My View of Life on the Dock
Joey will appreciate this. I have operated as Khan Studio for eleven years. Since deciding to open my studio here at 1 Wonson Street, I thought it might be time for a new name. I’ve been thinking about it while getting the place set up and today remembered what Joey said when he came here shortly after I moved it. He said: “I feel like I’m in a hobbit house.” So I’m thinking Hobbit House Studio. Do you think the name fits?
E.J. Lefavour (chief hobbit)
Now you can learn to recognize the 27 Cape Ann Artists and Photographers exhibiting at the Magnolia Historical Society Spring Art Show by coming to the show, seeing their work and maybe buying a piece to grace your home. A great way to recognize and support local artists and the Magnolia Historical Society.
Thanks to FOB David Simmons for submitting the How to Recognize Artists of Paintings, Magnolia Historical Society for hosting and to Thom Falzarano for organizing the show.
E.J. Lefavour
Only 15 days til Spring…
After that, there are only 21 more days until the Spring Art Show at the Magnolia Historical Society. From the icy grip of winter emerges a fresh new body of work by some of your favorite Cape Ann artists. While it may not be the first Art Show of Spring 2014, it is lining up to the best. Mark your calendars now, and pray we won’t have snow.
E.J. Lefavour
I recently came across this old photo of me and my surfing buddy Karen. We were probably 15 or 16 at the time – wasn’t I cute back then! Obviously no surf that day, so we were coming in early. I used to spend 7-8 hours a day out on the water in Ogunquit, Maine when there were any kind of waves – only stopping for lunch and hot coffee to soothe my chattering teeth and blue lips, then going back out until my family stood on shore and waved me in because they wanted to go home. Now, almost 45 years later, I still don’t want to get off that board. Can’t wait for summer! Karen, Brenda, Margi, Becky, Violet, fellow SUP Gals and all lovers of being on the water, do you feel me?
I can only remember one bad experience on the water as a surfer. It was November and a hurricane had passed by leaving awesome waves in its wake. I begged my father (I didn’t yet have a driver’s license) to take me surfing. He took me to Safety Beach in Nahant and stayed in the car, watching me with binoculars.
Surf was running 10-12 feet; my norm was 3-5 on a good day. It took me a long time to make it out beyond the breakers. He says I was half way to Egg Rock (probably 1/2 a mile out). By the time I got out, I was exhausted and had to sit out the incoming set of monsters while I caught my breath, plus I was scared shitless, never having been out in surf that big before. Three or four big swells raised me high to their crest and then down into their trough. Then I made the near fatal mistake of turning my back to the sea. The next wave was huge, and when I looked back, it was preparing to break over me. There was nothing I could do. It crashed and sent me flying from my board, and sent my board careening to shore without me (they didn’t have tethers back in those days). After that, every wave crashed on me, pushing me far below the surface in a maelstrom of swirling water. I would reach the surface just in time to grab a breath of air, before the next wave crashed, pushing me into the depths. I was certain I would drown that day. Thank God it was cold so I was wearing a full wetsuit or I certainly would have. At the same time, the current was pushing me further down shore from where I had gone in.
I eventually made it to shore, collapsing exhausted at the water’s edge where my Dad arrived to help me back to the car.
That experience gave me the greatest respect for the ocean, which I still love passionately, but with the healthy modicum of fear, that we all should have.
E.J. Lefavour
Alzheimer’s Disease is not a happy subject, nor one that is specifically Cape Ann focused, but is one that has, is now, or may one day effect many GMG contributors and readers, personally or through a loved one.
My mother, who is a very young, healthy and still beautiful 82 year old, has been suffering from increasing memory loss for a couple of years, and has been on Donepezil for almost a year, with little noticeable affect. Recently she took a sudden, severe and alarming cognitive nosedive which has resulted in my spending more time at her house attempting to get her back on a even keel and doing damage control on the chaos of paperwork, bills not paid, and other alarming developments that occurred very rapidly. While going through and organizing papers and her surroundings, I have been coming across a lot of the old photos and history that you have been seeing me share on the blog recently.
Over the past year, I have been researching Alzheimer’s, memory and brain health in general. I wanted to share some of what I have learned in case it might be beneficial to someone else in a similar situation, now or in the future. Also, if anyone has other helpful information to share from their own experiences, it would be most welcome. Continue reading “The Dreaded AD”
Hussein bin Talal, Ḥusayn bin Ṭalāl; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from the abdication of his father, King Talal, in 1952, until his death. Hussein’s rule extended through the Cold War and four decades of Arab-Israeli conflict. He recognized Israel in 1994, becoming the second Arab head of state to do so (after Anwar Sadat in 1978/1979).
