Sunday, August 01, 2010

Day One & Mary Oliver in Provincetown







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JB and I planned to arrive in Provincetown for lunch but our lazy movements and very heavy traffic got us here at 4 pm.
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The traffic was bad. We moved six miles in one hour, bumper to bumper. And in the midst of it we had to pee. We were lucky to come across a rest area that had bathrooms. But when we tried to get back on the highway in this bumper to bumper traffic, a van refused to give way.
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JB was driving and was no more than a few feet from the van's front seat passenger, who looked menacingly at her.
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"What do you want me to do?" JB asked her.
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"That's what you get for stopping at the rest area!" the woman scowled.
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That was more than JB could take. Normally polite and mostly respectful, she looked back at the woman and said, "We had to pee, you bitch!"
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We fumed for a few minutes and then laughed for a lot longer. We both decided that if we had occasion to help or hinder this van, we would be nice and give way. That must be our version of 'teach you a lesson." :)
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Last night I made the first purchase of my Provincetown summer.
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JB and I walked up and down Commercial Street last night before and after dinner. I always find my way to the Provincetown Bookstore. It has been here for forty years and the walls and bookshelves are tatteredly precious. They're old.
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I bought a signed copy of Mary Oliver's book called Our World. She published it in 2007, two years after her partner, Molly Malone Cook died. The book is a combination of Molly's worldwide photographs and Mary's incredible words.
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Mary Oliver lives in Provincetown and she and Molly Malone Cook lived here together for close to forty years. Maybe because I know what it's like and what it means to live here, or maybe because I've been in a loved relationship myself for 25 years (not without its sometimes ups and sometimes downs--let me not romanticize misleadingly!), or maybe because Mary Oliver can write so deep and so well, like no one else; what ever the reason, this book is the perfect start to my time in Provincetown.
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There are two parts of Our World I want to share with you.
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The first is this by Mary Oliver about Molly:
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All of a sudden she began to whistle. By all of a sudden I mean that for more than thirty years she had not whistled. It was thrilling. At first I wondered, who was in the house, what stranger? I was upstairs reading, and she was downstairs. As from the throat of a wild and cheerful bird, not caught but visiting, the sounds warbled and slid and doubled back and larked and soared.
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Finally I said, Is that you whistling? Yes, she said, I used to whistle, a long time ago. Now I see I can still whistle. And cadence after cadence she strolled through the house, whistling.
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I know her so well, I think, I thought. Elbow and ankle. Mood and desire. Anguish and frolic. Anger too. And the devotions. And for all that, do we even begin to know each other? Who is this I’ve been living with for thirty years?
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This clear, dark, lovely whistler?
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To know and love someone well and still be surprised? I know this is true. And when that happens, if I don't find it unsettling, which I sometimes do, then I find it thrilling too.
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Molly Malone Cook died in 2005 and Mary Oliver is still here, still vibrant, still writing. This is the the last entry she wrote about Molly, in this lovely book:
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Afternote
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How often now I just sit, with my

elbows on the deck and my hands

holding up my face bold and upright,

and stare into the past.
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This is my reaction to that: Love is worth it. I won't say it doesn't hurt to the very core sometimes, I won't even pretend that it always works out, or that it's enough, but love is worth it. I don't want to ever forget that, and I don't want to ever believe otherwise.
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Love
kj

22 comments:

  1. Not that it matters, I never knew Mary Oliver was gay.

    And it doesn't matter, not one whit.
    She's one of my favorite poets. I'm glad she had such deep love. And I'm glad that she was surprised by the whistling after all those years.
    How precious!

    I'm sad for her absence, her loss. But I celebrate the love she had for so long. I'm sure Molly was her muse for much of her writing.

    Thanks for sharing Ms. KJ.
    And I'm pretty sure I was in that very bookstore with you and I'll be in it again, with marianne in tow this time ;)

    Hey...see ya soon baboon!

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  2. lo, i can't wait for you and marianne to come! we have birthdays to celebrate. yes, that is the bookstore. i bought you a book there: do you remember? xoxox

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  3. I love the story about whistling. Isn't that true? How you can live with someone for so many years, and yet, still be surprised? I think that is amazing and wonderful, too. Life has all sorts of surprises for us. I hope you are whistling up a storm! xox Pam

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  4. Ah, good for JB,,,what a rude woman that one was!
    And now your VA-CA starts!!
    Woo-Hoo!
    Looks like a fabulous read, your new book. I am not familiar with these ladies, but I will be checking them out.
    Great post,,,and get some sand tween your toes for me, ok?

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  5. I never knew mary was gay either, and I don't care, like Lo said, it matters not. She has been one of my favorite poets for years.Beautiful what she wrote about Molly.
    Real love is worth it.
    Fake love is not, not by a long shot.
    Bless those that know the difference. God knows I am still learning.
    xoxo

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  6. P.S. I love that sofa and tell JB "Way to go"!
    xoxo

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  7. So exciting to get a peek in what I will see for myself soon!
    I still remember your posts from last year and how I was in awe of P town.
    Soon I will be in that bookstore and more.......

