Memory is such a strange part of the human experience. Some memories are just so visceral, recordings of moments that shaped us, nevermind their seeming insignificance. Meanwhile, others fade away to brief flashes and fuzzy imprints, no matter how desperately we want to cling to them.
I distinctly remember when I learned about the longest day of the year. I was seven, and didn’t understand what a solstice was, or what it really meant as far as planetary movements and their impacts on weather and temperature. That all went (and, let’s be honest, still kinda goes) over my head. But, I knew that, when my dad woke me up far too early on our Pacific Northwest vacation, the sun shouldn’t be up yet.
We were in Newport, Oregon, on our way to see Keiko at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. It was my first visit to the PNW, and even as a wee thing, I knew it was where I wanted to live someday. Everything about it enchanted me, from the salt air to the bedtime sunsets to the nature waiting to be explored just beyond our motel door.
So, it was early. Too early, and far too bright when my dad woke me up with a video camera in my face. My dad’s very much an up and at ’em sort of guy. My whole life he’s been up before dawn, sipping coffee in the half-light, poking at a laptop, and listening to the news. It’s his quiet time, I think. A time to himself to gather his thoughts and prepare for his day. So by the time he woke me up from my restless childhood slumber, he was rip-roaring and ready to go.
“Get up, Britt, it’s the longest day of the year!” I can still hear it, the sort of celebratory note in his voice. As if a day with so much sunshine were a gift just for us. A day where we would do anything.
I’ve since heard him use that voice, that tone, countless times. With me on other summer vacations and with my younger siblings on their summer vacations. On countless home videos, trapped on tape, and newer recordings shared across social media. I hear it every year on June 21st, his voice ringing in my memory. Reminding me that there’s so much time. Challenging me to DO something with it.
So, this year, I’m doing something. Not a vacation or a roadtrip out to the coast (although both of those sound lovely). This year I’m joining Ben Gorman and the Not a Pipe Publishing authors in raising awareness and funds for the fight against Alzheimer’s. As part of the Alzheimer’s Association’s #TheLongestDay, team Writing Against the Darkness will be writing together via Zoom from sunrise (5:25am) to sunset (9:01pm) on Tuesday, June 21st.
And while you’ll never catch me diminishing the power of words, there’s more we can do to help. We’re writing, challenging ourselves, in the hopes you’ll support us with a donation to the Alzheimer’s Association. We have a team goal of $5,000, and are over halfway there already!
I’ll be tweeting status updates throughout the day, on both myself and the team, so either make sure to follow me on twitter, or to keep an eye on the homepage for the twitter stream. I’ll also do a recap post after I sleep for like 18 hours and can successfuly string words together again. I’m also considering doing something special for donors who are also Newsletter subscibers, but I don’t know what quite yet. Maybe a video? Hmmmm…
You can expect me to talk about this quite a bit from now to the 21st, so just a heads up. Otherwise, I’ll be back on Monday with a Goals Summary.
Until then,
BZ
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