“He won the respect and admiration of the entire world and so did his beloved Jordan. He is a man who believed that we are all God’s children, bound to live together in mutual respect and tolerance.” (US President, Bill Clinton)
“He was an extraordinary and immensely charismatic persuader for peace. At the peace talks in America when he was extremely ill, he was there, talking to both sides, urging them forward, telling them nothing must stand in the way of peace.” (UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair)
“President Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian people and leadership have received with great sorrow and pain the news,” it said in a statement. The Palestinian Authority
South African President Nelson Mandela believed the death would be “deeply mourned by all peace-loving people.”
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan paid tribute to the late king, praising him for his “lifelong struggle to bring peace”. (excerpts from Wikipedia)
In addition to being a great leader and persuader for peace, did you know that King Hussein was also a scuba diver? This is a letter I found going through old papers and photos at my mother’s house this weekend, from King Hussein’s office, placing an order with my father, Willis Lefavour’s scuba diving business (Seacraft Industries) for an assortment of diving related items for His Majesty. This has nothing at all to do with Cape Ann, but I thought it was cool and worth sharing.
E.J. Lefavour
Satruday, December 1st from 2-4pm, in the Friend Room at the Sawyer Free Library. With Susan Oleksiw, moderator. The panel includes my husband, Tom Hauck, GMG’s E.J., Kathleen Valentine, Margery Leach, David Simmons, and Jane Ward.
Snapshots from Tales of Bong Tree Island book launch. Congratulations E.J.!
E.J. Lefavour
Ed and E.J.
Marty and Barbara Luster
E.J. and Joey
Tales of Bong Tree Island
Hi Joey, I thought readers might want to see what was in my inbox this morning:
“Dear Kim,
Thank you for turning me on to Good Morning Gloucester. Every city (and town) should have an equivalent. What a great way to communicate enjoyments, appreciations, concerns, and complaints.”
We are truly blessed as a community to have a resource like Good Morning Gloucester. Thank you Joey and GMG team for all the good you have created, and continue to do, for our beloved community.
Our Fearless Leader
Good Morning Gloucester Team Members and Friends of the Blog
Doug Silva who has been making some fantastic changes as manager at his father’s Topside Grill invited our posse to fill the newly renovated space with our photos. If you haven’t heard by now from Paul Morrison’s Seasonal Restaurant Openings list, The Topside will be opening April 1st.
We stopped by Saturday morning to drop off our work and I’ll be posting some images of each of our contributors with their pieces all week long. You can check it all out for yourself (and get some great grub) on April 1st at Topside grill.
E.J. Lefavour
E.J. Lefavour writes-
Did you know (of course you did):
That the City of Gloucester is home to one of the finest natural harbors in Massachusetts and is the oldest fishing port on the East Coast of the United States. Gloucester was actually settled soon after the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth in the early 1620s, and due to an abundant fish supply, the city quickly grew to become one of the largest fishing ports in the world in the 19th Century. Today Gloucester remains an important fishing port, its working harbor home to a colorful fleet. Since records have been kept, over 5,000 Gloucestermen have been lost at sea trying to earn a living and feed the world.
This is for all that go down to the sea in ships to earn their living and help feed the world. May you always arrive home safely, with a good catch.
E.J. Lefavour – Khan Studio
www.khanstudiointernational.com
Did you know:
That this is a Photo-shopped photo of the blue gate on Main Street in Rockport, sent to all my Cape Ann neighbors as a special Christmas greeting. Hope everyone’s holidays are as special and wonderful as this time of year is meant to be.
E.J. Lefavour- Khan Studio
www.khanstudiointernational.com
E. J. Lefavour writes-
Did you know:
That during both new and full moon phases, the gravitational attraction of the moon is in line with the gravitational pull of the sun, producing high tides and low tides 20% higher and lower respectively than average tide levels. While there is little difference in the magnitude of tide heights during new and full moon phases, tides do reach unusual heights when the moon is both unusually close to the Earth and in the new moon phase, due to the combined pull of the moon and sun together. These proxigean spring tides occur approximately once every 1.5 years. These tides occur when the Earth, Sun and Moon are in line so that the gravitational force of both the Moon and Sun contribute to the tides, and have nothing to do with the season Spring. I don’t know if this new moon low tide on October 7, 2010 at Lighthouse Beach was a proxigean spring tide, but it was exceptionally low, so low that hundreds of sand dollars lay exposed.
