Returning to the Ozarks is always bittersweet. I know this place so well. I understand the rolling hills. The forests are familiar to me. And that is why whenever I go somewhere else I hate this place. It all seems so common, so boring. The bitter winds of the Rockies were invigorating. If I think about it, they were flipping cold! Yet, I don't think, I just let it wash over me. I am not ignorant to the world beyond my comfort zone. I have traveled from sea to sea and back again, home to the Ozarks. It is not fear that keeps me here; in fact, I fear getting stuck more than leaving. I stay here because I like it. It is dull at times, but I like the winter sun, and the gurgling creeks; the flowering dogwoods, and the blushing maples. I like the friendly smiles, dirty overalls, and blunt speech. There is a flavor or a smell in these parts that is unique. So I stay.
Though I know I should have loved the sweet southern sunshine more today, it brought me little joy.
About Me
- Roslyn Imrie
- I am a mother, a teacher, and a nature lover. I grew up on a mountain we called Owls' Knob in the Ozarks of Arkansas. The first seven years of my life were spent living in a log cabin, far from a store or streetlight, without electricity or running water and after twenty years of travel, I returned to the abondoned homestead. Now I live on a hill by a small lake and work at a public garden. These are stories about nature written from a women deeply influenced by place.
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