Tranquility of Chautauqua

May 1, 2009

Sitting on the porch of the cottage “cheese” on this Friday night, I don’t have any pressing blog concerns. I see the weekend warriors starting to arrive after their hectic workdays pursuing the Almighty Dollar. They look beat. They arrive, look at the undulating water, grunt and retire to the couch inside their weekend domiciles. Just a month ago, I was among them. Now I’m not. Now I’m a graduate student. When does the party start?

I find that the peacefulness of Chautauqua brings a sense of tranquility. Maybe we will start calling the cottage “Tranquility Base.” I can immerse myself in the atmosphere, the care of the lovely little beige cottage (especially since the garage has a new roof on it), and the gardens that surround is. The neighbors came home this afternoon carrying hanging baskets of flowers. What a heart-warming sight! Our other neighbor, a spry 86-year-old, just came out in his fishing outfit and a couple of poles in hand to drown some worms in the Vukote Canal. The wind is friskily blowing around our flags, our neighbor’s Old Glory and our three-flower offering, both snapping in the breeze. A gray blanket of clouds has shrouded what was a lovely, late-afternoon sun. The lake is still kicking up waves. There is hardly a sound. A paddle boat tied up in the canal is rhythmically hitting the breakwall. Occasionally a bird sings a brief song. The laptop computer emits a soft hum. But that’s it. Oh, what a difference from the cities.

What a joy it was planting the gladiolus bulbs in the garden, bringing them from the long winter slumber in our basement to their summer home in the soil of Vukote. Maybe that is my calling – gardener, caretaker, keeper of the soft and beautiful vegetation. That brings the mind to focus, telling me that is what is important in this world – life and its nurturing.

As dusk approaches, I wait for my son to arrive. Tomorrow morning we help our good friends put the dock in the lake. It’s a major project (three or four hours), and a small army of men and sometimes women lend their hands. I view it as one of the happiest days of the year because it signals the start of the summer season – a time for fun, conviviality and long nights spent around bonfires. The boat also goes in the water. I can’t wait to take the first seasonal ride down Chautauqua from Bemus Point, where we launch it every year, under the Veterans Bridge and into the open south basin. I hit the throttle and the 18-foot Searay screams down the lake toward the Vukote Canal. What a fabulous rush that is. And it only happens once a year, so you better savor it.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to seeing my son. I think his anti-materialistic outlook on life played a part in me forsaking a safe corporate job and taking off on this weird path of going back to school. I hope a year from now, I can thank him and all my wonderful family and friends for helping me to re-invent and reshape my life.

As a final note, I haven’t mentioned my “going away” party that some former co-workers held for me earlier in the week. It was a low-key, maudlin affair. I knew that night that I hadn’t made a mistake.