10 Comments
User's avatar
Tracey Braun's avatar

Lovely piece - and I’m glad to find you on Substack. The Vineyard is my happy place (which is why I set my novels here - pen name T. Elizabeth Bell - my latest is “Sheepish”) My favorite line: “That's the magic of a true happy place. It doesn't just change your location; it transforms your emotional well-being.”

Expand full comment
Dermott Knox's avatar

Connie, I’m writing in the wrong place here because I’m not very Substack savvy and am unsure how to get back to an earlier exchange we had today. I’ve combined the ideas of ‘the longest relationship’ and the word ‘overmorrow’ and written a little poem just because the ideas grasped me.

SIBLINGS.

The longest relationship

you may ever have -

not just tomorrow

or the overmorrow,

but decades, lifetimes

come and gone.

Love is born and

changes come, not just

tomorrow or overmorrow,

but still with siblings

you’ve entwined

through lifetimes

here and gone.

Expand full comment
Connie Briscoe's avatar

This is lovely. Yes, I posted that comment about siblings in another thread but thank you for sharing your poem here.

Expand full comment
Sheri Handel's avatar

"What strikes me most about these stories isn't the exotic locations (though Bangkok and Mykonos certainly have their appeal). It's the emotional weight the places carry." I'm so glad you explored this theme, Connie. The concept of emotional weight resonated strongly with me, and I can also picture some of the places mentioned. I feel most myself when I'm near or on the water and have written about that. Today I was tinkering with the sense of place--more later.

And I love the image you chose because it shows the wild side of Martha's Vineyard.

Thanks for this post.

Expand full comment
Connie Briscoe's avatar

You're welcome. Martha's Vineyard has so many different sides.

Expand full comment
Kisane Slaney PhD's avatar

I'd lived in so many places that nowhere felt like home. But when I got off the plane in Perth, in Western Australia, inexplicably, that's just what it felt like!

Expand full comment
Connie Briscoe's avatar

That really is the magic of happy places, Kisane. You feel it! Are you living in Western Australia now?

Expand full comment
Kisane Slaney PhD's avatar

Yes, still here. This is home now :-)

Expand full comment
Lucy Hearne Keane's avatar

Your picture reminds me of some of the lovely beachhead walks we have in the West of Ireland. One particular place, near where I live, is the cliff walk on Ballybunion Head where it is quiet apart from the sea crashing against the cliffs. Next stop East Coast of USA...maybe Martha's Vineyard 😊😁

Expand full comment
Connie Briscoe's avatar

The place you describe sounds lovely. And yes, I encourage a visit to Martha's Vineyard. This is only one of many beautiful locations on the island.

Expand full comment