BY JOELLEN COLLINS
I don’t anticipate receiving any more love letters from suitors when I unlock my p.o. box, except maybe an occasional sweet note from family. However, I’ve accepted this, as I have realized my needing to leave the valley I’ve inhabited for over 40 years. I have an opportunity to experience a “grand” last adventure near my grandchildren and family. I will be in an “independent” senior facility near Berkeley, Calif., an area without winter snows that have proven difficult for me to navigate as I age. I am excited at the idea of the activities, new acquaintances, not driving, and not having to cook, even though I will live in a space less than half that of my current condo. Nonetheless, I am grieving at having to leave the Wood River Valley. So, for the vast mailboxes I imagine sending this to, here is my love letter to my heart’s home.
Dear Wonderful Place,
Although this is a farewell missive, I must write it to thank you for providing me all these decades with a magical existence in your arms. I love you, clearly, and will treasure the lavish gifts you bestowed upon me when I was first welcomed here.
I love you for your luscious landscape. Despite having lived several other decades near the Pacific Ocean, I have been able to put away my longing for the salty scent of waves, somehow stirring in me a sense of freedom and space. It was easy to do this by our magnificent mountains and fresh air, the access to wilderness and understanding the animal life nearby, gazing at vivid starry skies, and being stimulated to adventure or quiet contemplation.
I love you for the people you have also attracted — caring and open individuals who have blessed us with more talents in this small area than I imagine is rarely possible. I’ve heard the observation that our towns are small enough that we know everything about everybody. But people also generously help friends and neighbors when illness or problems arise. This compassionate attitude nurtures the plethora here of charities and nonprofits that seek to improve the lives of fellow inhabitants and our sacred environment. I will miss my friends and acquaintances.
I love you because I have been able to develop skills that might not be possible for me elsewhere. I have been involved with theatre, feel at home in my place of worship, sing in choirs, enjoy our magnificent library, create fabric art and co-own a gallery, volunteer for and enjoy the Writers’ Conference and our Sun Valley Music Festival, be mesmerized by visiting ballets, dine in amazing restaurants, work in our great schools, and been inspired to write poetry, non-fiction pieces, screenplays, and two novels, in addition to the joy of evaluating delightful pieces of writing from my students.
I will still write a column for this paper and, while I packed, finding those short pieces I saved, realized that the greatest gift of all was being able to call myself a storyteller.
With love and thanks, JoEllen