by Robert P. Barsanti I first came to Nantucket in the fall. I had been before. Once, when I was twelve and wearing a Campagnolo bicycle hat and a red windbreaker, I came over on the Uncatena from Oak Bluffs and saw the island briefly. Later, when I interviewed, I […]
Tag: essay
Fruit of Summer
by Robert P. Barsanti By the last weeks of August, summer is preparing the grand finale for the season at the same time that most of the visitors are washing the mildew out of the towels, emptying out the refrigerator, and making sure the kids are doing the summer reading. […]
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, […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
Lover’s Tree
by Robert P. Barsanti January and February passed the island this year. It took the jet stream north over Canada and took the ice and snow with it. Unfortunately, March and November swelled to fill the missing months and filled the weeks and days with polar fleece and puddles. Without […]
