Filmed on 28 November 2014; published on 9 October 2017
- VIDEO BY ALICE
- SUMMARY OF THE VIDEO
- Alice’s Memories of ‘Concord’ Farm
- Alice’s Story about the Children’s Park Across the Road
- Thoughts About Nature and Sunlight
- MORE INFORMATION
Dear Ones,
I recently visited Concord, the farm where my mom grew up. Here is a little about how life used to be there, and how it is now. Also, thoughts on how we might live in harmony with nature. There is a Summary after the video.
VIDEO BY ALICE
SUMMARY OF THE VIDEO
Hello, Dear Ones, It’s Alice.
Alice’s Memories of ‘Concord’ Farm
I am over here on the land where my mom and her sister and brother grew up, I am not really supposed to be here. I am just kind of kibitzing around because the gate was open. It belongs to a historical trust now, I think.
And over here [pans to the right of the road] I see they have torn down the barn that was there, that was in very bad repair. And I think this little building here, that you see, is the place where they used to strip the tobacco. You could keep a small building warm in the wintertime, and a lot of the stripping took place then.
Stripping was to make the tobacco ready to sell. The stalks of tobacco are turned upside down and hung on tobacco sticks across multi-level beams in the barns to cure. And then the leaves need to be stripped off before it is sold.
And over here [pans to the end of the driveway] … that was the family home. On the left was a kitchen area, which was detached from the house because of the possibility of fires. A few times over the centuries that this house was in existence, the kitchen area would burn down …
As you can see, flurries of snow are falling right now. I am going to go up a little bit closer, and see how soon I am going to get kicked out [chuckles] …
Well, I succeeded in getting up to the circular driveway in front of the house. I am sure I will not be able to go in, but it is nice to be pretending that I am visiting with family, and to remember the old days when we used to walk up those stairs and explore the attic over the white part of the building, which is where our missionary great-aunt’s (or was it our great-great aunt’s) belongings were stored after she passed away in China.
Alice’s Story about the Children’s Park Across the Road
[Moves to scene across the street] So this was the property I told you about. It used to be my mom’s property, after my grandfather passed away. And it now belongs to Prince George’s County Department of Parks and Recreation, and has been turned into a park. It is just a little slice of property.
And behind me here you will see where they made a ballpark. And that ballpark is much used, and it is great, actually, that so many children get to take advantage of it. And I will show you the other side of the park, too …
[Moves to scene on the other side of the parking lot] Over here, where there used to be a tenant farmer house, they have built a beautiful park for young children to play in. It is just incredible. There is the entrance … there are places to play … It is like a little wonderland. It is very cool.
[Moves to ballpark area] So here is one ballpark, I see. There are just a few stadium benches … Maybe little league? … And then, far off over there, there is a beautiful picnic area, shaded, for the summertime.
And then, if you come around the field this way [pans left] … I bet that is a soccer field, do you not you think? And over here [pans left] … there is the big ball field, with a lot of stadium benches … and maybe that is a football goal over there? What do I know about this stuff? One might be baseball, and one might be football.
So, from what used to be just a field of tobacco or beans or corn, now there is this wonderful facility for all kinds of young children to enjoy. I think it is great, really.
But I really miss the land …
Thoughts About Nature and Sunlight
It is a brisk 30 degrees outside, so I got into the car, where the beautiful Sun is shining down and warming up the microcosm here. And it is kind of a relief not to have the snow flurries and the wind blowing. [laughs]
And I just have a quick thought for you about how we live our lives, and how we might live our lives.
There is something to be said for leaving nature, insofar as possible, as it is, and not improving on it. And living our lives in harmony with the forces of nature … with nature spirits, with the devas, and with the beautiful light that is ours, free, from the Sun.
You know, the light that comes from a computer screen, or a handheld, or a cell phone, is a very narrow spectrum of light. It does not nourish the spirit. It does not sustain the opening of our DNA.
If we look up from a computer screen, and look out, into the natural world, we see the vastness and grandeur and beauty of what is really here on Earth. You know?
Not a virtual reality, but the true reality of Earth. And so that os what I am suggesting today … to think of ways that we can live our personal lives in harmony with the beauty and grandeur, and life-sustaining, spirit-uplifting energy of the natural world. [waves goodbye]
In love, light and joy,
I Am of the Stars
This blog has been added here … Link: “Compendium: My Childhood and Family, and Later Years,” by Alice B. Clagett, compiled and published on 21 March 2020; republished on 29 March 2020 … https://wp.me/p2Rkym-haj ..
Image: “Concord,” by Alice B. Clagett, 28 November 2014, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Concord,” by Alice B. Clagett, 28 November 2014, CC BY-SA 4.0
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MORE INFORMATION
Link: “Concord (District Heights, Maryland)” … https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concord_(District_Heights,_Maryland) ..
Link: “Concord Manor at Walker Mill Regional Park” … http://www.pgparks.com/264/Concord-Manor-at-Walker-Mill-Regional-Pa ..
Link: “Concord, 8000 Walker Mill Road, Ritchie, Prince George’s County, MD” … Zechariah Berry House, https://www.loc.gov/item/md0566/ ..
Link: “Concord, 8000 Walker Mill Road, Ritchie, Prince George’s County, MD” … Library of Congress, http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/md0566/ ..
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–from Link: “‘Concord’ – The Farm Where My Mom Grew Up,” a story by Alice B. Clagett, filmed on 28 November 2014; published on 9 October 2017 … https://wp.me/p2Rkym-7Ns ..
Alice B. Clagett
Except where otherwise noted, “The Chalice and the Crucible” by Alice B. Clagett … https://chaliceandcrucible.com/ … is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0) … https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ ..