(Blest be) the Tie that Binds is a hymn written in 1782 by theologian John Fawcett. It was a celebration of ties to faith, family and community, devised when he made a decision to stay in a poorly paying job as pastor, instead of accepting a more highly compensated and prestigious posting somewhere else.

The phrase is ubiquitous these days, just check the list of TV episodes, regardless from which series, that make use of it, annotated by our friend Wikipedia. It was also a famous 1980 Bruce Springsteen song which you might or might not remember.

 

 

Memories are for many the ties that bind. Good or bad, cherished or unwanted, they provide the link to the past, even if they are at times a wobbly suspension bridge missing multiple rungs more than anything else. My memories of Holland are occasionally refreshed by treks back to the old haunts, when meeting my sister. It feels like a home coming of sorts, not so much tied to that particular place, but to particular preferences that were instilled there early. A preference for flatness over mountains, nature over urban living, travel and ultimately water.

 

That fondness drew me yesterday, as every year, to the river at the Portland waterfront, where the fleet of ships was arriving for the annual Rose Festival. What caught my eye this year were the ropes tying those big ships to land.

The ropes seemed beautiful representations of the ties of remembrance: at times colorful and sturdy, at others frayed and spliced.  Safely knotted, carefully folded, coiled or stretched, they secure the past whether you want it or not. Memorial lariats might act at times as destructive constraints, but those cords can also keep you anchored, when remembering who you are and how you came to be that way provides some grounding in these challenging times.

 

 

 

 

 

I am signing off today for a week or so, since I am having surgery next week to remove a decidedly unfriendly gallbladder and won’t be having the clear head needed for writing. I’ll be back pestering you with politics in no time. And do watch the video so you can see I haven’t gone soft, still clinging to my idiosyncratic sense of humor.