As the year comes to an end, and thoughts of necessity turn to those who have moved on to other adventures, the days are just beginning to have a bit more light. That brings the possibilities of a new slate of adventures.
Our celebrations point to hopes new and old as we reflect on the majesty of a starry sky.
Loved ones gathering for stories of hijinks and mischief in times past form the base for feasting. Exotic foods, a welcoming fire and liquids, mysterious and murky, that blossom into aromatic delights provide a counterpoint to the bustle of cousins, aunts, uncles, ne’er-do-wells, old friends and new. All hint at the joys and sorrows in the future.
For now, it is enough to munch on the nibbles and drink toasts to a future as yet unknown.
Stars light the night. Under the hand of a helmsman, gifted with farsight and focused on the distant horizon, our ships leave these shores into a new beginning for our faith in what might be: a more joyous and bountiful year.
We know that hope exists. It exists as a newly born life that will need nurturing and guidance to continue to that improbable star — the star that is steady in the light of hope. It is our shared tomorrow.
New adventures await us all. Revel in the moment of true joy and share that joy as a new light in the darkness of the winter night.
Happy New Year!
Orpheus Allison is a photojournalist living in The County who graduated from UMPI and earned a master of liberal arts degree from the University of North Carolina. He began his journalism career at WAGM television, later working in many different areas of the US. After 20 years of television he changed careers and taught in China and Korea.
