Colors of the sky when I woke up:
- Monday: Our woods were a scale of grays, from the white snow coating wet-darkened tree branches, bending them to the ground.
- Tuesday: The bluest sky, bright sun, dripping as the sun hit and melted the accumulated snow.
- Wednesday: Variable. A gray-lavender-blue sky first thing, which quickly changed to white. More snow was expected, which changed to rain later in the day.
I guess I was distracted by something Thursday morning, and forgot to enter my impressions. They come daily, as they always have, years of watching the woods outside our windows. They are the sheltering cocoon I live inside. I notice the smallest changes.
As I write this column on Sunday morning, my woods stand between me and the war our government has started in our name. Three Americans already have been killed, along with Iranian schoolchildren, the Supreme Leader of Iran and several members of his government, surely many unknown Iranian people simply living their lives, looking out at the views that sustained them, as I look out at mine.
All I can think of is what we have done in the past. “Weapons of mass destruction” was the reason given for our invasion of Iraq. A similar reason has been given for this incursion. It never ends well.
Back to West Tisbury, a comment about last weekend’s blizzard, about our town’s preparedness, about how all of our emergency services served our town with professionalism and compassion. Special kudos to Jennelle Gadowski, who organized the warming center at the library. She got food, cots, bedding, everything. Jennelle deserves a lot of credit for all her contributions to our town. She is a certified EMT, fireman, and emergency management director, and fabulous at all of her jobs. We are lucky to have her.
Lucky to have Library Director Alexandra Pratt and the library staff, who have kept the library open for anyone who needed a place to get warm during the storm. I can’t imagine anything better than spending the night at the library, with books everywhere.
This column is short, intentionally so. I hope it will fit in the tight space The Times has allotted for our columns to appear in print. I would like you to be able to read it in one piece, and not have to finish reading online.