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In Sweet Rejoicing by Ronald Mackay

12/5/2020

23 Comments

 
Today, in our 2020 Authors Showcase, we feature another inspiring story from Ronald Mackay, entitled In Sweet Rejoicing.

Before you read it by clicking here, check out the background to Ronald's story below.

Ronald Mackay spent an unforgettable year in La Isla Baja – the north-western corner of the Island of Tenerife -- when he was 18 years old.

In 2018, almost 60 years later, he and his wife, Viviana, visited the island and the village where Ronald had lived and worked in order to launch his memoir A Tenerife con Cariño. He wrote A Tenerife con Cariño, a Spanish version of his memoir Fortunate Isle, as a gesture of love and respect for the villagers of Buenavista del Norte. They had taken him into their lives and hearts and given him work in 1960.

During that recent return trip to Tenerife, Juan González now 83 years of age, who had been Ronald’s foreman and friend when he worked in the banana plantations there, took him to the nearby village of Garachico to visit the statue of the Migrant (El Migrante).

That visit and that moving statue inspired this story.

Picture
Ronald Mackay in Buenavista Del Norte, Canarias, Spain - 2019
​
23 Comments
bill somerville
13/5/2020 01:59:19 pm

very good Ron, did you not also walk the village square with a local girl before finding out the significance of the act? excellent story full of moral standing, touching and a good ending

Reply
Ronald Mackay
13/5/2020 04:46:42 pm

Thanks for enjoying the story, Bill. Yes -- the episode in the square was a very long time ago! I learned my lesson quickly.

Reply
Nila Mendoza
13/5/2020 05:47:51 pm

Mackay, I reread the story.
What to tell you? It is always pleasant to commune with longings that fill the heart and soul with joy. Thank you for sharing such special moments like this one which marked your life for good. Congratulations and continue to delight us with such wisdom and emotion. Big hug.
Nila Mendoza

Reply
Ronald Mackay
14/5/2020 11:46:44 am

Thank you for your faith in me and for your continuing support, Nila.
Mackay

Reply
Euan Lindsay-Smith
13/5/2020 11:03:06 pm

A beautiful story, Ron. Thanks for sharing it with us. A very poignant tale, with significant lessons for us all. Also a timely reminder of how far we have come in some ways ie greater affluence in the world, but not necessarily in fully understanding the message of Christmas.

Reply
Ronald Mackay
14/5/2020 11:47:59 am

Happy to know that you enjoyed the story, Euan -- and the message. It is intended to be poignant as you say and also fairly far-reaching.

Reply
D.L. Finn
14/5/2020 06:57:19 pm

Very interesting, story.

Reply
Ronald Mackay
15/5/2020 02:17:50 am

Thank you for letting mew know your found it interesting, D.L. Best, Ron.

Reply
Suzanne Burke link
14/5/2020 08:23:47 pm

Thank you for the pleasure you gifted me in writing this inspiring story. It's both poignant and thought provoking. Bravo! 👍

Reply
Ronald Mackay
15/5/2020 02:18:59 am

Very happy to learn that the story gave you pleasure, Suzanne, and that you found it inspiring.

Reply
Flossie Benton Rogers link
14/5/2020 08:55:29 pm

Very nice! Thank you for the interesting post.

Reply
Ronald Mackay
15/5/2020 02:19:44 am

Thank you for the kind comment, Flossie.

Reply
Bernard Foong link
14/5/2020 09:19:08 pm

Nice blog site you created, Ron.
Best wishes!

Reply
Ronald Mackay
15/5/2020 02:20:50 am

It's Fred's blog site, Bernard, I only wrote a story. Best!

Reply
Miriam Hurdle link
14/5/2020 10:11:27 pm

I liked your blog, Ron! Very nice!

Reply
Ronald Mackay
15/5/2020 02:21:30 am

Thank you, Miriam!

Reply
Heather Kindt
15/5/2020 12:35:08 am

This is quite the story, Ron. I've heard a story like it before about a man having to go to the Americas to prove himself worthy of the woman he loves. Thank you for sharing it!

Reply
Ronald Mackay
15/5/2020 02:26:49 am

John Reid in his second delightful volume of Tales of Tenerife -- A Shark in the Bath" (his first volume has the quaint title "The Skipping Verger" -- tells a delightful tale of an emigrant from Garachico who, like many before and after him, sought his fortune in the Americas and returned to Tenerife. I recommend both of John Reid's volumes. Thank's for your comment.

Reply
Palmer Acheson
15/5/2020 03:42:35 am

Another good story, Ron. Very Spanish, and believable. The statue is a poem in stone. The emigrant who leaves his heart behind him to seek his fortune far from his home and native land!

Reply
Ronald Mackay
15/5/2020 11:19:42 am

You hit the nail on the head, Palmer. The statue is a poem in stone (or in this case, bronze).. For centuries, Canary Islanders have moved to the Americas to look for work. Then, in the latter part of the 20th century, Europe came to them to escape the cooler more northern climes. Thanks for your comment, Palmer.

Reply
Vernon
21/5/2020 03:52:07 am

A great story of love and longing - the sun passing through the heart was very evocative !

Reply
Ronald Mackay
21/5/2020 11:41:40 am

Thanks, Vernon. Happy to hear that the story resonated with you. Today, you can watch the sun pass through the heart of El Migrante as it drops into the Atlantic. It is a moving spectacle. Best wishes.

Reply
Alem1962 link
29/1/2022 03:23:29 pm

Thank You for Sharing this informative article! It is very useful to everyone Stay healthy and keep safe!

Reply



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