The Long Goodbye

Tully Rohrer

November 20^th, 2006

Today is a weird day. My work season at the Catalina Island Marine Institute ended yesterday, and today I part ways with one of the people that made Catalina feel like home. My friend Nora left today, and while I’ll be returning in January, she is moving on to her next adventure. I’ve chosen this image for today as it was one of the friends Nora and I made on our circumnavigation journey. Life is full of so many arrivals and departures, and some are much more painful than others. I know it’s time for Nora to leave, but it will be bizarre to be here without her. So, Nora, congratulations on finishing up, and I hope that the future fills you with as much joy as you’ve brought me with your presence here.

In December I plan to post a song every other day from my favorite albums of 2007, so I was not going to post anything from Yo La Tengo’s new album I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass until then. However, as I’ve been dealing with the emotional side of the end of the season, I’ve been listening to the song I Feel Like Going Home a lot lately. Distant sounds accompany reverberating piano chords and a prominent violin in one of the most blissful melancholic songs I’ve heard in ages. Georgia Hubley’s lyrics paint beautiful imagery in regard to everything from walking along the ocean to wanting to float above her inner turmoil, and it seems really fitting for this moment. It has been a bizarre season for me, but I still haven’t felt ready to go home yet. However, sometimes you don’t have a choice, and the time has come.