We're Surfing!!

The surf is definitely up on Peaks Island!!

Since mid Summer, the Peaks Island Library has had Wi-Fi capability via the Portland Public Library. Since our wonderful librarian Priscilla is a good friend, I've always enjoyed her wonderful tales of the ongoing sagas at the library. She has on more than one occasion told me that she's not running a library but rather running a phone booth. The library has a number of computers, all on line with broadband capabilities. In the winter months the kids flock there after school to both do homework and play online games. In the summer, the visiting part-time residents flock there to do their e-mails and their own research. Well, with wireless capability now available, it's fun to go by the library on the way home from the boat in the evening and often see two or even three individuals parked on the bench outside the library under the street lamp tapping away on their laptops remaining connected with whatever or whomever is important to them. I can't say whether I agree with all this connectedness or not but without my daily dose of on line newspaper readings and e-mail connections with my kin in Hawaii I am as addicted as anyone to this new age of communication.

Yet, as the picture so ably shows, the true meaning of our too small but crucially important library is a place where Islanders come together to just chat with whomever else is doing the same thing at the same time as they are; it is a true Island connection spot.

Afternoon on the Bay

Most days I go uptown it's on an early morning boat at either 7:15 or 8:15am and return in the afternoon. It's very interesting how each boat seems to have it's very own "essence". The 6:15 usually has some early morning workers heading for their 7am starting times, some business owners trying to get a head start on the day, some students heading for early morning meetings or sports training and a few poor individuals that just flat out missed the last boat the prior evening. The 7:15 boat contains the bulk of the workers and the bulk of the students heading for classes. It definitely is the most crowded boat of the day and carries either an air of anticipation or of despair heading toward one more day closer to retirement. Now, the 8:15 boat is a leisurely worker boat or as is often stated, the boat for those with no pride!! It contains the early bird senior shoppers, a few students that overslept and those workers that have a 9-5 job (definitely a dying breed).

A few days ago I went in the opposite direction heading into Portland on the 3:45pm boat to do some errands, have dinner, look for a good book and come home on the 7:15 or 8:15pm boat. What a different boat to take. Most of the riders were the workers on the Island heading home along with the school teachers calling it a day. It was a boat filled with happy and relieved individuals that their day was over and this time was theirs for the few moments it took to make it back into Portland. It was just a lighter feeling boat. Of course the Bay was into the late afternoon light from the sinking sun, the winds had died down and a few boats were still roaming around catching the last of the summer weather. It was a different and very interesting ride to just sit and observe individuals and the beauties of Casco Bay. Enjoy the pictures from that ride.