Comments - bottom of page 7-22-13 Tales of Grace and Gratitude: The Blessing of Living In North Florida By Jamie Siegmeister Very often, I hear grumblings that there is nothing to do here-no culture, no fine arts, theater or music. While pondering the absence of an orchestra with a grand name from a patron that we’d recognize from a NASDAQ stock ticker, very faintly at first I heard the call of a whippoorwill from the cypress pond a mile away from my Lake City home. Hearing this mysterious nightjar, toads tuned in along with a cacophony of other beautiful sounds-lovely tenors followed by a rumbling bass. Could Mozart himself compose a better symphony than God’s Nature? A few weeks later, my husband, Jeff and I were invited to dine at the Governor’s Mansion with Governor Scott and First Lady Ann Scott. Jeff was seated to the left of the First Lady while I was at a separate table among strangers. I came to learn my seven dinner companions were of Florida’s more Cosmopolitan set and I enjoyed their stories about high rises, high finance and high culture. I noticed the gentleman to my right was drinking from a silver water goblet with Columbia County and the state seal engraved on it. “I live there,” I chimed interrupting a conversation about Hemingway cats. Puzzled, my table looked toward me and asked where Columbia was and followed with what-is-there-to-do-in-that-neck-of-the-woods questions. I thought of my whippoorwill most likely because of the sight of silver songbirds sculpted on the punch bowl behind the table or the sumptuous nature scenes on the topaz blue de Gournay wallpaper that surround the dining room. I told them that I lived in the part of Florida that artisans mold into silver and paint onto mansion walls. Amusements in Northern Florida are not as easy as buying a season pass or booking a reservation. It takes an artists eye and a writer’s pen to see a fraction of all that is our Dearest Home. The dignitary from Key West beamed as he was the first to understand. He excitedly asked me, “What does a whippoorwill sound like?” “Oh, just like he’s saying his name,” I replied. “Like this,” I cupped my hands and whistled my best whippoorwill into them. Everyone at the table wanted to try their best imitation and we became more boisterous than I think was proper decorum for a visit to the Governor’s Mansion - luckily our hosts were good sports. Everyone at my table left the evening anxious to hear a real whippoorwill, smell freshly cut hay or eat potatoes still warm from a recent plucking from the ground. It is my hope that my contributions in the upcoming series of Suwannee Valley Times guest columns will serve as reflections of the bounty and blessing I’m witnessing. As I pull the veil to peek beyond the humble disguise, I see that we North Floridians have the most exclusive of high culture and churches on every corner to remind us where it all comes from. Jamie Siegmeister is an award winning essayist. The fifth generation Florida native lives in Lake City with her husband Jeff. Comments 0 # John Chambliss 2013-08-02 10:54 This is an email my executive friend sent to his classmates at their 50 year reunion On Tue, Apr 16, 2013 at 5:00 PM, RRobbins@GlobalPM wrote: This is part of a note I sent to Donahue and my classmates as we prepare for the 50th anniversary. Thought you might appreciate. "You are all extraordinary special people, and I appreciate having the opportunity to grow up with all of you. My personal heroes, and to me the most successful people I know, are my classmates who carried on the tradition of instilling small town values in a new generation, by teaching, coaching, working in local business and government, and very importantly, being homemakers. For those of us who have worked in the large cities and corporate world, we will be quickly forgotten. But for those of you who continued to nurture life in Graceville, and small towns like it, your personal impact will be felt, and you will be remembered for generations and generations, just as we all remember those who nurtured us during our years together as students, not just in school, but in life itself. Since my early years away from Graceville, I have been envious and in awe of those of you who have kept life in Graceville and Jackson County what it is. You are my heroes." Re
Posted on: Wed, 14 Aug 2013 02:01:13 +0000
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