LEAVING JEKYLL

The beach at Jekyll at night

Our golden summer was fast coming to an end and people began to leave.  My friend, Elizabeth, broke the cap on her front tooth and went home early.  Then a close relative of my buddy, Jane, died and she went home for the funeral.  And I came down with one of my infamous sore throats and began to croak and I knew I had to go home and see the doctor and my family. I called home and found my mother less than delighted that I wanted to be picked up.  Mom had expected I would go straight back to Wesleyan when the summer ended and she explained how inconvenient it would be to drive to Jekyll. It was so far and would take a lot of gas and besides...

"I need to see Dr. Scott. My throat is so sore I can barely talk."

"There must be doctors up there," she said vaguely. Tears came to my eyes.

I left beautiful Jekyll and never returned, but I have my memories of that innocent time and sometimes I dream about the beach at night. In the dreams I can fly and I drift over the water, the pale beach and the thick 

green trees.  And the moon is always full as I float by, bathed in its soft golden light.

A FAIRY BABY IS BORN!

A BABY BOY IS BORN TO THE FAIRIES

"Just how long do you think this will take?" said Annalisa, who was very anxious.

"Well, how would I know?  Have I ever had a 

baby?" said her sister.  Nerves made Arabella waspish and she was very nervous indeed.

"I thought the baby would--you  know--pop out.  But I haven't heard any popping sounds, just Mama groaning or something.  Perhaps the baby has given her a headache," said Annalisa.

Suddenly, their mother was heard to cry out,

"It's all your fault you know!"

Mother upstairs having a baby

The sisters looked at each other with alarm.  What was whose fault?  Father suddenly came racing down the stairs looking wild-eyed and yelling, "I need more hot water!  Get me more hot water!  And the doctor wants more blankets. Go, Girls, find blankets and buckets.  I'll heat the water."

Blankets and buckets?  What in the world was going on up there?  The sisters ran through the house, snatching blankets off beds and wondering where in the world would buckets be?

Suddenly, a tiny cry was heard; the baby had come at last!  Overcome with joy, the sisters burst into tears and screamed for Father.

Later, when the doctor was gone and the baby was settled into Mother's arms, Father and the girls stood around the bed smiling broadly.

"What shall you name him?" said Annalisa.

"Let us name him Arthur," said Mother, "for he shall be a King one day."  And she smiled at her husband who bent and kissed her hand.

TO BE CONTINUED

RAY CHARLES IN CONCERT

Ray Charles in concert

In 1962 Ray Charles had one of his biggest hits--I Can't Stop Loving You.  We heard it all the time that summer on Jekyll Island.  And wonder of wonders, Ray Charles was giving a concert in Savannah near the end of that summer.  We were beyond excited.  I was asked to go with the golden boy of Jekyll, who looked like the Marlboro Man, only better.  Wayne was a tall, blond, tanned and muscular young man of 23 who was divorced!  These facts lent him a certain glamour and sophistication that the college boy lifeguards could not begin to approach.  In the winter Wayne worked in construction, but in the summer he and his brother ran a beauty salon.  If Wayne was having a slow day doing hair, he would run past our all glass restaurant in his electric blue bathing suit on his way to the pool.  Then my friend Jane and I would roll our eyes and sigh heavily, wishing we did not have to be good little girls until we got married.  But we did not want to get pregnant and Have To Get Married as a boy Jane was dating  had just done.  Although very taken with Jane this young man then heard that his former girlfriend was expecting and a quick wedding was arranged.  That's how thing were done in 1962.

We arrived at the concert late and realized all the seats were already taken by Black people which was only fair.  Then we saw that there were only four other White people at the concert.  The tables were turned; we were in the minority.  So we trudged up the stairs of some ancient bleachers and sat by ourselves.  When Mr. Charles, accompanied by the Raylettes, appeared, there was mass hysteria.  As he sang his hit songs, there was singing in the audience, there was dancing and clapping, there were screams of delight and joyous laughter.  We were all having a good old time with Ray Charles.  And when he sang I Can't Stop Loving You, we all went crazy.  Color lines disappeared.  We were just a bunch of people swaying to the music and falling in love with Ray.

SNOW WHITE FINDS SEVERAL SMALL MEN

Snow White wandered through the forest for  three days.  She ate the food the Huntsman had given her and gathered berries wherever she found them.  Springs of sparkling water were plentiful and she was never thirsty.  At night she slept under the Huntsman's cloak while the animals in the woods stood guard.  On the fourth day she saw a colorful cottage just ahead and ran to the door.

The house of seven small men

Snow White knocked on the bright yellow door, but no one came.  She was bitterly disappointed, but decided to wait for the occupants to come home.  When afternoon came, her food was gone and she felt very tired so she lay down on the soft grass and fell deeply asleep.  At twilight seven small men who had been working in their fields nearby came home, tired from a hard day's work.

"There is a young girl asleep in front of our house," said one little man to the others.

The leader of the group, who was very wise, said, "She is little more than a child.  Let us be careful not to frighten her."

The small men encircled Snow White,studying her quietly and wondering from where she had come.  In a few minutes Snow White opened her eyes and smiled at the little men who she felt sure would help her as they looked kind.

Eagerly she sat up and said, "Gentlemen, I have been wandering in the forest for three days and I have eaten all my food.  Could you possibly give me something to eat?"

The small men all began to speak at once until their leader, who was called Anselm, held up his hand for silence.

"My child, you must come in and share our dinner with us.  We would be honored to have you as our guest," said Anselm, extending his hand to Snow White.  "Please come in."

So Anselm and his small
friends--Billingslea, Chaucer, Danforth, Ernest, Frankenberry and Geoffrey--shared their meal with their guest, the very grateful Snow White who laughed more that evening than she had for years.  She felt happy and safe.

After dessert Billingslea, who was quite shy, told Snow White there was a small guest cottage in the back. "Would you do us the honor of staying the night there and taking breakfast with us before you journey on?"

"Oh, kind sir, I would be in your debt.  Thank you, Billingslea!"

So Snow White was led to the tiny cottage by the little men, all holding candles to light her way.  The seven gentlemen bid her Good Night, saying they would see her at breakfast.

The tiny cottage was tidy and warm and after blowing out the candles, the grateful princess slipped under the covers and arranged the cloak of the Huntsman over the eiderdown and then fell into a dreamless sleep.

While Snow White was sleeping, the Fairy Queen was giving birth to a tiny, perfect baby

in the Enchanted Forest.