"When I think of it, this home--which in so many ways it has become to us all--has given birth and nurtured many beautiful relationships. No matter what happens in the outside world, the Bowditch homes and the island will remain safe havens and healing centers for many. Thank you [to his parents] for our cool place in the forest." Nat wrote this in October, 1991, also noting that it had been too long since he and Lynn last got away to the cabin. Because of increasingly busy lives, it would become a recurrent theme.
The phrase "our cool
place in the forest" comes from Nat's father, Phil. In an essay titled
"An Open Letter to My Children, Grandchildren, and Any Others Who Might
Feel that Little Cranberry is as Much a State of Mind as a Place" Phil
wrote, "As I have told my children and they theirs--'This island is for
the young in age or heart-THE COOL SPACE IN THE FOREST-where one goes to
replenish one's soul rather than one's body.'"
In the same essay, Phil noted
that an "important and recommended action" one who loves the island
should take is to bring one's choice of mate to Islesford before one proposes
or accepts. "Passing the so-called 'Islesford test' is a vital element to
insuring tranquility and perpetuation of the species." For Sukie, it
became the "Phil and Molly test." She passed with flying colors.
Photo: Woodpile belonging to Danny and Katy Fernald, the owners of Islesford
Artist's Gallery.
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