When Stories Happen

I'm an ardent fan of the story that springs from some mundane circumstance or casual connection. And that's just what happened on Sunday when I went into Simple Finds to stock and fluff my booth. As always, when I come in the front door, I greeted all the peeps manning the front counter. No one is ever at a loss to say something nice or welcoming. The place has good chi.

Anywho, Cathleen stopped me. "Remember the piece of wood that you sold, you know, the one with the mermaid and 'Home Sweet Home' you painted on it? Well, Rick made it into a memorial. You've got to see what he did. He's here today. You must find him." No sooner than she'd said that, Rick rounded the corner. He's a fellow vendor, one I've never met before. I introduced myself, and once he knew who I was, zipped out his phone and proceeding to show me a picture of my art-on-wood. Here's his story:

He bought the piece (really a sign to be hung) for his brother's birthday. His brother had recently lost his wife to cancer. When she was alive, and before the diagnosis, she had a dream to have a beach home. The couple wound up buying a cottage on St. George Island, FL, and the house became her haven and passion. A gate leading onto their property had a mermaid on it, and the mermaid theme was sprinkled throughout the home. Not long after they bought their little piece of heaven, they found out that she had cancer. It took her life not long after. The husband decided to keep the beach house; memories of her were in every nook and corner, every view from a window, even the mermaids throughout the home seemed to dance and swim in honor of the life she gave the home and everyone in it.

And so when Rick saw my sign, he knew it would be the perfect addition to the beach house. He took it to a local artist in his hometown of Conyers, GA, and had her add "Remembering Meg Johnson. 63 years of love and laughter." And under Home Sweet Home, the date she passed and truly went home.

I couldn't ask for a better story for this piece of wood I found on the beach during one of my vacation walks on St. Helena Island, SC. That it will grace the wall of a beach home and be a constant reminder of someone loved and always missed. . . Meg, this is your story.