    Can't wait!
    ♥♥♥
    >M<

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  8. Oh darling love is always worth it. Always. I'm not familiar with Mary Oliver or whether she's straight or gay (all smashed bananas to me I don't care) and thank you for the little gift, It will travel with me and be well used I assure you. Go JB if the mood takes you give them lip! Envy does not describe how I feel. I'd love to be on your porch wit Lolo and Marianne and Mim and whoever.

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  9. I am of a different mindset lately kj...If one is not loved then all fall short in being loved. If we are all stitched together by our differences a hole in the fabric no matter how far from our portion of it, there is still a rend.

    I will continue to sew as i am able but I know it is something even them who appear not capable must do or there will never be a complete quilt.

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  10. found your blog through walking man's. This is food for my day today, and a theme I have been questioning lately......
    Thank you for your thoughtful writing,
    present and attentive,
    Dianne

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  11. did you say you found a signed copy? oh dear kj, now i am completely and totally envious. i did buy that book too after molly passed, i love her photos nearly as much as marys words. i have nearly every book of hers and each is precious to me.

    i know if i were there with you and jb and marianne and lolo and mim and we went to that bookstore and i found a signed copy of a book i already had i would have to buy it and then i'd happily have 2.

    what a great and auspious beginning to your beloved p-town get~a~way.

    jealousbutohsohappyforyou,
    lori

    p.s. funny driving story, i was in the same traffic yesterday in l.a.

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  12. I confess to not knowing Mary Oliver is gay....but it does not change my opinion of her excellent writing....it's like saying "she is a blonde" or "she has brown eyes)....what matters is that she writes well.

    Glad you and JB are enjoying the beauties of P-town.... the photos are gorgeous!!

    And...love is really all that matters....we know that!

    Love,

    ♥ Robin ♥

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  13. So glad you're enjoying your holiday. And good going, JB, that woman needed to hear that! One day, she'll have to go pee...

    I'm not familiar with Mary Oliver, but her book you picked up (with her signature, yet!) sounds lovely. I will look for her work in the bookstore here.

    Have a great time with all your visitors...and please, walk on the beach with all that fresh air for me!

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  14. Always. I have decided I don't regret a single love.

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  15. On one of my birthday's I went w/friends to P-town for dinner and then to an MO reading. Afterwards, I asked her to sign my copy of American Primitive, which she did.!! Wonderful views in photos. I drove to P-town very early one morning and raced into a number of art galleries and the art museum to see Jack Tworkov's show. Then raced home again. Have fun.

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  16. wonderful post dear....wonderful post

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  17. pam, i agree that the surprises and amazement are welcomed and wonderful, unless of course they aren't! (rare, thankfully!) xoxo

    babs, you are in for a treat if you've never read mary oliver. start with a poem called 'wild geese'. you can find it on goggle easy peasy. xoxo

    annie, ah, but is fake love real love until you learn that it's fake? :)

    marianne, orgasmic anticipation!!!!

    hells, i agree, i agree. i am thrilled you will have a moleskine in paris. and france. and italy. and yes, i wish you would be here too. someday, someday. ptown included if we time the weather right xoxo

    mark, do you dream of a better world even more than i do? i have (sadly) learned that love is not always accepted or freely given, and sometimes that's just the way it is. so our guilt has some holes and rough spots. it's still sturdy and beautiful mark, because the contributing hands can be trusted, (maybe even the ones no longer present...) xoxo

    welcome very much, dianne. i have visited you too and i will be back. please stop by anytime. any time i can offer you a morsel i surely will!

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  18. lori, tsup! tsup! yes, a signed copy. and yes, i hope someday you will be in that bookstore for yourself. i know you would browse there, along with me, for a long time.

    robin, read 'wild geese' (a short poem) and tell me what you think. xoxo

    marion, 'wild geese'! you have made my wheels turn. but i'm not saying why or how (hee hee) xoxo

    cs, that is a great way to look at love. i think i feel the same way. the 'think' is cautionary until i understand abit more about myself!) xoxo

    suki, you heard her read? OMG! i know it is easy to do in ptown because she is often at the fine arts center. i am adding that to my list of life's special adventures. xo

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  19. I meant to get back to P town this summer and won't...and of course the Great Whites are hanging around off the cape again....le sigh.

    I do have my beautiful painting though-that makes me smile...well they all do-all my art.

    I am pretty set on coming back with at least Moon dog though-I am convinced he'd love to run on the dunes.

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  20. Mary Oliver has been a favorite of mine since...forever. I love that you have a signed copy of her book and a heartfelt connection to her.

    Loving someone or something outside yourself IS worth it. Love is all there is, and all there needs to be. I think it is the only path to knowing....

    I remember a trip to New England with my son, thirty years ago! We stopped in Boothbay Harbor and I ate lobster bisque for lunch and a HUGE lobster every night - for four days! Wonder how many pounds of butter that took? No, don't tell me - I may want to that again.

    Love the photos.

    xoxoLinda

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  21. dk, when you come, i'll be seeing you there. maybe i'll arrange another erotic reading (heehee)

    linda, another wonderful comment by an astute and good friend. i am glad to know you too love mary oliver's poems. i am going to post a couple since i'm surprised some wonderful people haven't read her yet. &hearts'

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  22. Beautiful photos AND words, KJ. Thanks for brightening my day as always.

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