The Lighthouse Keeper
COLORADO IN FIVE
BY DANIEL W. DRAKE ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
Iwas out watering some new trees the other day, when a big bird flew onto a nearby branch. The red tails haven't been much in evidence lately. There have been a lot of crows around, harassing the hawks, so when I heard the bird, I figured it was some crow figuring out his angle to wheedle himself into the column. I ignored the bird for a few seconds, until a familiar "Hey ya," dropped on my head from the tree. There could be no mistaking that squawk.

"Good morning, Hawkeye," I said.

"Ignoring me, were you? Without waiting for a response, Hawkeye continued, "What's with the crows? They have taken over the dead trees where I like to perch. They chase me into the pine woods. They are like paparazzi - you know what paparazzi, are don't you? - they won't leave us alone. Never mind. Things are good. How are you doing?"

"Things are good here too," I said. "It's the one time when I wished I knew how to use a shotgun to get rid of some of those crows. But, anyway, I am a little tired. I have been staying up too late watching the World Series, but it's going the right way, so it is worth it."

"Colorado in five," announced the hawk.

After a moment of stunned silence, I replied, "That's not possible Hawkeye. You know that could not happen. The Sox have won two already, so even if the Rockies were to win four straight, that would take six games. And it is very unlikely that the Rockies will win four games in a row."

"I admit math is not one of my strong points, but I am a Rockies fan," Hawkeye said, with finality.

"What on earth made you a Rockies fan?" I asked.

"They have great thermals in Colorado, so I am told" Hawkeye answered. "That's enough to make me a fan."

Not knowing how to respond to that irrefutable logic, I changed the subject.

"Hawkeye, there are some things going on around here that we need to talk about," I said. "I need your perspective."

"What's on your mind, old dog?" Hawkeye asked.

"Well first of all, three times in the last three months people have stepped up to the plate - good analogy, don't you think? - to bail the town out of situations that had become pretty thorny. The first was the $26 million dollar purchase of the property next to the 40th Pole that was about to be developed. The next was the purchase of the Dreamland for $9 million, with the promise to turn it back into a good, old fashioned, movie theater. Finally, someone has stepped up and bought the Island Spirits property for $3.5 million so the town can use it as a bus station."

After a moment of thought, the bird asked, "Are you complaining? Does all this generosity bother you?"

"I am not complaining at all," I said. "It's great that these people have made the effort they have for, most would argue, the greater good of Nantucket. There are a few naysayers, but most seem to agree that each of these "gifts" are wonderful. The community is very fortunate to have people who care enough to want to do these things and have the wherewithal to follow up."

"Any community would be very grateful for just one donation like these. Nantucket has had three in the flick of a mouse's whisker." Hawkeye stopped surveying the nearby field and looked at me. "What's your gripe?"

"I don't have a gripe. What concerns me is the inability of the Town to respond to the basic situations - for different reasons in each case, I grant you - and then the fact of someone with some loose pocket change has come forward to make things right in each instance. It's not the real world. It's fantasy. It's the stuff of fairy tales."

"People like fairy tales," Hawkeye said.

"O course they do," I said. "And they can easily get used to good living as well. My worry is that people will think a white knight will appear every time a proposal falls flat, so the temptation will be to say 'We don't have to worry about that. Someone else will take care of it for us.'

"Just as an example, at Town Meeting in April, there will be a proposal to fund the new public safety complex on Fairgrounds Road. That is a $30 million project. A meeting was held at the firehouse last week to introduce the project to the public How many people were there to find out what was going on? Exactly eight."

"The crows were talking about the nice spread of food." Hawkeye remarked."

"They did provide some good munchies. It was supper time." I continued, "More importantly, perhaps because there were so few people in attendance, there was great dialogue with the police and fire chiefs, their senior staff members and the project planner. The rationale for changing the proposed site entrance from Tacoma Way to Fairgrounds Road was well explained and the details of the site plan were clearly laid out. It was a very helpful session - and there was no one there!"

"So to cut to the quick," Hawkeye said, "your concern is that people will come to Town Meeting and not support this proposal because they think some citizen will step forward and build a new firehouse and police station?"

"That's the gist of it," I said. "The rationale might not be quite that simplistic, but I can almost guarantee that someone will say 'Oh we won't have any problem getting $30 million from the Stop and Shop for the old firehouse property' and, lo and behold, the cost will go up another $5 million before reality sets in."

"People have to have their fantasies," Hawkeye said as took off after some furry thing he had spotted. "Colorado in five!"

"Sox in four!" I shouted after him. I

The "Lighthouse Keeper" reflects the views of the author and does not necessarily represent the editorial position of The Nantucket Independent. Please send any ideas or comments to drake@nantucketindependent. com.