An Island Point of View

Caretaking Privileged
An Island Point of View, Nantucket Essays, Nantucket Voices

Caretaking Privileged

On Sunday, I came to the worst mess of the summer. The remains of the family who rented the house in Tom Nevers would take the better part of six hours to clean up.

I knew it would. Every year they rent the same place, stay for two weeks, and leave with nothing but memories. Everything else remains piled up in the house. On this weekend, the wind had turned and pushed the fog and humidity out to sea. The hurricane had left some waves, but the sky was clear and the air Canadian. For a moment, I thought of them on the boat, leaving on the one glorious day at the end of two weeks of wet, warm, and wild. Enjoy Minnesota, I saluted.

Continue Reading
An Island Point of View, Nantucket Essays, Nantucket Voices

The Regulars

They said that they were never coming back.

Again.

For thirty-eight years running.

They had their reasons. They weren’t rich. They told everyone that. They brought air mattresses for the kids, five frozen meals in a cooler, and a full tank of gas. The bikes were tied onto the car, the sleeping bags stored in roof carrier, and everything else packed around the kids. (Tim, your feet are going to be on the Hibachi).

Continue Reading
An Island Point of View, Nantucket Essays

A Wasted Life

So, we were stuck. Behind me, a jeep settled, with a driver and a beach chair. In front of me, a cable truck sighed and shuddered.

I had fallen into this place through inattention and habit. Normally, at this point in the summer, I would have taken a short cut that would have sped me to my end. I might have headed up an alley, snuck wrong way down a one-way street, and rolled across a yard on my business. But as the sun had just come out, Kiki Dee had returned to the radio after fifty years, and my attention had drifted from what was necessary and important, the afternoon slipped me onto Quaker Lane.

Continue Reading
An Island Point of View, Nantucket Essays

Moor Blueberries

In the sweat of August, my Boon Companion and I retreat to the quiet places. For most of the year, he can run about unleashed in some of the most dog-friendly parks and play areas, but when the summer comes the existing rules are reposted, underlined, and enforced by the sad, angry, and afraid.

Continue Reading
An Island Point of View, Nantucket Events

Livin’ the Dream

Living the dream. Don’t ask me why, but that trite phrase just grates on my nerves. The delivery of this ditty has to be done with complete deadpan in order to maximize the ironic impact. I’m pretty sure that the first place I ever heard this used was in the wild and wacky world of law enforcement. The optimum context was when greeting an officer who had just completed a 12-hour shift, only to learn that he was now being held for a four-hour traffic detail of some sort. Yeah, just living the dream.

Continue Reading
An Island Point of View, Nantucket Essays

The Demands of Optimism

There is nothing quite so heartening and thrilling than for the world to turn around and demonstrate that you were right all along. Your faith and your intellect enjoys a well-deserved trip around the Olympic stadium, shaking hands and waving flags. Most enjoyable, you run past your critics with their heads down and eyes averted. Life does not always validate your parking, but when it does, you take your trot with a spring in your step and a glint in your eye.

Continue Reading
1 2