Tag: Steve Tuna

Nantucket Essays, Nantucket Voices

Where Legends Are Born

I bet you all remember where you were the evening of Sunday, February 5, 2017. Our beloved New England Patriots were once again playing in the Super Bowl, this time facing a juggernaut Atlanta Falcons team. And the Patriots were getting worked—down 28 to 3 in the fourth quarter. Everyone on the Atlanta team box was ready to pop the champagne corks. Everyone except for one guy, that is: Scott Pioli (now a Nantucket resident) was the Assistant General Manager of the Falcons at that time. He had been a significant cog in the development of the New England Patriots dynasty, serving in the player personnel department from 2000-2008. Thus, he knew all about a guy named Tom Brady. Pioli was quoted by Mike Kadlick of WEEI – Boston as he remembered that game: “All the folks I’m working with, they’re high-fiving. It’s, you know, out of control. But I was a mess. I felt this nervousness.”

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An Island Point of View, Nantucket Essays

A Dog Has a Soul

In his 1960 book Travels with Charley, John Steinbeck chronicled his attempt to connect with the many parts of these great United States that he didn’t know much about. In order to accomplish this monumental task, the renowned author retrofitted a truck with a camper to suit his needs. He named his truck Rocinante, after Don Quixote’s horse, and drove it about 10,000 miles in the course of his adventures. Charley, a standard poodle, played the role of Sancho Panza for the great Steinbeck on his quixotic journey. Steinbeck describes his doggie/squire as being a mind-reader, an apt evaluator of the humans they met on their travels. Steinbeck utilized the friendly canine to break down the barriers between himself and the strangers he encountered, with great success. Dogs certainly have this ability.

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One Crazy Summer…
Nantucket Essays, Nantucket Voices

One Crazy Summer

Wow, what a week. What an absolutely crazy, bizarre week. Truth be told, this entire summer has been a lot of crazy. Wind turbine blades, beach closures, seals snapping fishing rods, astounding traffic congestion, supermarket refrigeration failures, supermarket deli meat recalls, supermarket payment system snafus, supermarket prices, gas prices…yeah, a wonderful conflagration burning up the Nantucket summer. Could it be that we’ve almost survived (oh, I hate myself a little for what’s about to happen here) One Crazy Summer?

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Nantucket Essays, Nantucket Voices

Revenge of the Goonies

It seems that Hollywood is incapable of an original thought these days. A quick review of the new movies out in theaters right now shows that the majority of new releases are, well, recycled. For example, a new Aliens movie has just been released. The original came out in 1979, the year I graduated high school. Aside from the fact that the once perky Sigourney Weaver would now most likely be using a walker to escape from the slimy alien, I’m thinking that 45 or so years would have been plenty of time to conjure up some new concepts.

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Nantucket Voices

The “Cheese Touch”

One of my favorite books to read with my daughters way back in once upon a time land was Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Greg Heffley. The Wimpy Kid books are laugh-out-loud funny and completely relatable. The first book in the series introduced me to the dreaded “Cheese Touch,” a curse of sorts that is to be avoided at all costs. I fully understood that the cheese touch exists in reality. Sometimes the dice go cold. Sometimes they simply freeze up, even in a hot August on our beautiful island of Nantucket.

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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.

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Sweet Memories
Nantucket Essays

Sweet Memories

My wife and I were married in Key West in 1997. This blissful occasion took place in a beautiful little garden at the Chelsea House, a really neat little B&B. The ceremony, such as it was, was performed by a guy who did weddings as a side gig from his main job as a hotel concierge. He buzzed up on his moped, and five minutes later the deal was done, witnessed by Beth’s sister and brother-in-law, Cathy and Tim Lepore. Ah, sweet memories.

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Fighting the Battle
Nantucket Essays

Fighting the Battle

Take a look at the young lady in blue pictured holding the striped bass. I saved this picture in my favorites album because I truly believe it’s the best photo I’ve ever taken. Everything about it is perfect: blue bucket hat, blue tie dyed shirt, blue sky in the background, and the windswept beach of Coatue arcing behind her. Her bemused expression—is she really happy that she caught this fish? Is she trying to find her place in this family or maybe even this world? There’s so much going on here! Even though I’m mad at myself still for not remembering this young lady’s name, I consider her picture to be on par with the Mona Lisa.

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