~by Robert P. Barsanti ~ You know who you are in a storage locker. When you open the padlock and the shutter goes up, all is laid out in front of you at the cost of $125 a month. Every one that I never became is stacked and stored in […]
Nantucket Essays
Keeping Time
~ by Robert P. Barsanti ~ On Friday afternoon, just around quitting time, I stood in a line at Old South Liquors with a dozen cold beverages in my hands. It was a good time to quit; the air was warm, the fog distant, and the winds favorable. The men […]
Getting So Close – Autism Speaks
~ by Robert P. Barsanti ~ I am trying to get my son to shave. Ever since he was in seventh grade, he has grown a phenomenal beard; a dense thicket of wiry red bristles. After eight hours, a shadow appears. In two days, a low growth spreads across his […]
It Isn’t “the There”
There are not many left. Certainly, not many left on an acre of oceanfront in Squam. It isn’t much. It had been a shack for fishermen to spend the weekend, then it became something you could bring the wife and kids to, then it became a place for the grandchildren […]
We’ll Keep Digging
~ by Robert P. Barsanti ~ It’s a good summer to give up on watching TV. Most of the good shows have called it a season, and every sport, save baseball, has finally sent their players home to their families and their countries. Baseball rolls on, of course, but baseball […]
Next Time
~ by Robert P. Barsanti ~ In the summer, you see the most amazing things. I sat on the bench on South Wharf and watched a young man with lime green shorts and a white polo shirt eat a chocolate ice cream while he walked around and stared at his […]
We Came Here Because of Here
~ by Robert P. Barsanti ~ The rain continues to fall. Heavy rain does funny things to the island; there is no place for all of that freshwater to go, other than the ocean. But before it gets to the ocean, it puddles in the parking lots, cross streets, and […]
Chains of Goodwill
~ by Robert P. Barsanti ~ At a South Shore beach, just up from Cisco, I looked up from my book to see two young men dragging a jet ski down to the water. Through careful and long practice, I have learned how to use sunglasses and eyed the progress […]
