Today is the Day!
Well, I made it to Darien, Georgia, with the intentions of going over to Sapelo Island and taking a Geechee tour. “A what tour?” you may ask. Well, I got the idea from a movie that is one of my favorites from a visual standpoint, “Daughters of the Dust“, directed by Julie Dash. This movie has some of the most beautiful black people you will ever see on one screen at a time, and the story is wonderful, although a little difficult to gleen from the first viewing.
Hog Hammock on Sapelo Island, Georgia is one of the few remaining Geechee towns on the islands. It is tiny — the population is about 200 folks. But all of the descendants are that of African slaves brought over, and these people have been able to retain a lot of their parent cultures, something I am sure more black folks wished they had. Anyway, I encourage y’all to do a little research on both the movie and also Geechee and Gullah culture in the Gold Coast islands, just off of the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina.
Well, my more flexible approach to traveling (ie, calling the folks for a tour the day before getting there), was not particularly effective in getting the desired outcome. In other words, the guy was like, “oh, I am not going to be home that day.”
“Well, ” I asked, “is there anyone else who does the Geechee tour on the island?”
“Nope,” he said, “we are the only ones who do that tour here.”
So, I drove to Darien anyway, since it was only about 6-7 hours from Chapel Hill, and thus made the drive to South Florida only about 7-8 hours.
The weather was gorgeous this morning, about 73 degrees, and sunny sunny sunny. Just having that much sun and warmth was a huge boost for me, and after picking up a new pair of running shoes and a lovely deep red leather wallet at the outlet mall right next door to the hotel, I got back on the road to arrive at my final destination.
I was on the phone with Mom (with a headset of course), when I crossed the state line — I screamed a whoop of triumph and partial disbelief. I did it! I drove ALL the way across the country to the state of Florida! With my B-A-D-D self. I spent the rest of the day’s drive ruminating upon my life: what I was leaving behind and what I am moving toward and looking to incorporate and embrace. Have you ever had the feeling of expansiveness, of actually feeling the field of possibilities shifting and moving to accomodate your desires? The feeling of trust, of sureness that you are making absolutely the most right and positivie decision for yourself? I had this sense as I drove along, taking in the smell of sunlight mingled with aquamarine salt water in the air.
