Southold Town has a 4th of July parade every year for the past 22 years. It is a lovely tradition and two different years, we have      had one of our granddaughters pose as Lady Liberty. The girls were thrilled to be that character. It is wonderful to see so many people line the streets of the town and wave flags and smile. This is small town America and one I am truly proud of.

Captain Henry Green

 I am about to publish an historical fiction novella about Captain Henry Green, a whaler from Sag Harbor, New York. Henry was an ordinary man who lived an extraordinary life. His whaling life was one of adventure and overcoming hardships of being at sea for a year or more at a time. Yet, he, like many other sea captains, led a full life on a ship and later on land. However Henry was involved in spotting the Amistad, an infamous slave ship, and being a part of the Gold Rush.
Sag Harbor and whaling in the 1800's seemed to go together, so this book depicts life there and what it meant to be a whaler.

I have spent two years researching this interesting man. I went to visit Sag Harbor just to see where he lived and walk the area to get a feel for life back then. I could see why whaling and the sailing vessels took over the town. Standing on the Long Wharf and looking out over the water reinforced to me why it was a whaling center. I could smell the sea air and feel the mist as I walked around. A beautiful place to be back then and today.





101 Glimpses of the North Fork and Islands
The Wampum Exchange

Christmas

Christmas
I don't live back in the 1950's and 60's but it does comfort me to think back and savor those days when life was a lot simpler.
My mother loved Christmas and surprising people with gifts of love. All the hiding and wrapping must have been hard to do with a big family, such as ours. My mother enjoyed every minute of it.
Instead of buying us socks, underwear and pajamas in Sept, she wrapped them up in December. When we woke up Christmas morning, we thought we had so many gifts! Each of the five of us had a tall stack of presents. Mom wrapped everything, even stocking gifts. It was all so exciting that morning.
Christmas Eve dinner was also anticipated and savored. I didn't even like fish but that was our tradition and that's what we had. Of course, the dessert--pieca dolce, a cheesecake, made from a family recipe was worth the wait. Knowing we would see our cousins and aunts and uncles made the evening special.
Being allowed to stay up late and attend Midnight Mass was a treat, even though lack of sleep made us bleary eyed the next day!
We have tried to keep many of the traditions alive. We still have several fish varieties for this dinner and the children exchange gifts. The excitement is palpable for the little ones and they do enjoy seeing their cousins. Most of all I do miss my parents and their excitement about this holiday. My fond memories keep me smiling and remembering the good times.

Old Burying Ground in Southold

The Old Burying Ground in Southold is the oldest English cemetery in New York State. I am just one of the volunteers helping to restore the headstones.

Long Island in the summer

www.rosemarymckinley.com

Bleached sandy beaches, temperate salt water and breezes cooling us during backyard barbecues under blue skies are all the reasons I love Long Island. (pub in 50 +Lifestyles August 2016 issue)

This prose poem does express my feelings on this beautiful place that I call home. These are only a few of the reasons I like living here. Today is the first day of fall and I am still going to the beach every day this month. So calm and serene. I love the feel of sand under my feet and the salt water lapping up my legs as I stand in the bay. The quiet draws me in each time even if it is a few hours.

Max Wheat
I was privileged to be in Max’s Taproot classes @ Syosset Library for a few years. He was the best writing teacher I ever had. He never criticized, rather, he would say read this line over again. Do you need this word? What do you think?
I learned so much about writing poetry and writing in general. I loved listening to him read his poetry, as well He certainly had a gift and he loved sharing it with others who were open to it.
I loved the story he told us about the first Halloween he told the children who came to the door that they had to listen to his poem first. They were taken aback. He said the next year the same children were asking for the poems!
Max was one of a kind and he will be missed. His words will be with us for a long time.
He inspired my confidence in becoming an author and I will be forever grateful.

He was a newspaperman who became a poet in his later years. "Everyone has a story", was his favorite line. He was the first unofficial poet laureat of Nassau County.
Max passed away recently and he will be sorely missed.

101 Glimpses of the North Fork and Islands
The Wampum Exchange

http://wesaidgotravel 

I wrote a story about being inspired about a special and beautiful place and it was on the website above: "Thank You Saint Anthony."   It is already in one of my blogs.