Yule 2012

The Sandy-damaged condo continues to come back together, though this will not be finished before we leave for London and may still not – probably will not – be finished when we first get back. We had a brief visit from Drew in the aftermath, although he arrived a day earlier than I had been expecting and had a last minute important job to complete, so he was mostly preoccupied for the time. Still we managed to have a dinner with Scott and another with Joe and Lise while he was here.

The Latin yuletide is a thirteen-day stretch that begins with a festival to the indigenous sun on the 11th of December and concludes on the 23rd with celebratory funeral rites to the goddess Acca Larentia – the brightness of the pre-solstitial sun. On the eve of the Yule, I went to the South County Hospital for hernia surgery. My reaction is to surrender to the medical procedure and let it be what it will be while trusting the overall process. I was impressed with South County’s professionalism and care. I had little choice, but I found the beehive activity of a hospital fascinating and comfortingly beautiful. There is something moment supreme about the whole experience.

Vicodin was certainly helpful at first and for the next day, but then I stopped with it as quickly as I could to avoid the side effects. On day two, Dr. Capuano told me by phone that I had to move and could not just stay in bed, so I dragged myself out to the seawall and walked its length. At first this was tortuous, but eventually as I proceeded it became easier and more tolerable. That evening Joe and Lise fetched us for a dinner in North Kingston with the “Wild Lawyer Ladies” who had used the farmhouse in France. It was actually a fun time (a good “distraction” as Lise phrased it) and also the start of our Yule celebrations. Richard and I had watched the sun set from the sea wall.

I continued with daily walks which continued to become easier. There were still some scary moments like when there was swelling and black-and-blue discolourisation of me privates, but the on-call doctor asked my age and then said that this was perfectly normal. On the 14th, there was the hideous Newtown massacre. Perhaps the only good thing that came out of it was the eclipse of the sorry and perpetual discussion of the “fiscal cliff.” And perhaps – but only perhaps – there may ultimately be some increased gun legislation for the country to bring her a bit more in line with some of the world’s other advanced nations. At least at this point, this last remains as only a hope.

On the Consualia (the 15th), the old year is buried. After we completed the appropriate rites, we went to the Matunuck Oyster Bar (still by far the best restaurant in the area) and dinned with Shirley, Lise, Joe and Peg Langhammer. A fun and delicious time with a group of fun people. And on the Saturnalia (the 17th), we had the electricity finally restored to the lower part of the house. For our banquet that evening we were able to enjoy Patrick Beck’s smoked organic turkey – one of the most delicious I have ever had. Truly superb. By the next day I found I could do my full round of basic yoga. And on the 19th, Scott came both to work on my computer and to hang out. We were having such a good time that he did not leave until after midnight – something we old fogeys can do but rarely anymore.

On the day of the solstice, we had another terrific storm for the first part of the day with the sea crashing over the seawall and the road closed. The sun came out before the day ended, and while the sea churned and churned, we walked along the wall and marvelled over nature’s awesome beauty. It could not have been more stunning, and I received yet another darshan of the Diva Angerona. And on this day, the Pagan Church was birthed to capitalise on the turn of the tide in the states of Washington and Colorado and to express a shamanic aspect of paganism that is more usually overlooked or suppressed. The following day I was able for a first time since the surgery to cycle to the Kingston train station and back. I needed a 90 minute nap afterwards. That evening over an incredibly delicious dinner at Joe’s, we met his delightful friends Sarah and Frank.

The concluding day of the Latin/Roman yuletide provided on this occasion a darshan of the goddess Larentia. I realised that the sunset is always in some respect sad, but on this day the first sunset of the increasing solar orb is honoured. In our walk-about, we encountered after darkfall a service at the gazebo to commemorate the Sandy Hook victims. This was ostensibly Christian but nonetheless sensitive, ecumenical and moving. At one point, we were all asked (maybe 300 people) to face the seawall that had protected our town and give gratitude in whatever tradition we followed. Two bag-pipers then began to play and walk the length of the protective barrier as the crowd stood in silence. A humourous moment ensued when a woman who was walking her dog intersected with the bag-pipers from the opposite direction when she realised that something was occurring but it was too late for her not to intrude upon it. She just had to have wondered what in the world it was that she had walked upon.

During these days I have learned that John in Glasgow has had a burst appendix, ulcer surgery and perhaps a stroke. Ian has been staying at John’s and has been keeping me informed, and Warren made the visit from London to see John and has been able to report a substantial improvement from the first day he saw John to the next. Also during this time, Rachida and Thomas are on their American honeymoon that began with New York followed by Boston and then to San Francisco where they stayed with our dear, dear Rosalie. Unfortunately, during the cold transit from New York to Boston, Rachida became horribly ill. Despite fever and chills, other than a day in bed in Boston, this does not seem to have stopped her much. When we last communicated, they were driving south along Route 1, and she was improved.

On Christmas Eve, we joined Rosalind and Albert in North Kingston and met Rosalind’s two sisters and two daughters all with their spouses. It was a pleasant gathering. The next day, other than a few phone calls to family and friends, Richard and I were able to have a low-key and perfectly relaxed stay-at-home. On the 27th, we enjoyed a delicious rabbit casserole at Joe’s with him and Kate. Another lovely time it was. The day before in Newport we saw Hitchcock and earlier during the Yule we saw Skyfall. The cinema remains a great joy for both Richard and me despite that we seem almost never to get to it. And almost to close out the year, New England has had a substantial snowfall. It is now cold, beautiful and white.

And so 2012 finishes. It has included the meltdown of our packed car as we were leaving the farm for Holland, the phishing scam concerning the Roman rental, the Amsterdam break-in, my shingles attack, Richard’s dental work, the Hurricane Sandy devastation, Richard’s post-Sandy falling down the outside stairs, the hernia surgery as well as the loss of several friends and loved ones (Lise’s partner Peg Lawrence, our London neighbour Shirley, Gin and Rix’s friend Reen, Fifi L’Amour in Amsterdam, Gore Vidal, Nicholas Goodrich-Clarke, and my high-school friend Mary Ann Macdonald among others.) There is no expectation that the coming years will ever get easier, but at least for this one, despite the difficulties and losses, it has still been an overall happy time – happy in love and happy with life. My wishes are for at least this and a new beginning for all those I know and cherish.