Friday, February 8, 2008

Random thoughts and photos

I don't have a particular topic in mind today, so I'm just sharing a couple of random thoughts (with matching photographs). This will be a somewhat short blog, too, as I have a full day ahead of me tomorrow. I'll be on the 7 AM ferry to Cedar Island, so my day will start early. After arriving on the mainland, I'll visit a friend in the hospital, do some shopping, drive to New Bern to take John to the airport (he's flying to Ohio to pick up a truck), do some more shopping, drive back to Cedar Island and ride the 5:00 ferry home. And then go to sleep!

Random thought number one: Ocracoke, as we all know, is a very unique place. One of the ways it is different is that there are no chain restaurants on the island, no huge advertising billboards, and many fewer bright lights and neon signs than you would see elsewhere. I love this visual peace, with less clutter and glare. It also makes it possible to see many more stars, even from within the village, than you can in most other towns in the United States. But lest you think this is paradise and there is NO neon, I offer this photo which proves we do have some:



Random thought number two: I wonder why it is that human beings desire to "leave their marks" to show that they have been in a particular place. At the lowest end of the spectrum (creatively speaking), people have been etching, carving, or just writing their names on furniture, doors, and pretty much anything else in public places in the form of graffiti for years. But even once we outgrow the need to do that, there's still a desire to leave something behind that shows we were here on earth and expresses a bit of who we are. It manifests itself in creative art, original music, lovingly tended gardens, thoughtfully decorated houses and many other forms. Aren't people fascinating? They are to me. Guess I should have been a sociologist.

Luke left his mark on a chair at Jason's restaurant:



I personally prefer the marks left by artist Kitty Mitchell and musicians Marcy and Lou (along with several other artists and musicians who call Ocracoke home; these are just two of my many favorites).

Hope you have found a creative, positive way to "leave your mark", wherever you are...

2 comments:

tunnellj said...

Your first pic isn't showing! I'm curious.

Ocrakate said...

I think it's fixed now! Not sure why that happened.