Jollification of Fort Clinch & Goodbye Lie Excerpt

welcome to Fort Clinch

Fort Clinch, here on Amelia Island, invited the public to their annual Jollification.  What is this you ask?  It is just as it sounds.  A joyous celebration of Christmas inside the fort. My husband, Bruce, and I were lucky enough to help serve hot chocolate and cookies to all the visitors. There seemed to be more guests this year.  Perhaps the full moon, mild weather and clear skies enticed so many to come out.

 

Some years ago, we attended a reenactors' Christmas ball as spectators. The Fort Clinch ball was the background for a scene in my historical novel, The Goodbye Lie.  Here is an excerpt from that scene.  As you look at the photos, you might better imagine the story.



And so The Goodbye Lie goes like this:   
  
      Pulling onto the long path to the fort, they followed the lamps from preceding conveyances through the dark. Nearing their destination, they found the traffic had slowed to creeping as ladies and gentlemen alighted from their transports. 
     Single candles in each brick framed window glittered star-like against the thick, wavy glass. A huge bonfire sent sparks up into the night, swirling wild from the bitter wind off the ocean, until they burned themselves out. Even the shelter of the fortifications did little to alleviate the piercing cold.

 a tin whistle is played & Christmas carols sung as a bonfire warms

     Music was heard, softly, then loudly again at each opening of the door to the second floor common room where the dance was being held. Once inside, Breelan took it all in. The entire length of the banister of the straight wooden staircase was swagged with a pine needle garland and the garland was draped with a red and green paper chain that had been her particular contribution. The smells of gingerbread and apple cider wafted down as they climbed up into the excitement. Add the fires burning in the fireplaces at both ends of the room, their logs strewn with cinnamon sticks and dried orange peel, and Breelan was carried back to earlier, happier Christmases.

note the full moon

     Eager eyes were fixed on the entrance to see who arrived with whom and in what fashionable garb. As Trip removed her black velvet cape with burgundy satin lining, Breelan's friends found her. Tonight, she wore the prettiest dress she'd ever possessed. Her mother and grandmother had created an entire gown of horizontally sewn rows of ivory lace. The drop shoulders were edged with four-inch white fringe, which allowed her upper arms to peek out. Pink and gold silk rosebuds intertwined in a vine of ivy leaves to diagonally cross the bodice. More rosebuds sat atop pale bows scattered over the drape covering an underskirt of ecru satin. An oval coral brooch outlined with tiny seed pearls and pinned to her mother's string of pearls, was positioned at the base of her throat, her earbobs matching. White gloves only long enough to cover her forearms, an amethyst ring on her right hand overtop the glove, and a tussie mussie of small pink poinsettias in a lace cone completed the picture of loveliness that she was. The women touched her gown, admiring its grandeur and the beauty of the woman who wore it.

     Trip enjoyed the envy in every man's eyes as he proclaimed Breelan his possession by staying nearby and playing with her sleeve trim or touching the back of her neck. She wanted to swat him away like some bothersome fly.

     ... The glowing fireplaces kept most of the cold at bay. They blazed high, casting a golden haze on everyone and everything. Passing the door in dance, Breelan felt a rush of raw wind enter the room, along with a late arriving couple. The cape the man wore was not military. She saw the woman next. The blonde hair, piled a little too high on the head, left no doubt that it was Leona Visper, a figure not seen since New York City and more importantly, not missed. Looking again at the silhouette of shoulders, Breelan realized the identity of the singer's escort. It was then that eyes met, expressions hardened and polite nods were exchanged. 

decorated mantle

decorated table

 





                                              

                                         good evening



Bruce, Mr. and Mrs. Father Christmas and Jane Marie

PS - I have to mention how very dim it was inside the candlelit rooms of the fort.  My flash on my camera phone changed the look to bright and cheery. Yes, everything has a golden cast because of the fireplaces and lanterns and candles, but it was very hard to see to read or do any needlework as several ladies in period costume were.  One woman said she had to quit sewing because her eyes were giving out. I never realized before I'd done my research how dark a home would be once the sun went down.  I guess that's why they have candlelight tours of places.  We find it fetching and cozy and intriguing, but only for a special occasion.  Once we've lived with bright electric lights, I expect there would be many a whine heard if we returned to that dark part of times past.  We are spoiled.

Oh, and one more thing.  Candle light changes colors.  Last year I commented upon the pretty purple pattern in the dress worn by a reenactor.  She told me it was green in the light of day!

 

Great Christmas Idea

Speaking of Christmas---I recently emailed  our annual randomly chosen Christmas List to everyone in the family who is  employed and out of school and is old enough to purchase one gift for another member.   Every adult has something to open  and no one has to worry about breaking the bank with buying individual gifts for all. Anything on sale works, but a reasonable limit is set and, ignoring inflation, we always keep the limit the same.  I’d tell you what our limit is but then you would discover either how cheap or extravagant we are. Besides, I like to add mystery to your lives. 
 
So here is the great Christmas idea. I was talking to Christine Clark, a very nice new acquaintance, and she told me what her family does in December.  They, too, draw names and every Christmas Eve, they exchange a pair of brand new and freshly laundered (to remove the sizing) pajamas and a book!   They dress in their jammies and eat fondue and do  wholesome all-American family activities.  (We always have Grampy read The Night Before Christmas to the children.  Very sweet.  This, of course, goes along with the book theme).
 
No matter what you do for your Christmas, if you don’t already have a single gift exchange with a limit, please consider it. Just think, no after Christmas credit card bills to pay!
 
PS  All bets are off when it comes to the little ones and presents, of course!

