Castiners in Haiti

By Portia Mills *
Rural Haiti may seem an unlikely place for a gathering of Castine “natives.” But on a Friday evening in mid-March, an unexpectedly large group of folks with deep ties to Castine—Danielle and Larry Mutty, their adult son Paul and his daughter Sarah, Joe Kilch, and I—all gathered around a large dinner table to enjoy the evening air and chat with Fr. Marc Boisvert at his orphanage. Fr. Marc is well known to many in Castine from his first diocesan assignment, as well as Pwoje Espwa, the orphanage he founded in 1998....

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a reminder....

that life is wildly, fantastically and amazingly beautiful. Even on a foggy, Maine day, there is beauty. Some times, we need reminding.

the smell of wild sea roses

Stopping to smell the roses on Caterpillar Hill, Maine.

Mid-Coast Maine Sunset

the shores of Penobscot

- pink rain - glowing sunset - evergreens growing down onto the beach - steal gray tide - rocky islands - billowing clouds -

My childhood memories are built on Maine's stone-scattered shores. In many ways, my friends and I can say we become who we are today because of the cool summer nights and constant contact with raw nature. The place is a touchstone for us -- a place where we can return to see familiar faces and landscapes. When we take off to far corners, we create a vast network anchored in the deep Penobscot Bay.

I am grateful to all my friends - new and old, relatives too - and especially those with whom I passed endless summers, musing on sun-soaked rocks and gazing upon star-flecked skies. The last months have shown me the significance of these brainstorming and R&R sessions. As we enter the period in our lives when we can aid each other in crucial ways as we struggle to make something of ourselves, I am struck by the loyalty and vitality of our solid foundations.