by Robert P. Barsanti In August, the kids start to leave. Over the country, schools have broken through the Labor Day wall and call the young back for practice, or for team building, or even classes. The calendar sneaks up with a suitcase and a boat ticket. The last week […]
Nantucket Essays
Useful Boredom
by Robert P. Barsanti My son didn’t get out of the water today. We arrived at the beach around two o’clock in the afternoon. He kicked off his shoes, dropped his towel, and walked down to a rolling surf. The waves were still building and racing off of a freak […]
Comfort in Crowds
by Robert P. Barsanti I made a mistake. In the last week of July, I slipped out for a downtown dinner, then with the cash left in my pocket I went to get ice cream. The evening was young, the line was short, and luck perched on my shoulder. Alas, […]
Our Roots
by Robert P. Barsanti Nantucket beaches peak around two o’clock in the afternoon. The long time readers and surfers have been on the beach since eleven, their tent-cities are well established, and at last one three-foot deep sand pit has been dug. Perhaps, if there are young children involved, a […]
Deep in the Sand
by Robert P. Barsanti There is no feeling in the world quite like the one when your car sinks into the sand. The tires will still spin, the sand will fly, but everything else has sunk by about six inches. If you are particularly lucky, you will have an audience […]
Farewells
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 […]
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, […]
