To the Editor:
Once again the Island has shown the beautiful colors of community that so define us. It is the cloth of which we are made, a wondrous tapestry that lends itself to so much of our signature. This time it was all for the love of a horse, and that does not strike me as strange, for deep within us, we are a rural people, farmers first and foremost, even in our very heritage in this gorgeous land of our forefathers that is truly a piece of paradise.
So when Bridget Tobin and Tracy Olsen made arrangements to hold the Steamship Authority ferry for my beloved, gravely wounded Danny Boy, I felt that powerful sense of community that brought me to my knees in gratitude. On the boat a ferry employee, John S., came up with so much understanding, asking if there was more he could do. His compassion was so evident as he brought us water and went about finding a charger for my flip phone — no easy hunt, but he found it. Danny Boy made it on the boat, on the long ride to Tufts veterinary hospital, through surgery, but then he died shortly thereafter.
There is so much more to this story, so much more about community at its best, and I am so grateful for all those who gave this moment such respect. But at this time I want to praise the powers that be in the SSA, especially Bridget, that what they did was right and noble: giving my Danny Boy the chance of saving his life. I want them to know that no matter what, they were about saving Danny Boy’s life, and I will be eternally grateful. They listened to the heartbeat of community. They listened to the heartbeat of our heritage.
Some could say it was only a horse, but we can’t forget that a horse led us through so much of our history as our mode of transportation for thousands of years, through countless battles, through centuries and centuries in civilization as our workhorses, and, for me, the privilege of knowing and loving “the sweetest horse God ever made.”
Doris Ward, Danny Boy’s mom
Arrowhead Farm, West Tisbury