Every year just about this time, I have flashbacks of a time long ago. These are of a span of years between toddler and teens when I would have a special time with my grandmother. She and I both loved the movie "Brigadoon" and would share a special time watching it together. The tradition started when I was about 5 years old and lasted until my teens when she passed. I would spend the night at her house watching the movie and sipping milked down tea in her fine teacups. It was our own special "togetherness" time...a time that I will never forget.
This time of year always reminds me of the bond shared between the two of us and our love for the old movie. It is nothing more than the weather that starts rattling around amidst the cobwebs in the far corners of my brain until it shakes out the memories, dusts them off and lets me revel in a bit of bittersweet happiness. This morning, the weather did its part of jogging the memories from their hiding place. Overnight, a thick fog developed and completely whited out the Bayou and its surrounding areas. I could not see ten feet in front of me as I headed to the pier. This always gives me an almost eerie but equally serene feeling. After about an hour, the fog lifted from our area but was still heavy across the Bay. A low lying fog stayed above the channel that separates the two lands. The island to my right was vividly apparent but the shore just beyond was shrouded in the mist. Only the tops of the buildings and the tall water tower could be seen. "Brigadoon" (better known around here as Keesler Air Base) was emerging from the mist! My memories started running wild.
It is also times like this that spurs the imagination into gear. All sorts of fanciful tales were causing a ruckus in the mind. Tales of disappearing villages, true love and, of course, fog! Fog is important in all ramblings of the mind!
Years and years ago, I was often allowed to spend the night with my grandmother. While this was probably more of a way to give Mom a break from an active youngster, I felt it was a special treat. Being the youngest of five kids, I often felt left out of the "big kids" doings so I found this little outing quite exciting. My scheduled sleepovers usually coincided with some movie that was being shown on TV. This, too, was exciting as back on the farm, we had no TV. It was on one of these sleepovers that I first experienced the musical "Brigadoon". I was hooked from that moment which led to me being invited each time the movie was shown. It became a ritual for Grandmother to put on the tea kettle, pull out the "fine" teacups and fix a plate of cookies to be enjoyed during our viewing. This tradition carried on until I was a teenager and then my heart was broken by the passing of the dear lady. I could not bring myself to even think of watching the movie for years and years. Then, at some point, Mom asked me to watch it with her and, once again, the movie entranced me. Later, my kids and I never missed a showing of the musical but, instead of milk tea and cookies, the kids wanted more "exciting" foodstuffs. Sometimes we roasted hot dogs in the fireplace while other times, we had an indoor picnic. The decision was theirs and, more oft than not, their grandmother (Mom) would join us for the fun. I miss those days. I cannot say that any current day movie has ever affected me as much as this one did. Then again, I cannot say that any current day movies can possibly been deemed classics either.
This morning, memories of Brigadoon, the mystical city that appears of the mist every one hundred years, came back to me. The time spent with Grandmother, Mom and my kids nearly brought tears to my eyes. These memories were all due a heavy fog that had laid in overnight. The thick mist blocked from view most of the other side of the Bay. Only one small portion of what laid on the opposite shore could be seen and that vision was short lived. The fog slowly blocked out the entire city. The mystical, magical Brigadoon (in this case, Keesler Air Base) slipped from sight for the next one hundred years (or at least an hour).
One of the best parts of living on the Bayou is that you never know what the new day will bring. Things change with the drop of a hat and surprises abound. Each day also brings with it the opportunity to reflect back on things from years ago. The quietness allows the brain to wander where it may thus making each day, each memory worth a visit.
Back when I was a mere child, I loved to go to my grandparents house. There, I was allowed to watch a movie with Grandmother. She knew that I loved one particular movie more than any other so whenever it came on the television, I was asked to come stay the night. She and I would watch "our" movie and have "tea". This was the only time that I was allowed to use one of Grandmother's fine porcelain teacups AND stay up late! I felt absolutely grown up as the two of us shared the
moment. The movie was none other than "Brigadoon" with Gene Kelly, Van Johnson and Cyd Charisse. I loved that movie then and still do to this day.
At times, living on the Bayou can be a bit mystical. A certain shadowy figure, a glimpse of a sun-dappled glen or even a sunrise can set the stage for the imagination to go flying around in a whirl of fantasy. A few days ago, we had some pretty severe storms roll into the area. Daybreak seemed to be a farce as just minutes after the sun rose over the pines, the sky blackened once again. It was in those few moments that I had one of those fleeting thoughts of make-believe! The dark clouds shrouded the area around me but toward the east, bright sunshine lit the area beyond the Bayou. With the overactive imagination already being kicked in gear by the approaching storm, it was easy to pretend that I was peering into a magical, mystical city that would only appear once every hundred years. My "Brigadoon" was only the nearby bridge leading to Biloxi and my imagined quaint Scottish homes were actually casinos but for a few moments, the imagination believed otherwise.
There is nothing like a good storm on the Bayou to fire the creative senses and bring a person wherever they wish to be. It is times like this that make me want to run over to Grandmother's house, sip milked down tea and pretend to be something that I am not. I miss those days.
Years ago, the kids and I used to love watching musicals on TV. One of our favorites has always been "Brigadoon" starring Gene Kelly. There was just something so magical about the whole concept of a disappearing town. We loved it or at least I loved it. In fact, I was mesmerized by the movie as far back as the first time I watched it at my grandparents' house. That said, it is only natural that I would name my little Christmas Town after the mythical village in the movie. Since this village disappears as quickly as it appears just like the one Gene Kelly visited, Brigadoon seemed to be an appropriate name.
My Brigadoon came to life this afternoon. Mark and I hauled out the houses, trees, townspeople and other accessories. We still have to put the finishing touches on our village but at least the houses are in place. This year (like every year), we managed to find a few new pieces to add to our ever growing village. A fire station, a second gazebo, a post office and (my favorite) a chocolate shop were purchased. Most of the buildings are secondhand pieces that we find in thrift stores or garage sales. It matters not that these are someone else's discards. They all add a bit of charm to our happy little community.
If these purchases continue, we will soon have to find a much larger table to serve as our base. It is not my desire to have a mishmash of buildings but rather a nice, homey village that can inspire kids' imaginations. I know that if I had seen such a tiny village when I was a child, my imagination would have run amok! Hopefully, this little town will have the same effect on the little tykes that visit the Little Bayou House. If the town brings a smile to a child's face, then it is so worth our effort. Brigadoon returns to the Bayou!
