Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait...


In the Summer of 1992, I was gifted with a July copy of Victoria Magazine. The woman who gave it to me said she was done with it and thought that I would enjoy the article on the artist Frank Benson, as well as the original paintings that he had done of his daughters while holidaying at North Haven Island off the coast of Maine.

The original paintings, of Frank Benson's daughters, were done in the Summer of 1909.  Eighty-seven years later, his great-grandaughters took up the familiar poses, this time to be captured by the camera lens.


I have kept that issue of Victoria Magazine for these past 16 years. Every so often taking it out and once again enjoying flipping through its pages.  The photography is always stunning.  The sentiment is always restful and full of simple beauty.

I don't buy magazines for myself.  For some reason it just always seemed a little indulgent.
And then...

Two days ago, my youngest son was cleaning out his car.  The previous weekend he had been helping the parents of a friend move and the woman, knowing that he was going camping, gave him "fire fuel".  As he had already used up a 1/4 of the fuel already, he motioned me to come over to look at what was remaining.  The fuel for the campfire turned out to be... 79 pristine copies of Victoria Magazine dating all the way back to 1990 and up to 2003!

All those years that I had walked by the magazine racks thinking how beautiful the Victoria cover was... good things do come to those who wait!