coming
together
there is an emotional tie that sometimes exists between a land
and its people. The Irish called the ancient stories about the
people and the names of places, “dindsenchas,” which literally
translates “topography.” The physical land and the stories of
its people were so connected they were considered one and
the same. Blogger Janice Cantieri wrote about a similar example of this in
National Geographic’s Wildlife section on December 15, 2015. “In Kiribati,”
a group of islands in the central Pacific Ocean, “a family’s connection with
its land is extremely intimate and touches every aspect of life, including love.
Even the language expresses this link; kain abau, the phrase for one’s spouse,
roughly translates to ‘you belong to my land.’” For Darrell and Ty Ann, 73
acres of land embody memories with their son Calem.
Hometown Living At Its Best 121
Darrell and Ty Ann
Copeland dealt with
tragedy by building
an event center that
celebrates the joyful
memories of their
son while bringing
happiness to others.
BY TERI R. WILLIAMS