I loved this story and that you are Southern, and keeping alive the tradition of Southern storytelling. Thank you. I have camped in the Okeefenokee, written a kind of kid’s poem about it which adults seem to love. It speaks to the darkness inside and that it is a part of us that we should embrace.
I find darkness a comfort as well. I need as much as I can get of it to sleep well. And yet I hate being closed away from the outside in order to get it. Closed windows and blinds and doors make me feel claustrophobic . I try to live in places where people appreciate darkness. I’m surrounded by forest and mountain here, for now, and yet I live only 6 miles from the Asheville city limits. I got lucky. I felt that keenly the other night when I went to the WNC Veteran’s cemetery to take pictures of the super blue moon rise. I was the only vehicle in an unlit parking lot and my truck is black. The only light was that incredible moon being eaten by a dark sturgeon cloud. The moon in its belly was magical.
Thank you for this tale and for reminding me of the Okeefenokee Swamp. I long to return. It was a sensory explosion and one of the wildest, most alive, and sensual places I’ve ever been.
Thank you so much for reading! The Okefenokee Swamp is a magnificent, mysterious, and beautiful place! I worked at the state park there for 4 summers and I love it so much 😍
Oh yes, embracing our own darkness is where we learn about our strengths. Our darkness is where we grow and the darkness feeds our light. You cannot have one without the other. Your feeling at home in the dark is wonderful to read of. The dark has always been much the same for me. "wrapped in its velvety blackness" is a perfect description. Even though one cannot see as much physically in the dark, (well, in a way. There are the moon and stars.), I feel that one can actually see farther in the dark in respect to inside of our self and our senses. Every sense is heightened and tuned to a finer frequency.
Jenny thank you and especially for your thoughtful response. We are of the same line of thought on understanding our own darkness and it how it helps us become better.
I truly feel there is, thank you so much Janisse! I’ve written a few chapters about it years ago, but abandoned them because Life got in the way.
This course of yours so empowering! These writing prompts evoke such vivid memories that I feel compelled to write about it again. The 18 years I spent there made me who I am, and now that I’m in my 60s, I can appreciate that more than ever.
What a beautiful story, Rose. I would love to have known the Okeefenokee as well as you and your family did during that time. I believe your father got it right “…the darkness of the night didn’t have to be frightening, but it did have to be respected.” Darkness in the natural world levels the playing field between all creatures who hunt to survive. Our night vision is inferior to creatures, nocturnal hunters, that are able see better than we do at night. People needed guards to stand watch, for folks and their livestock, so others could more safely sleep at night.
Thank you so much for your kind words Mark. I have always felt that growing up there was a gift. And through this writing course and the memories it brings forth from my heart and mind, I now treasure it more than ever.
I loved this story and that you are Southern, and keeping alive the tradition of Southern storytelling. Thank you. I have camped in the Okeefenokee, written a kind of kid’s poem about it which adults seem to love. It speaks to the darkness inside and that it is a part of us that we should embrace.
I find darkness a comfort as well. I need as much as I can get of it to sleep well. And yet I hate being closed away from the outside in order to get it. Closed windows and blinds and doors make me feel claustrophobic . I try to live in places where people appreciate darkness. I’m surrounded by forest and mountain here, for now, and yet I live only 6 miles from the Asheville city limits. I got lucky. I felt that keenly the other night when I went to the WNC Veteran’s cemetery to take pictures of the super blue moon rise. I was the only vehicle in an unlit parking lot and my truck is black. The only light was that incredible moon being eaten by a dark sturgeon cloud. The moon in its belly was magical.
Thank you for this tale and for reminding me of the Okeefenokee Swamp. I long to return. It was a sensory explosion and one of the wildest, most alive, and sensual places I’ve ever been.
Thank you so much for reading! The Okefenokee Swamp is a magnificent, mysterious, and beautiful place! I worked at the state park there for 4 summers and I love it so much 😍
Oh yes, embracing our own darkness is where we learn about our strengths. Our darkness is where we grow and the darkness feeds our light. You cannot have one without the other. Your feeling at home in the dark is wonderful to read of. The dark has always been much the same for me. "wrapped in its velvety blackness" is a perfect description. Even though one cannot see as much physically in the dark, (well, in a way. There are the moon and stars.), I feel that one can actually see farther in the dark in respect to inside of our self and our senses. Every sense is heightened and tuned to a finer frequency.
Jenny thank you and especially for your thoughtful response. We are of the same line of thought on understanding our own darkness and it how it helps us become better.
There is a beautiful story in your childhood in Council, Georgia.
I truly feel there is, thank you so much Janisse! I’ve written a few chapters about it years ago, but abandoned them because Life got in the way.
This course of yours so empowering! These writing prompts evoke such vivid memories that I feel compelled to write about it again. The 18 years I spent there made me who I am, and now that I’m in my 60s, I can appreciate that more than ever.
What a beautiful story, Rose. I would love to have known the Okeefenokee as well as you and your family did during that time. I believe your father got it right “…the darkness of the night didn’t have to be frightening, but it did have to be respected.” Darkness in the natural world levels the playing field between all creatures who hunt to survive. Our night vision is inferior to creatures, nocturnal hunters, that are able see better than we do at night. People needed guards to stand watch, for folks and their livestock, so others could more safely sleep at night.
Thank you so much for your kind words Mark. I have always felt that growing up there was a gift. And through this writing course and the memories it brings forth from my heart and mind, I now treasure it more than ever.