Darlin’, here I sit on Tybee Beach, on the Atlantic Ocean near Savannah, GA, looking over the fine sand beach, out at the salty, shark filled water, missing you more each day. Your fresh waters, safely un-sharked, may be icy at times, but are always lovely to taste, to look at, to calm me. Here the ocean is so tentative, not certain about covering the shore, coming in and going back twice each day. They excuse this behavior by calling it tides. Oh Leelanau, your water stays on the beach, even in winter, when it is solid and slippery and sometimes ice boat-able.
Darlin’, here the iced tea is sweet by default, grits and gravy appear on every breakfast plate, next to nice biscuits and undercooked eggs (over easy means 15 seconds of frying per side, not enough to even congeal the whites). Over medium is the code here for proper over easy eggs as you know them.
Oh, Leelanau, Sugar, I miss your hills: wooded, cherry tree covered, grapevine draped. I miss your cool nights, filled with stars and northern lights. I miss your trillium, your sugar maples, your sand between my toes. I miss your bug-free days as I sit here, itching.
I can hardly wait to be with you again. I will not stray again. I can enjoy a glass of wine while we relax together.
Larry Mawby lives in Suttons Bay and founder of L. Mawby wines. He is a current board member of the Leelanau Conservancy.
