For the Love of Marjorie and Cross Creek

Is it possible to be in love with someone you have never personally met? I found out a few weekends ago that it really can happen. On the trip to Tampa back in June of this year, I passed a sign that pointed to the Marjorie Rawlings Museum and made a mental note to return and visit Cross Creek. As usual, click each photo for a better view.

There is something about the way she described rural life in The Yearling, and Cross Creek that made me enjoy the works of Marjorie Rawlings. And, Just before arriving at the museum I stopped at Locloosa Lake Park and understood the beauty of the area she loved so much.

This panoramic view of the lake gives a sense of the wild nature of the place she found so fascinating. I stood there for a long while to just take it all in and try to see it as she might have.

And, by chance I encountered a volunteer at the museum and realized I had found someone who was truly in love with someone who lived sixty years ago.

He lovingly described how he and others worked to keep the sense of Marjorie alive in the house and their work was rewarded with a feeling that at any moment she would walk out of the back of the house and welcome you in for a great Southern meal.

The barn sits there with her apron waiting to wrap around her to do the small chores that the place requires.

I fully expected to see her walk out of the back of the house ready to drive off into town in her car that has aged but not grown old. He knew so much of her habits he really brought her to life.

The kettle sits on a tablee ready to brew a fresh pot of coffee for the latest round of writing.

And the view out to her garden I'm sure let her know that life on Cross Creek was never far away.

This final view from inside the house as he described her routines took me back to the lazy days of country living and you understood why she loved it here and how much he loved her.

Rawlings may be physically gone but her essence is lovingly cared for by those who love her, and the rural feel of Cross Creeks lives on.