OSPREY - Memorial University of Newfoundland

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Each day beld t he same refreshing simpl !ci ty. School
for Maren and O. J. and work for me after replacing wate r and
firewood used at breakfast. We ' d work till mid- afternoon
and then begin preparing supper . Sometimes we would get
mussels or winkles from Goat Island, or jig a fish, or clear
our snares for a rabbit. We'd collect firewood. eggs from
our chickens . carr y water. Following supper the eveni ng round
of visits would begin. The fasci nation we felt for Re d Island
was given greater substance . Our new friends told us tales of
the community prior to resettlement that revealed the lives of
good men and women of past and present. Our sense of all the
remarkable things this island required and e ncouraged in all its
residents grew .
Then quiet again, the kids in bed . Only the dim glow o f
kerosene lamps in some of the remaining houses. A delic i ou s
time to read and talk. It was perfect. It was during t hese
peaceful , quiet evenings that we were most aware that the
experiences of this special island was developing s ome new
abilities and behaviors in ourselves .
Jon Lien , M.U .N . St. John ' s , Nfld .