Editor,

The purple mountain majesty — Olympics — the fruited plains — Ebey’s Reserve — the ocean white with foam — Salish Sea, coupled with the “fabled isle of Whidbey,” are so very vivid in my memory.

I have recently gone into exile in Arizona but plan on returning to the Pacific Northwest in a few years. I miss Coupeville and the dances at the rec hall, mussels at Toby’s, the Prairie Center, the high school and my friends there, the Captain Whidbey Inn. I miss clam digging, the many fun events in town, Front Street and, most of all, my home of over 20 years in Admirals Cove.

More than any of that I miss the friends and acquaintances that have made the whole experience so viable. Most of all, Jack and Carmen, and Ross and Annie.

The Greenbank Farm pushed me into being a part of the entire island starting in 1994. The fun I have had in the wine business has been great. I still have some of it.

My experience at Island Athletic in Freeland made a major difference in my island life. The physical part is only a smidgen of what I owe to the club. The myriad of staff — ah, Elizabeth — members as well as friends are innumerable. Payless, Freeland Café, Teddys, Blueberry Hill, Vino Amoré, sadly gone, and, yes, Freeman.

I unintentionally omitted so many people and places that helped make my time on Whidbey Island so important to me.

Don’t hesitate to contact me at xcoach@whidbey.net to say hello, or come down to watch a baseball game.

BOB MOLITER

Surprise, Ariz.