L E T T E R S
ANOTHER NANTUCKET MOMENT
To the editor:
On a cool, quiet February day, I was once again reminded why Nantucket is a special place for me.

I was driving west on Madaket Road in the vicinity of the Long Pond Crossing, when I was slowed to a crawl by a line of vehicles in the westbound lane. I counted three, which makes it a backup on Nantucket on Madaket Road in February.

At a turn I could see ahead to the cause. A swan was waddling westward, one black webbed foot after the other, slowly and deliberately, as if to say "I'll get back to the water in my own way, and in my own time." The entire episode lasted a few minutes, but several people could not wait and drove around, late February being "crunch" time for many.

I stayed with the swan's plan, reflecting on how large they are when not mostly submerged in water. They could serve as fast-food car-hops, eye-to-eye with customers, but teaching them to write down the order with webbed feet might be difficult, I thought.

I was released from my mental frivolity, when I noticed the black webbed feet slapping the pavement at a faster and faster pace. Then the massive wings, that can fracture human limbs, began beating the air. Shortly thereafter, liftoff.

The effort seemed cumbersome and inelegant for such a graceful, elegant creature. But then what looks to be a dead, bent twig, can produce the most magnificent blossoms.

Swan went about its business - as did man - and I have one more Nantucket moment in the bank

- Robert Bilodeau