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Island Commons Marty’s Memories – Hol ing Pattern By Marty Trower

The air has changed. It is warmer, gentler, and often there is that tang of saltiness that surprises and delights us. The island is a blaze of daffodil and forsythia yellow; the new green of the grass and leaves comes fast and will soon be replaced by the darker green. That will be with us for the next few months and we will take it for granted. Summer people are tiptoeing over cautiously, hoping to escape the fear and isolation of the pandemic that is raging across the water. I remember so well that magnet that drew me to the island before I lived here year-round. No matter how interesting or involving life was off island, I had to get to Chebeague to feel right. I’m pretty sure that most Chebeague residents, whether year-round or summer feel some pull and comfort of their own and it’s not something that you grow out of, not something that goes away.

Things will be different, though. Events that would draw crowds have been cancelled. We won’t be going back and forth to the mainland for ‘necessities’ as often; we won’t be cozied up next to each other anywhere, catching up. There will be masses of huge city cars barreling along our roads and lanes and docks. It may seem like the mainland after all. We don’t know about the future. The threat of contagion is still here and across the water and it has changed everything so much. One would think that universal crises would bind people together, after all, ‘we are all in it together’ but apparently, in an epidemic, that does not necessarily work out that way. We will all have to work hard to remember the gentler, loving side of our human nature to keep Chebeague the paradise we know it to be.

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JUNE 2020 CHEBEAGUE ISLAND COUNCIL CALENDAR