMAS

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 3 Comments

No other time of the year opposes our testament of simplicity as much as the Holiday Season. Here widespread expectations of generosity and excess counter our Quaker discipline of frugality and moderation. The situation becomes especially complicated for individuals like me who find themselves lacking in gift-giving savvy.

Even when Friends formed a sizeable community, they found standing apart from the surrounding society on these activities became impossible over time. Quakers eventually yielded to giving the children an orange or two the day after “the day the world calls Christmas.” We can see similar struggles among Jews regarding Chanukah, where its essential message from 1st and 2nd Maccabbees – to withstand pagan demands, no matter the cost – instead begins to mirror the activities of the general populace. Add to it our mixed families, coming from many different traditions, and any distinctive witness falls by the wayside. In my case, having a wife with a German mother, I’ve learned just how much compromise is required in these decisions.

Actually, she’s taught me a lot about ways to wage a Guerrilla Christmas. Yes, there’s the battle with consumerism, but most of us – and most of the people we know – don’t need more “things.” We have enough clutter already, thank you. So preference is given to gifts that can be used up – food or tickets to an upcoming cultural event or a promised action on behalf of the recipient. Whenever possible, small local enterprises are favored over “big box” retailers. Some of you know about our family tradition of making gingerbread houses, a bit of silliness that accompanies our observation of Advent. As for Advent itself, when you remember that the Twelve Days of Christmas begin the day the advertising ends, you’re liberated to enjoy a less frenetic round of being with those you love.

It’s not what earlier Quakers would have expected from us, but it’s still a witness. Maybe it’s also a way for us to expand our understanding of simplicity and joyfulness, too.

So here’s to the First Day of Christmas. Remember, the season runs all the way to January 6, so enjoy.

COLD COAST

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 1 Comment
Waves pound the rocks at Sohier Park in York, Maine.
Waves pound the rocks at Sohier Park in York, Maine.

The New England coastline can be impressive anytime of the year. While most visitors see it only from midsummer into early autumn, it is unmasked much the rest of the year.

Pools of sea spray are frozen tight in the crevices of boulders overlooking the water.
Pools of sea spray are frozen tight in the crevices of boulders overlooking the water.
The ocean seems especially restless every winter.
The ocean seems especially restless every winter.
The waves keep pouring in.
The waves keep pouring in.

GINGERBREAD LIGHTHOUSE

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 1 Comment
A small electric candle hangs upside down to illuminate the caramelized window panes of the lamp room. A candy kiss provides an improvised cone to top the lighthouse.
A small electric candle hangs upside down to illuminate the caramelized window panes of the lamp room. A candy kiss provides an improvised cone to top the lighthouse.
The rugged appearance is part of the fun, especially when surrounded by lobsters and sharks. Not that we have sharks in real life ... I prefer to see them as porpoises.
The rugged appearance is part of the fun, especially when surrounded by lobsters and sharks. Not that we have sharks in real life … I prefer to see them as porpoises.

While I’ve never gotten wrapped up in my wife’s fascination with gingerbread houses, my contrarian nature has embraced the idea of making an annual gingerbread LIGHT house, and here’s one result .

For the recipe and the templates, especially if you want to go for fancier results, check out this story, recipe, and assembly directions. (It’s not the only gingerbread lighthouse at Coastal Living, by the way, in case you’re really adventurous.)

The model was based on the Whaleback Light just downriver from us, so I feel it’s an extra special touch. And the gummy lobsters and gummy sharks, along with the candy rocks for the lighthouse wall, were purchased from Yummies just beyond the Kittery Outlet stores. That can be a destination for Maine visitors all in its own.

Inserting the candy rocks into the frosting "mortar" was fun, but let me suggest doing it with the sheets flat, before you erect the walls into place.
Inserting the candy rocks into the frosting “mortar” was fun, but let me suggest doing it with the sheets flat, before you erect the walls into place.
What would Maine be without lobsters?
What would Maine be without lobsters?

A FINE STATE OF THE SEASON

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

Sorting the holiday cards coming into the house renews my appreciation for the human scale of the state we live in.

There’s a card from the governor and her family, and another from our U.S. senator. (Note the singular: the other one’s a national embarrassment who represents the One Percent, non-fulltime-residents of New Hampshire all, even including any who do summer here.)

OK, these cards aren’t personally signed, but it’s still a reminder that retail politics is a Granite State tradition, one that carries some responsibility as well.

No, we aren’t responding with cards to them as well. But we still wish them a very merry Christmas. And we’re glad they’re on the case.