My husband and I are on vacation in Portland, Maine. On Sunday my dear friend and fellow Inkling (writing group) Molly Hogan and her husband Kurt took us to the most photographed lighthouse.
The views were incredible, but the best part was seeing Molly in person and getting to know her husband. We talked for hours.
The highlight of our time here yesterday was the ferry cruise. We happened upon a ride that carries supplies and mail to the islands. There was a young man who did everything, and one of his jobs was to find us and tell us stuff about the islands. I’m guessing in the winter months there are fewer tourists.
I like some alone time in any given day, so after shopping at Reny’s (Molly was right; we found good deals), Jeff dropped me at the Novel coffee shop where one can read and have coffee. I picked up a copy of a book I didn’t know existed about a poem that few knew existed.
Walt Whitman’s Live Oak, with Moss is not the poem you think it is. The papers he wrote the poem on were torn and put back together into other more acceptable poems. Originally Whitman was writing a love poem to a man (or men).
The book drew me right in and I read it on the spot. Brian Selznick took an idea he had discussed with Maurice Sendak to illustrate the long hidden poem. Sendak never had the chance.
Here are some pages:
In every vacation there are the things you plan and the happy happenstances. This little treasure was waiting for me, I believe.
Happy Thanksgiving! May you find a small moment to treasure in your heart.
Reflections on the Teche 
A beautiful lighthouse, a clever coffee shop name, and a new book discovery! Thanks for sharing them with us, Margaret!
Margaret, your post and mine are so similar today! What is it about book shops and quiet reading times for the obscure things that most miss and we seem to want to find and chew on? The tea, the travel, the reading, the simple things – – all such shared common pleasures. I’m so glad you found a treasure of a book. I love the discoveries of people and their relationships. Safe travels for you and your husband as you journey along, and I wish you many more surprising, happy moments.
Thanks for sharing your trip Margaret, and all here offering calm! 🌎
Margaret, What an adventure! Sounds amazing. Hey Jeff Jim ________________________________
I am longing for a trip where I happen upon a beautiful coffee shop to read… What a beautiful post and stunning pictures. Thank you for sharing!
I didn’t know at the time how much I needed it. We need to remember to take care of ourselves.
To find a book in a coffee shop during a wonderful trip is like an unexpected beautiful gift and a reminder of living a life of abundance.
As you said so well, every vacation and in fact every day has moments you plan and moments of happy that happen if we let them!
Brian Selznick is pure magic and to have him perform his alchemy with Walt Whitman…perfect. Thanks so much for sharing this. I am glad this vacation helped you bring the happenstance of this little treasure to all of us. Happy Thanksgiving to you, too. Just one more thing to be thankful for—reading this.
Ah, the OTHER Portland. Beautiful pictures and yes, the name of the coffee shop was perfection. But oh, the book. Now that was the real jewel. I had forgotten about it. Thank you for the reminder I will be making a purchase soon.
Sounds like a wonderful trip. I have not been to Portland since I was a kid, but my dad grew up there and we used to visit in the summer. His father (who died when I was 4, so don’t really remember) worked in a hardware store that his older brothers had started when they came to this country. According to google maps the store was a few blocks from your coffee shop (on Fore St!) I have vague memories of being there, but I’m sure there’s been lots of revitalizing in the last 50 plus years. Anyway, thanks for the Whitman and the views and triggering my early memories.
Sounds like a wonderful trip. My dad grew up in Portland, and we used to visit during the summer when I was a kid. His father worked in a hardware store that his older brothers had started when they came to this country in the 1890’s. And according to google maps, the store (which I vaguely remember) was a stone’s throw from your coffee shop (on Fore St!) Thanks for the Whitman and the lighthouse and the triggering my early memories.
What wonderful memories. So much history here. We are staying on Congress. At The Francis. A lovely place.
Beautiful post, Margaret! I love the treasured happenstance of that book. I’m ordering it – first chance I get. And also stopping by the Novel coffee shop next summer when I return to Portland. You gave me something to look forward to!
I’m so thankful that we were part of your time in Maine and that you’ve found treasures along the way. I love the excerpt you shared and will have to visit Novel, which is unknown to me. Perhaps I need a Portland staycation!
Margaret,
We missed you in Boston, but how wonderful that you got to be in Maine, and enjoy the company of Molly, along with your husbands. What delightful experiences you have shared here. I love the art of Brian Selznick. This book does look like a treasure.