2012 Annual Christmas Letter

Dear Friends,

It's that time of year when our family shares the highlights of bygone months.  Hang on, for what you're about to read will be… Well, hang on, if you dare...

Mother asked: "What is the score?"

Her Brother replied: "10 to10."
Mother: "Who is winning?"
Her Brother:  "It's 10 to 10."
Mother, laughing: "Oh, since you're a Navy man, I’m glad it's Navy."
Her Brother: "It's 10 to 10."
Mother: "Beat Army!" (Mother is proud of her sports knowledge.)

Father rewired the front porch light.  Whenever the family flips the switch, the hair dryer starts blowing cold.  Mother says the A/C bill is lower and spent the extra money on a nose hair trimmer for Father.  Braiding his nose hair was taking too much time away from grass mowing.

Cousin Isning's left earlobe went missing. 

The family went on a cruise to the Bahamas.  Father said next time he'll spring for food. The good news is everybody looked better in their swim suits.

 

After adopting a rescued doggie, Mother said to Her Brother who was moving in for a very long unexpected visit, "Where is the dog?  I don't want her to run outside."

Her Brother: "I know exactly where she is.  She's biting my right ankle."
Mother:  "Oh good!  After you put on thicker socks, give her one of these biscuits and praise her so she'll keep doing it and we'll always know where to find her." Mother should be an animal trainer.

Uncle Knuckle gave Niece a candle for her birthday. Father worried she would burn her house down.  Uncle Knuckle pointed out that her house is termite-ridden so Father gave her an extra book of matches to speed the process. 

Daughter walked the beach and left a small pile of special seashells on the shore near the water.  When she returned the next day with a bucket to collect them, they were gone.  With such blatant disregard of citizen's property, she wonders what will be next?  Stealing dandelions?

Cousin Gassie reports his bowel sounds have improved. 

 

Aunt Rantie asked Mother, "Since they all have four legs and a tail, how does a dog know it's not a cat and a cat know it's not a dog?"  Not wanting to appear superior in her knowledge, Mother blew her nose.
 

The glue on the church envelopes tastes like red paint.

The neighborhood got new orange recycling cans.  Cousin Irk says the color suits him better than the regular gray trash can and likes his new digs.

Canned peaches are still on aisle 5.

Father discovered that if you turn a book upside down, the words are upside down, too. 

The bread often has green edges.  Mother is pleased because the color matches her vinyl place mats.

The ice cream melted too fast and Father is preparing to take legal action.

 

The mailman has crusty elbows.

 

That's the news from sunny
 Amelia Island, Florida.

Merry Christmas
 and don't eat too much tinsel.  

 Happy 2013, too!

Annual Holiday Letter 2011

My Own Dear Friends,

Since our lives on Amelia Island, Florida are chockfull of dubious delights, artificial adventures and loony-bin hilarity, we want to share just a part. Here goes:

Father works in a factory. A rat fell from the ceiling onto his shoulder. Father became disgruntled when they changed brands of pencils. Management offered him a lateral transfer from white socks sock stretcher to black socks sock stretcher. He realizes this is an honor.

Daughter only run one marathon and three triathlons this year. She is 7/8 inches shorter than she was twelve months ago, using the excessive pounding on her feet, as the reason. The family knows better. She's just lazy.

Auntie Rantie took Lucky to the store and they never returned. We sure miss that dog.

Cousin Freddie is considering being either a lingerie model or a lady cab driver.

Son-in-law is much better now.

Father enjoys having his eyebrows licked by the cat while he watches the wrestling channel.

Mother's orange crop was abundant this season, but blemished because she used no pesticides. Embarrassed by their spots, under cover of darkness, she left a box on the church doorstep. Dreada, the nasty neighbor, saw the whole escapade, and is now blackmailing Mother. Her price? The use of our paperclips on demand. We wonder how long we can endure.

Son ate his finger.

Bird passed away and Father put him in the freezer until the ground thawed enough to dig a hole.

Granddaughter learned how to drink from the left side of the glass.

The cat, we'll call him Gleet, hacked-up a big one.

Father stubbed his toe and said, "Shucky darn!"

We had a frozen pizza on Wednesday.

The Atlantic Ocean is still in the same place.

Merry Christmas from Amelia Island

PS To find earlier Annual Holiday Letters from Our Family and to get a better understanding of our exotic lifestyle, visit http://www.greenlightwrite.com/newsletterarchive.htm

Say It Ain't So, St. Joe

Take a look at the picture of our front yard to the right.  Note the absence of one, Saint Joseph.  Yes, friends, in the middle of the night, someone absconded with the third member of our Christmas family. We thought perhaps it was the wind but after searching the neighborhood and asking any and all if they'd seen him, the sad answer was the same.  No.  Because he lights at night with a bulb, he not only was snatched, he was unplugged! This means the crime was premeditated!

I used to work at our local downtown Christmas shop.  One day I discovered the Baby Jesus was missing from his little manger. I was horrified until I said to myself, "If they want and need him that badly, they can have him."  I'm thinking along those lines with regard to Saint Joseph. If they need him for some good reason, to their minds that is, then you have him with my blessing.  If they took him only for the purpose of vandalism, then I suspect their little prank will haunt them every Christmas of their lives. A mild haunt it may be but a haunt, nevertheless.

Merry Christmas one and all- and I include YOU!

***
from The Goodbye Lie Diaries - Miss Ella
December 1880s
Fernandina, Florida                                                                              

Dear Jane Marie,

Thievery of any kind is abhorrent, but to steal a symbol of the Holy Family is near unspeakable. May we all be so forgiving as you. May your Christmas be blessed and may the new year being the best of delights.

With sincerest love,

Miss Ella