“The day was fresh and new, like a shiny penny.” — Robert McCloskey
The light slices into a night’s darkness on the edge of rolling over into day. Diesel fumes belch on cold air as fishing boats cut swaths through water even colder to fishing grounds where family fished again and again. Hours before, soft lights of a bedroom, a kitchen, a porch quietly come to life lighting the way into a day not yet here.
It happens all over Down East Maine, especially during fishing season. An early morning is greeted by hot mugs of coffee, cold breaths, warm clothes, aged boots and dogs needing to go outside. The sun is an hour or two away from the horizon when the pickup truck pulls out of the drive.
The fisherman though is not alone in these early morning pursuits, which seem to be part and parcel to what a Down East life is all about. Many people living here are up well before the sun, making good use of a day before that day has a chance to figure things out. We are the first in this country to see the sunrise because many of us are up to see that sun rise.
In houses, trailers and camps up and down this coast, life begins early and ends for some even earlier. Coffee makers drip, radios murmur and chirp, TVs blink images, laptops open, books open and the local newspaper — which better be open — all welcome what is sure to be a full day.
I was never an early riser until I came Down East. Before that — when I called Pennsylvania home — I had my morning calculated down to the minute. Up and dressed with a few minutes to spare, coffee in hand, I was out the door for a 35-minute drive to the city where I worked.
Here my mornings typically begin at 5 a.m. and, depending on the time of year, that means waking up in total darkness or with a sliver of light reaching up from the horizon. Rather than feeling hurried, I am like Sal, up with the light, excited to be doing something, going somewhere or just “being” in the moment surrounded by many moments. What they may turn out to be is part of the joy every day brings.
One Morning in Maine is a beloved children’s book by Robert McCloskey. It is a story that captures the imagination of young readers, while also leaving behind nuggets of inspiration giving us “older” children that warm feeling as if we are seeing the sun greet the day for the very first time.
The story takes place in a small coastal village in Maine and is about Sal, a young girl who lives on an island with her parents and younger sister Jane. It is early morning and Sal finds that her tooth is loose. Her mother tells her to be careful with it because the loss of her first tooth brings the prospect of a wish being fulfilled. As the day unfolds, Sal sets out on numerous adventures with her father. Together, they explore the natural beauty of their surroundings, from watching seagulls, finding a feather, digging clams to visiting the local garage for a spark plug and returning milk bottles to the grocery store.
One Morning in Maine not only tells a heartwarming and relatable story, but also highlights the importance of family, the wonder of nature, and the passage of time. The entire story reflects McCloskey’s deep appreciation and affection for the natural world and his ability to highlight that beauty in life’s simplest of moments — like that of an early morning.
I think all of us living here Down East share something intrinsic with every morning that arrives. And that “something” lies at the heart of McCloskey’s story of Sal and her family amidst this place called Maine. There are life lessons that coalesce into a communal story of what makes early morning special.
The early morning hour offers one quiet time to value family while being curious of nature, and reaffirms that sense of being self-sufficient, all while taking measure of one’s life — personally, as a family, and as a member of that community they call home.
The morning light that crests the horizon brings with it pure possibilities of a day that always lies awake, waiting for us to catch it. We do so in our own way, in our own time, but catch it we must.
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“In the morning light, everything is possible.” — Robert McCloskey