"Here lies buried..."

Dear Diary,

Another wonderful day in Concord.  My visit to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery brought me to Author's Ridge where the literary genius of 19th America lies buried.  Along a sun dappled path are the final resting places of Henry Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorn and Ralph Waldo Emerson...the Big Four I call them.  I left my tokens and spent time contemplating their contribution to American literature and marveling at how so many powerful and influential writers came to be in this place at the same time.

There is a Hopi term, tuwanasaapi, which means the centering place, the place where you belong, the spiritual core of the universe.  Many believe Concord epitomizes that concept better that any other place in America.  I would agree.  It is certainly that for me.  Back 40 years ago when I was in college a professor had us write about a place that had special significance for us and I wrote about Concord.

The native peoples thought so too as the confluence of the Assabet and Sudbury rivers, in the center of town, was a sacred gathering place for them for thousands of years.  The tract was the first inland community in America settled by Europeans, it was where the war for independence began and where American literature first flowered...where it still flowers.  More that 400 hundred writers have lived and work in the small town over the years.

I returned to the Abbey to watch the sunset light up the sky an illuminated the fields of grain.  A fitting end to the day.  I wasn't able to see Fruitlands on Tuesday since it was closed but I am off now to spend time there and in some wilderness areas around the Abbey.  Our hot, humid weather continues but it hasn't dulled my enthusiasm one little bit!