You know when it happens. That immediate and deep connection to a person, poem, a song or in this case, a place. I can’t recall my first glimpse of the Chesapeake Bay, or the first time I sailed upon her waters, but I know it’s been a part of my life long as I can remember.
It is land that will speak to you if you know how to listen. It is full of people that share the love of this land. If you are lucky enough to spend some time with them, it is an experience that is hard to forget. If they sense you understand, most of them will open up and call you brother or sister. If you don’t, they’ll just let you pass on by. And I love that.
The Eastern Shore is a rugged and beautiful place. Sometimes unforgiving, as our waterman know firsthand. To me, it is the Land of Peaceful Waters. It has what I think of as nineteen silver threads – its rivers – that empty into the Chesapeake Bay and provide endless places to sit & dream or do a whole bunch of other things.
It is a place determined to stay unapologetically beautiful, natural and bountiful. It will also take back what it once had, reclaiming land with water, shift and move currents and let old things wither away.
As humans, we get it sit and stay only for a short while, even if it is our entire life. It’s a blink of an eye.
I think of the happy memories we’ve made with friends, either on the boat or dockside.
I pause to gaze at sweeping fields of garden and grain alongside estuaries of seafood that remind me this place feeds a nation.
When I find pristine and quiet corners where time doesn’t seem to matter, I think of how this place holds the memories of a great nation born.
It is when I am sailing upon her waters, or when the sun is setting, I am reminded that perfect moments are precious and fleeting. And think of my ancestors.
And you realize that the land and water really connect us all.
Living in a such a place that is fragile, yet gives so much, can teach us many things, if we are willing to listen and learn.
Our Eastern Shore is not perfect, but I think that is what makes her great. Anytime one can experience great love in one’s life, it is a gift. I love the Eastern Shore, just as she is.