Musings: A welcome to summer on this golden canal
The writer docks her motorboat, 7th Heaven, named for her seven grandchildren, alongside her house by the Grand Canal in Bay Park. Credit: Lorraine T. Guarnieri Keegan
Golden seems like the proper word as in "On Golden Pond" and being a senior in the golden olden years, though I don't feel olden at all.
Living on the golden Grand Canal in Bay Park all my life, following my parents and their parents, I gaze in wonderment at the water and think of all the times my previous generations did the same while meditating at the glory of God's creation as the sun dances upon the water.
As another summer begins, sitting at the water's edge brings comfort and peace. I do this so that I never take for granted having a canal as my backyard even after more than 70 years.
I sit and listen to the seagulls squawking overhead, noticing people riding their bikes, some stopping to point out to their children the swans, ducks or egrets gracefully swimming and looking for food. Other times, glancing down toward the mouth of the canal, I see the water greet the sky like the ocean meeting heaven in the distance.
While boating in the bay, I watch the water glisten in the sun or admire the colors of a sunset that can take one's breath away.
Many beautiful places are on land and sea, but for me, sitting on the edge of my dock is my golden place. I get to relive memories of fishing or swimming in the canal, water races, playing with cousins and neighbors until the streetlights came on, watching fishing boats go out for the daily catch, mothers cooking homemade meals, and feeling safe and proud of our families and friends, always thinking that our youth would last forever.
Then, as life continues and years pass, we welcome families of our own and give them a similar precious childhood, always respecting our water as Mother Nature is beautiful and free. Surely our past generations look down from above with pride to see these precious memories.
Now, as a new summer makes its way across our land, here I will stay and pass the time away, always grateful for my little speck of this glorious world with all its golden memories on my golden Grand Canal.
Lorraine T. Guarnieri Keegan, Bay Park
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