Ann and her husband, Jim
Read her post at What the Tide Brings In, which includes the wonderfully apropos poem by T. S. Eliot, "Journey of the Magi", and a link to a fine recording of Eliot reading the poem.
Here's a teaser:
"A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The was deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter."
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
And running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires gong out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty, and charging high prices.:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly.
The rest of the poem is at Ann's blog.
The mysterious hand on Ann's shoulder is that of her husband. It's a lovely photo of the two of them. I cropped Ann's mate out of the picture, but, if she gives me permission, I'll put him back in.
PS: Do read Ann's story at the Daily Episcopalian of how she came to be a priest in the Episcopal Church.
UPDATE: Ann's mate, Jim, is back in the picture with Ann's permission.
