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Marty’s Memories: Anticipation by Marty Trower

Odd, to think of anticipation and memories at the same time, but October can do that to you. Think of the smells there are on the island during this month, and then when they come and you absorb them, I’ll bet you’ll be as full of anticipation as I am. I don’t dread the upcoming colder months. I see them as a chance to bask in all the nuances—those little things that Nature is using to slowly reveal her changes. Every act of weather is really a new, evolving canvas of experiences for the senses. I’m hoping you’re feeling all of this without my using more words.

We were coming to the cottage for a long weekend, the first since summer and the last before spring. We were coming across on the boat, and there were many boring closing-up chores ahead—most of them involving mice. I remember the sun breaking through the fog and bursts of autumn color spreading over us. The Stone Pier emerged, and all along its uneven surface you could see the people lined up. I saw their legs first, hanging over the edges of large granite slabs. The tide was low. Hunting jackets, colors muted by the mist, appeared next, then disappeared. Closer, and the silhouettes, the profiles—and, oh, the beards!

Here’s a Chebeague memory of October in the sixties:

The anticipation! Now I see the connection.

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OCTOBER 2016 CHEBEAGUE ISLAND COUNCIL CALENDAR