It's that time again!!! Unwritten and some 1000 other blogs participated last year, and this year looks to be even bigger! Just like last year, I've opened up the blog to host 26 fabulous writers, with each day of the challenge representing the letters of the alphabet from A-Z. I've asked each writer to focus on something that is personal to them, so we can learn more about each other.
Please check out some of the other blogs in the challenge here:
Please check out some of the other blogs in the challenge here:
A-Z BLOG CHALLENGE 2013
J is for...Jonesport
by SC Dane
J is for Jonesport.
A small hamlet in the true Down East of Maine.
It's the true Down East because it's in its own
sphere; it seems to rotate on its own axis, on its own time, separate yet
connected to the rest of the world in its own unique way.
The coastal region is breathtaking. Think rock
and ocean, and tides so big they leave many an unwary sailor grounded. The
place is rugged, fierce, and doesn’t welcome the timid.
The people of Jonesport tend to be financially
poor compared to much of the United States, but they are abundantly wealthy in
spirit and fierce independence. It’s a beautiful thing, and has stumped and
outright flabbergasted many a tourist.
The region is idyllic.
The town not so much.
 |
| Jonesport, ME, photo courtesy of www.blog.keepitinfocus.com |
Jonesport was once a thriving coastal community,
where its citizens earned their livings from the sea. A goodly portion still
do. Lobster fishing, worm and clam digging, and seaweed harvesting are some of
the ways these salty Mainers eke their living. It's hard work, and the only
thing glamorous about it is that these men are the last of the original
cowboys, in their own sense. Their range the vast ocean that sits restless beyond their back porches.
Even after a back-breaking day of scraping their
livings, these men and women do not leave their jobs. Recreation is a blurred
component of hard work, where the ocean transforms to playground. Jonesporters
are Jonesport, the sea, the tide-worn islands.
Jonesporters never escape it. The ocean flows in
their blood, so that even those who leave almost always migrate back.
Those who are born on its craggy shores, tend to
stay. It's a curious phenomenon. As if Nature herself embedded her homing
instinct into each and every child.
J is for Jonesport, Maine.
Go check it out as a vacation destination.
You won’t be disappointed. You won't be catered
to, either. Keep checking the tides.
****
S.C.Dane, born of this earth,
has survived upon it fully aware she'll leave it. She delights in life, knowing
the seasons provide, and time is elastic. Currently, she’s on an American
version of a walkabout, traveling where her heart and the odd job takes her.
Dane has a predator's passion for writing, gleaning her stories
from the bones of her experiences, and keeps an ear homed to the vibrations of
the people she has met and to the landscapes that have shaped them.
You've painted a very vivid picture of Jonesport and it's inhabitants. If I were still able to travel, I'd love to see it up close.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of us are drawn back to the environment we were born into. I've visited many places, but still can't wait to get back to my own little part of Illinois.
Thanks for an interesting post.
It looks like a beautifule place to visit or live! Lov the pic!
ReplyDeleteI go back to my home town often! Just seems to draw me back from time to time!
Great post!
Thanks guys! I like my home town, too. Like the rest of Jonesport's denizens, I find myself still tied to it even though I'm traveling the rest of the country. It's funny how pieces of us always remain with our heart's home.
ReplyDeleteS.C. Dane