E. J. Lefavour- Khan Studio
www.khanstudiointernational.com
E. J. Lefavour writes-
Did you know?
That Greater Yellowlegs, a large sandpiper, breed in muskeg bogs in the northern boreal forest? Their wintering and migration habitats are more general; they can be found in many fresh and saltwater wetland habitats, including open marshes, mudflats, estuaries, open beaches, lakeshores, and riverbanks. In comparison to Lesser Yellowlegs, Greaters are typically found in more open areas, on larger bodies of water, and on more extensive mudflats. Although the Greater Yellowlegs is common and widespread, its low densities and tendency to breed in inhospitable, mosquito-ridden muskegs make it one of the least-studied shorebirds on the continent. A group of yellowlegs are collectively known as an "incontinence" of yellowlegs. This painting is of an incontinence of yellowlegs on a rock at Goose Cove.
E. J. Lefavour-Khan Studio
www.khanstudiointernational.com
E.J. Lefavour writes-
Did you know?
That Roger Babson, founder of Babson College, and the philanthropist millionaire who hired unemployed stonecutters after the Great Depression to carve messages on the boulders scattered throughout Dogtown, was also instrumental in the formation of the Squam Rock Land Trust? This Trust maintains and protects the large tract of rolling meadow, boulders (including Squam Rock) and trails that lead from Walnut Street down to Lighthouse Beach, from development in perpetuity. Sarah Hackett, 84-year-old Annisquam native, remembers when Babson came to her grandfather’s house to impress upon him the importance of protecting this land from the rich who would build their mansions on it and block the village residents’ access. Those of you who know Squam Rock, can you tell what is wrong with this picture?
Answer: (Squam Rock is not actually carved on Squam Rock, but on the granite block at Squam Rock Road and Walnut Street)
E.J. Lefavour Khan Studio www.khanstudiointernational.com
E.J. Lefavour writes-
Did you know?
That Fitz Henry Lane (born Nathaniel Rogers Lane, also known as Fitz Hugh Lane) (19 December 1804 – 14 August 1865) was one of the greatest American maritime painters of a style that would later be called Luminism, for its use of pervasive light. Fitz Henry Lane was born on December 19, 1804, in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Lane was christened Nathaniel Rogers Lane on March 17, 1805, and would remain known as such until he was 27. It was not until March 13, 1832 that the state of Massachusetts would officially grant Lane’s formal request (made in a letter dated December 26, 1831) to change his name from Nathaniel Rogers to Fitz Henry Lane. At the age of 2, he contracted polio, which left his legs paralyzed for life. Lane lived in his severe, granite gabled house, built in 1849, until he died in 1865. From the top-floor studio, he often painted the harbor at sunset. The Cape Ann Historical Museum in Gloucester has the world’s largest collection of Lane’s paintings, which you should definitely go see, if you haven’t yet.
E.J. Lefavour-Khan Studio
www.khanstudiointernational.com
E.J. writes-
Did you know that Annisquam Harbor Light Station, formerly known as Wigwam Point (a name that stems from the long use of the point as a summer gathering place for local Indians), was first built in 1801 at a cost of $2,000 and is now one of the oldest light stations in Massachusetts; and that the little white stone house was used to store oil to light the lamp in the tower?
Painting- E.J. Lefavour Khan Studio
www.khanstudiointernational.com
Good Morning Joey,
Great – this will be fun. Attached is a little info about me, and a painting I did of a turnabout (this painting was donated to the Sawyer Free Library for their annual art auction), info below about it and its history. EJ-
Did you know
That the National 10 class was originally known as the Turnabout class, built in 1953 by Harold R.Turner as a small wooden single or double handed dinghy class at the Parker River Marine. The boats were initially built as a junior training boat, although adults enjoy the boats as well. The class has grown mainly in the New England and Northeastern regions of the U.S. Fleets are located in Northern Lake George, New York, Boston, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine and New Jersey. This turnabout, located in Annisquam on Lobster Cove, is said to be the first turnabout ever built.
I went by the Art Auction display at the library this morning and leafed through the bid book. there were many gorgeous paintings without any bids.
My suggestion is for you to go to that auction tomorrow night (Wednesday) for the live auction and you might just walk away with a great piece for very little dough.
Details-
Annual Art Auction 2010 Rescheduled
The live auction will take place December 8 at 7pm. with a Preview Party at 6pm. Please join the Library for this very special evening.
Wednesday, December 8
Main Floor, 7:00pm
To check out E.J.’s work-
E.J. Lefavour-Khan Studio
www.khanstudiointernational.com
Good Morning Gloucester 