Dear Editor, I am beaming with pride and my soul is replenished as I share this story with you. When my granddaughter, Meera Amanda Lake, arrived in St. John’s, Newfoundland on May 12, 2024, she had made it “home” to where her daddy grew up. Meera is just 10 months old. Born in Georgetown, Guyana, she’s been getting to know her Newfoundland roots via FaceTime. Her Guyanese mom is not a fan of the cold, so her dad, St. John’s native, Darrell Lake, who has been working in the oil and gas industry in Guyana since 2020, waited until the last bit of snow melted before introducing his favourite ladies to “da rock”. It was foggy when they arrived and foggy when they left three weeks later. But Meera loves the outdoors. Her little nose was fog-kissed more times than Grandma’s smooches. Meera was fortunate that her dad’s sister was home from Ottawa at the same time. Safe in her snuggly bunting suit, Aunt Kerry explored the sites and sounds of St. John’s with Meera in a baby carrier. They ventured to Signal Hill, around Quidi Vidi Lake & Mundy Pond, and through Bowering Park. Meera & Aunt Kerry even convinced mom to bundle up and hike the Silver Mine Path on the East Coast Trail. Meera’s favorite part of that trek was watching the waves at Middle Cove Beach. They’re not quite the same as the waves that hit the coastline in Guyana , but it’s the same Atlantic Ocean. Meera comes by her connection to the ocean naturally. You could say it’s in her blood. Her Great Grandfather, was called “Big Jack”. There were three men named Jack Lake on Oderin Island, and Big Jack earned his name from his height and broad shoulders. Big Jack fished off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. For 40 years, he sailed in a schooner from Oderin to the Grand Banks, and from the schooner, he rowed his dory out to haul nets filled with cod. Resettlement in the late 1960s forced Big Jack to retire his trawls, but he never stopped longing to be back on the water in his dory. The memory of my dad’s dory has been preserved in our family since his passing in 1969. I raised my three children on the stories and adventures of Big Jack. We return to the abandoned island of Oderin every summer. It’s where the hills and trees sing and the weathered remains of the school house and dwellings whisper memories into the wind. Meera’s cousins, Clara & Jack can’t wait to introduce her to the old root cellar and the hole in the rock. Now teenagers, they have been going to Oderin every year since they were born. Meera will have to wait until next summer, however, before taking maiden boat ride in Placentia Bay West. She’s headed back to Guyana with visions of murrs and turrs in her dreams and the North Atlantic salt air in her lungs. My dad, Big Jack, well, he’s watching over wee Meera, and has a fixed place in her heart. Respectfully yours, Gordon Lake St. John’s, NL formerly from Oderin