YACK on: Nice
Grant Sanders
There's been a lot of anger and meanness and angst on YACKon.com lately. Some from me, some from others. Some in reaction to events in the news. And, well, it's weighing heavily on my

soul. (If I still have one. I am in the ad business, after all.)

So instead of writing something angry and mean and angst-ridden, I thought I would write something nice. To cleanse my soul, if, as I said, I actually have one. I think we could all use a little niceness. So here a list of all of the things about Nantucket that I truly feel can be called, "nice."

Most days on Nantucket are nice. On the list of most beautiful places in the world, Nantucket has got to be at the very top. Of course the people in Maui would argue that they are the nicest, and they would probably call us names and point out the whole Nor'easter thing and all, but that just wouldn't be nice.

My dog is nice. He's a lovely, kind and gentle soul who wants no trouble from other dogs. When he sees other dogs, he lies down and makes himself as small as he possibly can, and waits for the other dog to come over before getting up and saying hi. Some people might think that my dog is just being wimpy, but clearly, they do not know him. He's polite. There's a difference.

A walk on the Stump Pond Trail is nice. (On Sundays when there are no hunters around.) If you get lost, just call out to Peter Brace, who is likely lost there as well. Then you can be lost together and have a nice chat. Peter is very nice.

The price of milk at Cumberland Farms is nice. $2.48! Nice. That's almost half of what other stores on island charge. The people there are nice too. Friendly. They say, "Have a nice day." And you get the feeling they mean it.

The holiday season is nice on Nantucket. I love the lights and the trees and the smell of freshbaked cookies in the shapes of pagan symbols. I like the fact that merchants feel happy to be selling their merchandise and having enough money to pay their mortgages and car payments. Being able to pay one's bills is nice. Having enough left over to pay for a trip to St. John is very nice.

Another part of the holiday season that is extremely nice is picking out the Christmas tree and bringing it home. The nicest trees are at Moors End Farm, and at Bartlett's, and other places. They're all nice, really. How can they not be? It's Christmas after all, a time when we should all have joy in our hearts.

My friend Catherine Stover is nice. Her motto is "Kindness Counts" and she's right, of course. Whenever I have unkind thoughts, I think of her motto. I'm not Catholic like Catherine, so I can't say three Hail Marys or do the rosary or anything. In my religion, Foodism, when we have unkind thoughts, we eat fresh-baked cookies in the shapes of pagan symbols and then we feel better. Much better.

My wife is very nice. Actually, truth be told, I'm much nicer than she, but let's not split hairs. That wouldn't be nice. But she married me, and that was very nice of her. She could have married the heir to a large liquor store chain fortune. Or a city bike messenger. But she chose me instead. I feel very lucky.

One of the things I feel is really, really nice about living on Nantucket is the closeness of the community. Sometimes the community is too close, and they seem to know everything about you, even your most personal business, like the fact that you bounced a check at the Downyflake or about the time you had that nasty growth removed at the doctor's office. But then you can go off on a trip to St. John where no one knows you and after a while, the good feelings about Nantucket community closeness return.

Want another nice thing to think about? Cobblestones. They are quaint and friendly and bumpy and when I drive on them in my dented green Ford "Exploder" they make the suspension squeak really loudly so all my friends can tell when I'm coming up the street. People wave at me and sometimes they look in my direction and smile. I like spreading cheer and making people feel happy that their cars aren't nearly as dented or squeaky as mine. It makes me feel good.

The cobblestone cookies at Daily Breads are nice too. But please, do not drive on them. That would be a waste.

I'd like to wish everyone a happy holiday season whether you are a Christian, a Muslim, a Jew or any religious denomination whatsoever. May you have nice thoughts and spread good cheer.

Listen for my squeaky SUV on the cobblestones and stop me and we can all have a big group hug. Wouldn't that be nice?

YACK on. I

Grant Sanders is the Host of YACK, the Nantucket Online Community at YACKon.com which is one of the nicest websites on the Internet, according to several Internet-monitoring services. You can look it up. His views are his alone and they do not necessarily reflect those of The Nantucket Independent, the nicest paper on the island.