As the enraptured hours of our resort on Hilton Head Island diminish progressively, approaching our departure a week hence, I find myself having frequented only lately two venues which I have intriguingly spied – though had not yet frequented – throughout our two month tenancy here beginning the end of January last.  The tardiness speaks to the odd characteristic upon arriving at an unfamiliar territory to seek to discover, rather than what is immediately at hand and inviting perusal, instead that which is further beyond and unspeaking except because of its distance.

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Gems in the Rough
March 29, 2010
JoAnn Ferguson

The glint in JoAnn Ferguson’s eye—if you catch it before she evasively looks away—betrays her mischief. The slight curl of her lips barely disguises the pleasure she derives from her devilment. Opinionated to a fault, she needs only a hint of assent or objection to translate her correspondent’s reaction into either glee or resentment. Don’t expect direct statements, just innuendo—usually deprecatory. Her tongue moves with the precision of a lizard’s, striking quickly and with intent. Some call it satire; I find it more visceral than cerebral.

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Unwittingly, we merged into the measured chaos of breakfast at Palmetto Bay Sunrise Café, rousing ourselves from the overnight tangle of sheets and blankets promptly at six a.m. in preparation for our scheduled departure. Showered, shaven, and dressed in freshly laundered clothes scented with lavender, we ventured into the early morning shadows, where the distant sun had yet to make its presence known. The winding corridors of Sea Pines Drive and Greenwood Drive, leading to Arrow Road and Helmsman Way, demanded careful attention as we navigated their dark, narrow passages.

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Although it has been pushed aside by the daily commotions emanating from the White House, the weather continues to disturb the innards of many coastal proprietors throughout the globe. It appears that it is not only history that repeats itself.

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The arrival today at 09:02 of the Vernal Equinox—the beginning of astronomical spring and the end of astronomical winter in the Northern Hemisphere—marked the accelerated descent toward our departure from Hilton Head Island less than ten days hence. This swift approach was further distinguished by an uncommonly cool, dry, and breezy climate, perfectly suited to a thin wool sweater, a silken scarf, and white woolen socks—a moderate shield against the elements, whether predictable or unexpectedly contrary to the euphoria of the irradiant day.

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When we’re young and in school, filtering in and out of classrooms and on and off athletic fields, hearing the constant noise of our companions to whom we are seemingly conjoined like darting fish in a shared current, we may overlook the bounty of society. Later as life propels us forward through advanced studies, careers, travel and the myriad demands of existence we develop differences into which we separate from the herd and become progressively distant from one another. We begin meeting new people of entirely different and unpredicted parallels. We may even fall in love. Yet amid this flux the connection or acquaintance which stands out from all the others is that of friendship, whether newly formed or continuing from adolescence. Friendship, that undeniable preserve of distinction, can mark a lifetime like an embossed stamp.

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It disturbs me that the much-touted and predictable demographic changes on the horizon are illogically perceived as the advent of social, cultural, religious and economic change. From my vantage the recognizable demographic change will be confined to changes of age, popular youthful diversions, slang and drinks. In short nothing but the usual over time.  As for the patent change of people’s outer colour (and perhaps their sartorial expression) the change is skin-deep only, not anything catastrophic affecting the principles of either democracy or the “American Way of Life”. Walmart survives in spite of approaching demographic change.

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There are a number of things in life which I would readily characterize as ineffable. Two of those items are sunshine and a windy day, both of which distinguish this spectacular day on Hilton Head Island, March 17th, 2025. I am anxious to note the date because the occasion may later arise when, thumbing casually through this catalogue of codswallop, I am reminded of what it is about Hilton Head Island, South Carolina that for the past decade has so stimulated me. Today the sunshine exudes its untarnished brilliance from a perfectly clear azure sky which is continuously brushed clean off the North Atlantic Ocean by wind gusts of 38 km/h from the northwest, carrying with it a balmy 63°F.

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Most people are familiar with the post mortem trust encapsulated by the last will and testament; that is, an arrangement whereby money or things are entrusted to the care of an executor (manager) for the benefit of those called the beneficiaries (sometimes referred to as the cestui que trust or “person entitled to the advantage” short for “cestui a que use le trust est crée” of “person for whose benefit anything is given in trust to another”). The importance here is to distinguish an arrangement meant to occur after one’s death and an arrangement made with living people or “inter vivos”. In both instances the root of the arrangement is a trust; that is, something for the benefit of others not necessarily for the benefit of the person managing the property (money or things).

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It may be only my imagination, but as I caught a passing glimpse of those walking about this morning, it occurred to me that Sundays are all about dressing up. While I would like to attribute this characteristic primarily to the church-going crowd, our morning venues today included nothing of a presbyteral or ecclesiastic nature. Despite my sparing acceptance of devotion by others, my own loyalty to syllogistic reasoning compels me otherwise. Instead, the fashion display was born from our routine visit to Palmetto Bay Sunrise Café for breakfast, followed by a stop at Publix for groceries, before retreating home ahead of the Severe Weather and Tornado Watch poised to scour the Florida Panhandle and nearby regions, particularly Bluffton and Beaufort.

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