Spic and Spac at Congress Park Saratoga Springs NY

Thomas Wolfe said, “You can’t go home,” but if you are from Saratoga Springs, New York, this is completely untrue. Saratoga has a heartbeat all her own. I have always known her to be the grand lady that she is. Oh she’s been around for ages and has known fame throughout her ageless majesty. Today, I walked in Congress Park, getting off the bus at Spring and Putnam. The Italian Renaissandce Gardens with Spic and Spac water spouting sculptures have been spitting water since I was a child and they are still going full steam. What a joy. I purposely walked over the them because my friend Ruthie Masetta Hillman and I remember sunbathing by the stream with the water spraying sculptures in the background. I could even remember the sound of the water being the same.

What a beautiful job DPW is doing at Congress Park. A nice gentleman came up to talk. He was in the landscaping business for 30 years. Now he enjoys protecting the park and all its gardens. There is a pond with Saratoga ducks and they still remain or return to this pond, even after 50 years. I even saw some forget-me-nots growing. My sister and I remember them growing along the creek. Than I saw a sleeping fuzzy black and rust banded wooly bear caterpillar that turns into a Isabella Tiger moth. Oh he’ll be around all winter sleeping under a bed of leaves before emerging as a moth next spring.

It is so precious to me to be back with my beloved. I can’t wait to call Ruthie and share the photos for her to see.

FIREKEEPER A LESSON IN HISTORY

I about finished reading Firekeeper, a Narrative of the New York Frontier by Robert Moss when I picked up a  pamphlet with History of the Saratoga Springs Mineral Waters. Within the pages I discovered that Sir William Johnson truly was alive in the early 1770s. He was an “Indian” agent for the British. Johnson is the character of the book.

Johnson had a strong bond with the Mohawks of the Iroquois Nation. In 1771, the Mohawks brought him to Saratoga Springs High Rock Spring for healing. For centures before, native people thought of the land where the springs are located as sacred ground. The springs were known as “Medicine Spring of the Great Spirit.” Sir William Johnson was the first outsider to discover the springs healing properties outside of the Iroquois Nation.

It wasn’t long after that outsiders heard of the healing power of the waters. In present day since I was a child, I have known that this particular spring is good for eyes and skin. My father and I went there years ago when my father was suffering from cancer. His skin was extremely sensative at the time and he told me that the spring was good for the skin

The Jewish people know of the healing power of the water and had for years been bathing their eyes and bodies with the water. I go to this spring for the mineral water to drink. I filll up water bottles and bring it back home. The water is good for the digestive system. I haven’t had any stomach upset since taking the water. The water makes me feel well.

Story Writing Exercises 460: Tuesday 7th October

Hi Morgen, Nice to see your page this morning. My book My Name is Butterfly was recently published as an eBook. My second book The Monarch Butterfly Coloring Book was translated into Spanish. It should be published by end of 2014. My success has a lot to do with you and the fact that you interviewed me a few years back. Cheers!