105. What the Hell is an Orb?

I received a phone call from Kathy Gaffney who was a bit out of breath with excitement. “I found an Orb. Arianna’s birthday was yesterday and one of her wishes was that I’d find an Orb and give it to her. Well, I found one! It’s a day late, but she won’t care.”

“No, I suppose she won’t. I have a question.”

“What?”

“What the hell is an Orb?”

Kathy’s laugh filled my ear and tickled my fancy! She gave a wonderful explanation, but for the purposes of this blog, it’ll be easier for me to take modified information about Orbs from the website:

Monomoy Orb Project

Chatham resident, Graeme Milley, came across a remarkable tradition on Block Island, where each summer, beautiful hand-blown glass orbs are placed out in the community and surrounding areas to the delight of residents and island guests. Graeme thought a Chatham version of the Block Island adventure would be a wonderful way to celebrate Chatham and the things residents love most about it.

Beginning early July through Labor Day, a collection of beautiful, hand-thrown ceramic Orbs designed by local artisan, Susan Dimm Williams, are secretly scattered at public spaces, parks, beaches, and nature trails throughout Chatham.

The finders of the numbered Orbs are instructed to contact the project organizers who upload pictures onto the website and tell the tales of those who did the finding and where the finding took place.

Sounds fun, but there has to be something else.

Right?

Right!

Aside from the fun and adventure of this seaside scavenger hunt, there is a very important ‘something else’ associated with the Monomoy Orb Project.

Monomoy is a private, not for profit agency whose purpose is to provide a variety of social service, childcare and financial support resources for residents of the Town of Chatham. The scope of services are assessed and then meet the challenges facing our remarkable seaside village. One of Monomoy’s greatest strengths lies in its ability to effectively respond to the changing needs of the community.

Some of you may remember that I spent the last years of my professional life as a Development Director and Grant Writer for non-profit agencies in Worcester. The fundamental responsibility of my position was to oversee an organization’s fundraising efforts by developing, implementing, and monitoring a comprehensive fundraising plan to carry out the mission of an agency’s service platform. Professionally speaking, the Monomoy Orb Project is a wonderfully thought out fundraising initiative for its community residents: those who are in need of an assist, and those who can offer a helping hand. In my humble opinion, the crowning achievement of the Monomoy Orb Project is that it is fun and adventurous.

Mr. and Mrs. Wonderful always looked for ways to give a little something back, even when our resources were the tightest. Wherever you look: in a church missalette, or a school handout, or a local newspaper, there are a multitude of ways to help. In the book I wrote for Hadley, one of my favorite pieces of advice is this:

Back to the story.

The breathless, almost giddy thrill of Kathy telling me she found Orb #4 was adorable. It was made all the more exciting that she granted her oldest grandchild’s birthday wish. What an amazing turn of events for the little girl from what is referred to as the Grafton Gaffney’s. Don’t you just love it when a ten-year-old’s wish comes true?

And. Then. This. Happened.

A few days later, I got a picture text from Kathy. This time, she was standing on her husband’s fishing boat, proudly holding a big-ass tuna she caught — her first ever. The ear-to-ear smile said it all. I congratulated her on her success then went about my business.

And. Then. This. Happened.

A few days later, I got a picture text from the SHOW-OFF who lives in Chatham. This time, she was standing on the beach and in her hand was Orb #16. Yeup, Kathy (TheFreakingLuckyLady) Gaffney found her second Orb. Not long after, I received another giddy, laughter-filled call telling me all about this fantastic find, and her plans to give it to the Sutton Gaffney’s. Appropriately, both sets of grandchildren will always have the collectibles and a great story to share. As for the She Devil — last I heard she was ‘orbiting’ the quaint seaside village of Chatham chanting this mantra: 

“One found on land, one near the sea.

The next Orb I find will be for Me. Me. Me.” 

For the record, I am not accusing anyone of anything, I’m simply suggesting it might be more than a:  F ___ ___ K ___ when it comes to the She Devil.

Calling All Columbus Park Sleuths

I received a package in the mail a couple of weeks ago. I haven’t a clue who sent it to me. I’m hoping the CP Sleuths will help me figure it out. 

Clue # 1. A small yellow envelope affixed with a partially legible return address: J. Walker, (illegible house #) Walker Road, Sturbridge.

Clue # 2. This letter:

Hi Sheryll,

Thank you for sharing your life. You’ve taken a large and diverse group of people and forged us into a family, all of us by your side. I know there’s nothing I can do that would match your generosity or your courage but I hope you will enjoy these books, children’s books to remind you of a simpler time. (Pretend you’re in the Bookmobile).

A Fellow C.P. Survivor

Clue # 3. Two books: The Arrow Book of Jokes and Riddles; Arrow Book of Funny Poems.

Clue # 4. The only thing inside the book of Jokes and Riddles was a very faint, nearly impossible to read name and address on the back cover: Richard __ __ __ kins, 2801 Silverdale.

Clue # 5. The only thing inside the Book of Funny Poems was a pink post-it note that read: Feel free to skip this one. The post-it was affixed to page 80. The picture on the page was a skeleton and the poem read: It’s hard to think, albeit true. Without flesh, I’d be like you. And harder still, to think old pal, that one of these fine days, I shall. — Richard Armour

Clue # 6. All of the hand-writing on the return address, the letter, and the post-it was capitalized.

Clue #7. The reference to the Bookmobile and the signature: A Fellow C.P. Survivor.

My apologies to J. Walker if he/she wanted this to remain private. After a bit of hemming and hawing about keeping it personal, I came up with this analysis: I am a mystery writer ergo someone who searches for answers to life’s little unknowns. Additional hemming and hawing led me to this conclusion: the sender attempted to shroud pertinent information leaving me no option than to solve the mystery. I did some online searches on the partial address and crapped out. As for J. Walker, I noted the period after the initial J which meant something to me, although I haven’t a clue what it is. I often sign things: SOBrien or S OBrien. I don’t use punctuation, certainly not after my first initial. Not sure how the rest of you do things, but the period after J stuck out at me.

So, there you have it. A mystery to solve.

Good luck!

Tim’s Time Travels

One Saturday I received the following text pictures:

Tim took a trip to Institute Park and spent some time walking the beautiful grounds and sitting on ‘our bench’. It was a glorious Saturday afternoon, and while he was ‘running errands’ he was doing, or should I say partially doing two, items on His List. He relaxed at our spot and he brought home a pint of orange-pineapple ice cream from Pinecroft Dairy. The trip for tasty treats was a spur-of-the-moment thing and he didn’t have time to kidnap a sibling for lunch, so that part still remains a To Do.

I was tickled pink when he sent me the text picture. I actually whooped with enthusiasm. And given the length of time he was gone that afternoon, I’d say he spent a good amount of time reminiscing and replenishing.

New Additions to Tim’s Adventure List

9. Take a ski-lift to the top of Mount Wachusett.

10. Walk the Marginal Way.

Dear Friends,

I apologize for the brevity of this blog. Believe me when I say that nearly every minute of my awake time is devoted to my writing. Sadly, that time is shrinking while more and more time is being claimed by ramped up pain and the subsequent readjusting of pain medication. I will go into detail in the next blog.

Yours Truly,

Sheryll Van Winkle