For years, a visit to the rustic fishing village of Stonington, Maine required a walk down Main Street to the Purple Fish, a little publicized, but revered little gallery run by Jan and Evelyn Kok. When we shared with our guests the not-to-miss sites of Stonington, these two people and their gallery were always top of the list. We described Jan and Evelyn as the oldest kids we knew. With their heads of hair that had turned fully white and their backs bending to the weight of gravity a little more each year, the vitality and energy of this couple dimmed not one bit.
I say that when I grow up, I want to be like them. As a couple. As a person. I always left the Purple Fish feeling as if I had my priorities straight. Life is about good music, harmony, joy, stories, laughter, love, sharing… the important things.
Evelyn has now left us, but today in the mail I received a whiff of her essence in the form of her artwork. Christina Ships, owner of Inn on the Harbor in Stonington and also niece to these incredible human beings, has taken on the project of sorting through Evelyn’s artwork and turning them into cards and stationary. (We’ll be selling these in the ship’s store this summer. Let us know if you’d like us to send you a set: 6 packs are $20 plus shipping for either of the Riggin shots or a collection of the sea shells.)
So for a moment, Evelyn was alive again, stories of her wafting across the screen of my mind leaving me with tears in my eyes and joy in my heart.
Annie
Thank you Christina
No Comments