by Robert P. Barsanti I went to St. Paul’s Fair last week with the youngest of the tribe. Within minutes he had acquired a Red Sox batting helmet for fifteen dollars less than any other island price. He found old school friends in their new playground and led them through […]
Nantucket Essays
Kings of Summer
by Robert P. Barsanti When they went to the beach for the first time this year, the waves were rolling. Waist high breakers staggered into the steep beach, collapsed, and then rolled back out and tangled the feet of the next wave. The tide curved the waves into the beach, […]
Municipal Rain
by Robert P. Barsanti The Fourth of July is easy to avoid. Out on the water, or at the beach at Cisco, the Fourth of July is not all that different from the Fourth of August or even the Fourth of September. The sun shines, the breeze blows and thunderheads […]
Bluff Walk
by Robert P. Barsanti My son took me out for some exercise at ten on Sunday. In the unexpectedly clear and cool June morning, we set out from Larsen’s memorial near the Sconset market and headed north to the Bluff walk. Sunday had floated up out of September and landed […]
Calms of Heaven
by Robert P. Barsanti We were at Reunion and the President was mad at us. He did not come out and scold us over our chicken salad and quinoa. He was very proud of our contribution to the school. He celebrated the soldiers and entrepreneurs that our class had presented. […]
You Don’t Need To Go Home, But You Can’t Stay Here
by Robert P. Barsanti The fogs of spring have descended along with the first tropical storm of the season. The planes sometimes flew, and the boats sometimes sailed, but the island felt itself cut off again from the mainland. We like it that way. The traffic, the malls, the fast-food-everything […]
They’re Here
by Robert P. Barsanti The neighbors have arrived. They brought their dogs. The dogs come racing in from both sides, clash in our yards, and then go dashing after each other in an early summer clash for suburban dominance. Their owners slid the sliding glass doors shut. We all like […]
It’s Later Than We Think
by Robert P. Barsanti While the rest of the world starts the New Year in January, we should turn the calendar and start the clock on Memorial Day. Something Natural has re-opened, the Bake Shop is making donuts again, and the rest of the storefronts are shiny and clean, ready […]
Summer Wine
by Robert P. Barsanti I returned to Nantucket on a long delayed boat. On this full boat, the seats were claimed early and I stood outside, hard up against the metal gate of the closed snack bar. The wind and rain had built a substantial chop over the shoals in […]
