“…Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart

to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored

for another, who knows you by heart.

Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,

peel your own image from the mirror.

Sit. Feast on your life.” 

~ Derek Walcott, excerpt from “Love After Love”

By the time you read this, Dear Reader, many of you will be thankful for being done with too much turkey or hitting Black Friday sales.

Some will be looking forward to Small Business Saturday.

A few will be forking another piece of pumpkin pie on a plate while hiding from crowds. It’s that time of year to sit down, wherever you are — whether you spent the holiday with family, friends, pets or on your own: just take a pause from the feast, the good china piled by the sink, the leftover gravy. The pie can wait.

It’s time to delight in a ray of sunlight, a golden leaf, a clear birdsong rising over the morning mist on a late November day. To find a moment of peace amid the haste and say thank you, thank you, thank you.

Gratitude blooms once you find it in that quiet place, a rustle of thank you in fluttering leaves. Sit, feast on your life.

• Saluda Tailgate Holiday Market at the West Main city parking lot will be from 1-3 p.m. on Small Business Saturday this weekend, with crafts, holiday offerings, seasonal produce and more.

• Saluda Welcome Table at Saluda United Methodist Church will resume in 2019.

• Saluda Community Land Trust can be reached at SCLT’s office at 828-749-1560 or saludasclt.org. Donations appreciated, volunteers welcome!

• Saluda Historic Depot, 32 W. Main St., will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Carolina Special passenger train’s last run up Saluda Grade from 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 5. A drop-in reception with special guests and speaks will celebrate the event. For more details, visit saludahistoricdepot.com

• The annual Polk County Toy Run is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, starting at Saluda Fire Department, 64 Greenville St. The motorcycle parade leaves at 2 p.m., ending up at the Polk County Courthouse. 

• Community potluck night at Saluda Center will be at 6 p.m. Monday.

• Leaf pick by the city starts Monday — please don’t bag leaves, put curbside in a pile without large branches, etc.

• The city of Saluda Police Department and City Hall will be accepting unwrapped toys and donations to provide Saluda’s children with Christmas gifts. Donations need to be in by Dec. 17. Call Jessica at 828-749-2581 or stop by City Hall for information.

• The Polk County Unity Masonic Lodge, 662 Ozone Drive, recently had a free spaghetti community dinner; I got a chance to peek at all the wonderful updates to the lodge, including fancy new bathrooms! At the end of every month, the Masons sell barbecue to the public: you can take home vacuum-sealed packs for the freezer. Nice to know!

• Saluda Get-Well goes to Charlene Pace, Doris Marion and Mary Ann Asbill.

• Saluda Sympathy goes to Melanie Talbot for the loss of her dad, Dean Bess.

• Happy November Birthday to Rich Igoe, Rita Igoe, Karen Johnson, Nancy Barnett, Dawn Pearson, Dusty Jespersen, Gwen Garren, Stoney Lamar, Jim Boyle, Tom Ellwood, Wendy McEntire, Aaron Burdett,  Jane Thompson, Candy Oakes, Bruce Hunt, James Hrynyshyn,   Hannah Jane Kirby and Sam Woodbery.

Thank you for reading this column; as ever, the goal is to make you feel like you’re enjoying small town life in a friendly mountain town called Saluda. Feel free to contact me at bbardos@gmail.com, 828-749-1153 or visit bonniebardosart.com.