THANK YOU FOR READING
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| June in Traveler's Joy* |
I'm suspending the blog after this entry, and wanted to thank
those of you who have logged on since January 2013 to read my writings and view the photos. I've tried to cover topics relevant to life in upstate South Carolina (a region where the catbird most definitely sings, or meows), with many of my entries focused on the two-stoplight town where I live with my husband, a place I call Traveler's Joy.*
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| Hemerocallis 'African Diplomat' is blooming in the garden now, despite 3-digit daytime temps |
These entries reflected my interest in things
horticultural and cultural, sacred and profane; and in my fascination with small
towns, big stories, and the intrinsically paradoxical nature of southern life
and southern history.
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| Asiatic lily 'Forever Susan' in early June |
If wherethecatbirdsings were my only means of written communication with the world, I would have continued it, happily. But it is not my only forum. I completed a novel that will be published by Algonquin Books in their fall-winter list 2016-17, The Second Mrs. Hockaday, and am currently at work on another novel which is about life in a South Carolina cotton mill-town at the turn of the 20th century.
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| Hem. 'Lois Barnes,' spider |
For the last 18 months, that writing has
consumed most of the waking hours not devoted to my day job (teaching English
Composition at a college in Spartanburg) and will most likely continue for as
long as there are people out there willing to read my book(s).
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| I took this photo of the giant water oak that shades our yard on the last day it stood. An insect infestation made it necessary for our neighbor to take it down. |
That
is another compelling reason to set aside the blog for the present, despite the therapeutic benefits I derived from writing it. The therapeutic part was especially true in seeing me through painful events, notably the deaths of two family members and critical surgery I required. In this season of loss we also said good-bye to Miss Billie, the one-eyed cat who featured so prominently in photos included in earlier blog entries.
There
was never a shortage of topics for the blog. With no newspaper in my town and no communication on critical issues between the townspeople and the town government, I felt a strong responsibility to give voice to some of the residents' key concerns in my essays, especially since these concerns are emblematic of larger problems confronting southerners in the 21st century. We have seen some of those concerns intrude themselves tragically into the national dialogue with recent, terrible events in Charleston, S.C. -- murders which precipitated an international dialogue on racism followed by the dilatory takedown of the Confederate flag from the statehouse grounds. 'Dilatory' is a word that belongs in our state motto, and might even be an improvement over "Dum spiro spero," Latin for 'while I breathe, I hope.' (Note that the verb 'to think' is noticeably absent.) We lag far behind the more conventional beliefs and policies that prevail in those states where the 21st century has arrived. Divorce was illegal in South Carolina until 1949, interracial marriage was banned until 1967 when the U.S. Supreme Court struck it down, and as late as 2013 our House legislators were distinguishing themselves by voting the federal Affordable Care Act to be "null and void" and authorizing law enforcement to arrest anyone trying to implement it. I thank God that ridiculous piece of theater didn't accomplish its goal, for without the ACA I'd be dead. Honestly.)
In other words, the issues that engage me and many people like me in this region continue to be enormously relevant, nevertheless, I have had to be
honest with myself and my readers in assessing the value of
continuing this forum. Any objective view of it
confirms what I've been feeling intuitively for a while: that the time and
attention this project demands is unsustainable for now.
There
was never a shortage of topics for the blog. With no newspaper in my town and no communication on critical issues between the townspeople and the town government, I felt a strong responsibility to give voice to some of the residents' key concerns in my essays, especially since these concerns are emblematic of larger problems confronting southerners in the 21st century. We have seen some of those concerns intrude themselves tragically into the national dialogue with recent, terrible events in Charleston, S.C. -- murders which precipitated an international dialogue on racism followed by the dilatory takedown of the Confederate flag from the statehouse grounds. 'Dilatory' is a word that belongs in our state motto, and might even be an improvement over "Dum spiro spero," Latin for 'while I breathe, I hope.' (Note that the verb 'to think' is noticeably absent.) We lag far behind the more conventional beliefs and policies that prevail in those states where the 21st century has arrived. Divorce was illegal in South Carolina until 1949, interracial marriage was banned until 1967 when the U.S. Supreme Court struck it down, and as late as 2013 our House legislators were distinguishing themselves by voting the federal Affordable Care Act to be "null and void" and authorizing law enforcement to arrest anyone trying to implement it. I thank God that ridiculous piece of theater didn't accomplish its goal, for without the ACA I'd be dead. Honestly.)  |
| The highlight of the spring was a pilgrimage made to William Faulkner's home, Rowan Oak, in Oxford, Mississippi. (His boots.) Remember, it was W.F. who famously wrote of the South: "The past isn't dead. It isn't even the past." |
Thank you so
much for dropping by in Traveler's Joy* from time to time.
It's been my pleasure to write with each and every one of you in mind!
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| FKVP, touring the Cannonball House with me in Macon, Georgia, in May |
All the best,
(Forever) Susan
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| Our erstwhile and soulful companion in Traveler's Joy*, Tiny Alice |
*Traveler's Joy is a fictional name for a real town.
I'm sorry to see Where The Catbird Sings retire, Susie, but can't wait for The Second Mrs. Hockaday to make its big debut, and to take delight in your words and unique perspective in its pages.
ReplyDeleteSocial media--and staying relevant in an oversaturated sphere--takes so much time and energy, and I can understand your reluctance to invest more time in that obligatory task. As a novelist/mother/wife/university professor/observer and recorder with a garden to tend to, you've got better things to do!
Thank you for sharing your writing with us here for the last 2+ years. I look forward to what's next!