The ONLY bad thing about Star is . . .

The only bad thing about Star is the showers. They are few and far between and this week, there was just a trickle from the nozzle, not really enough to rinse. There were 3 of them, but none were satisfying.

I asked a lot of people at Star this week, "Why do you come? What brings you back? What first brought you?"

Many respondents said it was the people. The natural beauty was also mentioned a few times.

I pondered it myself this week, Why do I keep coming back? It is the people and the traditions. Where else can you spend an entire social hour talking about names of couples and whose name do you say first e.g. Bonnie and Clyde or Sally and Rodney. We came up with some hypotheses, but no conclusions. It was a silly conversation.

As I sat on East Rock last night at 12 midnight with about 30 others, I realized this is why I come back. Simple entertainment, the wonder of the world, laid out before your eyes, ears and nose. The fog horn on White Island and the sea gulls. Singing folk songs until you cannot keep your eyes open and falling into bed to the sounds of the teens on their last night staying up for the sun rise.

This is why I come back: the rocking chairs, lime rickeys, silly conversations, deep conversations, the tears, the laughter, early morning coffee, 10pm chapel, walking up the hill in silence carrying a lantern, the din of the dining hall, children's artwork, adult artwork, the 269 other shoalers, the silliness, the healing conversations, sharing, catching up on last year, planning other visits, soaking in the sunlight on the front porch and the LACK of: TV, news, cars, outside world

It is a shock to the system to be back on the mainland. As I sit at Coniston in my daze I have mentioned to a few people that it is like being jet lagged only star lagged.

After the first great shower in a week, I feel clean again, and touched again by the magic and spiritual aspect of Star.

It has been a wonderful few weeks, punctuated by my annual visit to Star. Back to work refreshed, and healed, and recharged.