Ocean Awareness

I sent out this article in my Morr Creative Thoughts newsletter in June. Since I am following up on these thoughts in my blog now, I thought I should include this, too.

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As a lifelong Midwesterner, my memories of oceans stand out clearly as little vignettes because they are rare and distinct glimpses in my life. I grew up in Chicago, vacationed in Wisconsin, and went to college in Kansas. By the time I graduated, I was acutely aware that my life had a few missing pieces. I really needed to see a mountain, a desert, and an ocean.

Each took my breath away. The first time I saw the Atlantic Ocean was on the coast of Maine. I few years later my husband and I again visited the east coast, vacationing in Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard. Every time I waded into the ocean I felt exactly what I expected – freezing water. The large bodies of water I experienced in the Midwest, Lake Michigan and the lakes of Wisconsin were always freezing, even in the late summer. The difference was the salty feel of the ocean. I always had emerged from a lake feeling “squeaky clean;” I came out of the ocean feeling like a salted nut. (Insert your joke of choice here.)

Some people with a better understanding of geography than I have might have figured out that the water temperature would be different in different parts of the world or even in different parts of the country. But I was completely and happily surprised to feel the warmth of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida. Who knew? Obviously, not I.

In the next few days, I will be posting some memories of oceans, mountains and deserts on my blog, www.morrcreative.blogspot.com . Please stop by and add comments on your experiences of different parts and features of the world.

Look in Your Own Back Yard

Beautiful weather has finally reached the Midwest. It is time to get out an enjoy it all. At the very end of last summer I did something breathtaking. Finally after living in Chicago all my life, I took the Chicago Architecture Foundation river boat tour. My cousin, Jane, was the docent and taught me more about Chicago architecture than I had previously acquired in my whole life.

The 1909 plan for the City of Chicago created by Daniel Burnham called the city "Paris on the Prairie. "Having seen Paris for the first time the summer before, (I am getting adventurous in my empty-nest life) I dare to say Chicago might be prettier. Believe it or not Paris has lots more graffiti. But back to the Architecture Foundation tour. It is a "must see" for anyone who lives or visits here! Enjoy!