Author: Marty Luster

As Mary Barker has reported, things are hopping down at the Gloucester Marine Railways. Here, two visitors take in the scene.

Don’t forget the Friends of Fred Bodin Fund 

 Gloucester’s Joanie on a Pony (with RD). Photo by Paul Morrison.

New Orleans’ Joanie in full stride.

Encore, first posted May 18, 2012.

Many GMG regular readers are aware that our friend and fellow GMG contributor Fred Bodin has been hospitalized since late January. Fred has been diagnosed with cancer, is receiving treatment and is undergoing a rigorous course of physical therapy to help him regain mobility that has been impaired as a result of the disease. He is making slow but steady progress.

Fred’s business, Bodin Historic Photo on Main Street, Gloucester, has been closed since January. Running the gallery had been a one-person job, and that person was Fred. With no income coming in, bills have mounted up and, if this jewel of Main Street for more than 18 years is to remain, we must come to Fred’s aid now. Fred is doing his part by working hard at his rehab with every intention of resuming his usual place in the darkroom and behind the counter where he will again be a gracious host when it’s time to party and a good friend to all who walk through his door.

To help Fred deal with his mounting business and other expenses, we have established the “Friends of Fred Bodin Fund.” Please contribute as generously as possible. We need to help this vital member of our community through this difficult time and to say “thank you” for his warmth and friendship over the years.

Checks should be payable to “Friends of Fred Bodin Fund” and mailed to the Fund c/o Marty Luster, 6 Castle View Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Donations are not tax deductible.

With your help and with Fred’s determination, Bodin Historic Photo will be back in business soon.

Thank you for your generosity.

Sincerely,

Marty Luster and Donna Ardizonni

   One Shell Square, tallest building in New Orleans (and all of Louisiana). It is even taller than the state’s highest mountain.

 Priestess Miriam at the Voodoo Spiritual Temple, New Orleans.

Here is a short slideshow. A video will be posted in a few days.

Frenchman’s Pier

How sublime it would be to have lived here as a child;

to amble out on Frenchman’s Pier to cast a line,

or, in the early morning, hear the tide softly

brush the marsh grass of the Little River’s gentle shores.

Oh, what it would have been like to take my skiff

to explore Susan Point and Stanwood Point

and keep going beyond Biskie Head into the

Annisquam – and from there – from there, anywhere!

A place where I could steer a course in a summer breeze

that never ends and see foreign lands and

mountains and magical islands, all while on

my back, gazing up from Frenchman’s Pier.

© Marty Luster 2012
Encore, first posted July 22, 2012.

I’ll be taking a short break from daily posts. See you soon.
Marty

 never fails to amaze them.