HOME, SWEET HOME
BY DANIEL W. DRAKE ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
When I leave the island, it is always with the intention of coming back. I am not generally of a superstitious nature but on the subject of returning to Nantucket, I am adamant. Thus, I am one of those who still throw a penny over the rail of the ferry as it rounds Brant Point on its way to America in support of the myth that it will assure my return. Even if I am riding on one of the fast ferries and the weather is howling, I will find my way onto the open deck just long enough to watch for the right spot and then toss the penny. Incidentally, the "right spot" - where the lighthouse and the walkway are lined up - was added to the myth by a member of the family who likes to put his own spin on things. Before he came along, you merely had to be in the vicinity of the lighthouse for the copper incantation to work.

I always look around to see if anyone is watching and, if I spot a gawker, I usually lean casually on the rail and release the coin with an almost imperceptible flip of the wrist. After all, I do not want anyone to think I am nuts. On the other hand, if someone else looks like he or she is about to do the same thing, I will give the penny a pitch as if I am on the mound at Fenway. Somehow, making a show of it is fine if I can share my obsession with a kindred spirit.

Thus, when I leave Nantucket by airplane, I always feel a bit uneasy. Penny throwing is simply not an option. First, in these days of noise abatement, it is unlikely that the plane will come within throwing distance of Brant Point. Second, it would be frowned upon to open the plane's door to dispatch the penny. Finally, I, for one, am so empretzled in the plane that finding a free hand or the range of necessary body motion is an effort beyond the pale.

However, the airport must have heard about my plight, because it has come up with a means of assuring my return. It has reinstituted the $20 per night parking charge for winter residents who park at the airport for more than three consecutive nights.

A couple of years ago, Town Meeting adopted an article requiring the airport to give a break on parking charges to island residents during the winter months. The airport commission responded by selling island residents a $15 pass, which allowed a resident to park for up to three nights. If one was gone for longer than three nights, one could buy another package, to cover the next three nights. Thus, overnight parking cost $30 for 4-6 nights.

No longer! Effective with the current offseason, one cannot purchase consecutive packages. Now a parking stay of 4-6 days will cost $35-$75. At five days, the airport parking cost is just about a break-even with the round trip taxi fare (including tip) from the nether reaches of the island where I live. For six days, it is off the charts.

When I left last week for five days and went to purchase my parking pass, I considered telling the good person that I needed two passes, because I was going to be gone for a couple of nights and then for a couple more. I tried wording my request in different ways, but, it, ultimately, I could not bring myself to perpetrate a fraud on the airport, no matter how deserved. So I paid for my three day pass and mentally budgeted the additional $40 charge that would await me on my return.

Oh yes, I would be back. Otherwise that daily charge would accrue come hell or high…snow.

The trip combined business of sorts, pleasure and grandchildren. It was to that part of the world where "sure" is spoken with at least two syllables and "Yes, ma'am" (of innumerable syllables) is the phrase that no child can pass their sixth birthday without learning.

Duplin County, North Carolina, lies in the eastern part of the state. It is rural and, with the decline of the tobacco industry, it is very poor. It is a place which people pass through on their way from the cities of the Research Triangle and the Piedmont on their way to North Carolina's wonderful coast. In most respects, Duplin County is about as antithetical to Nantucket as one might find.

There are about 15 schools in the county school system - unlike Nantucket with its three - and by general agreement, the schools are pretty well broken. They are among the worst performing in the state. Results on standardized tests are poor, SAT scores are well below the state average and teacher turnover rates exceed norms. Is this beginning to sound familiar?

Last week, I was fortunate to hear a brief presentation by a professor at the business school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who has gone in to take a 360 degree look at the Duplin County schools to try to figure out what needs to be done to turn them around. Every aspect of the school system is being examined from the curriculum to hiring practices; from student life to teacher training; from governance to community support. At this juncture, this holistic approach may be the only one which provides hope of a solution to the system problems which have ground down the Duplin schools.

The study is not complete, and the professor offered only a few tidbits of what he has found thus far. One, which was particularly striking, is that there are no apartment complexes in Duplin County. No apartments. There is no place for young teachers to live!

How ironic, that as different as Nantucket is from Duplin County, it shares some of the same school issues and at least one of the causal effects. Do we need an in-depth, holistic examination of our schools?

Coming back on Monday, I was aware of the snowstorm, but it didn't become a reality until learning that my flight from Logan, and all flights from anywhere, to Nantucket were indefinitely delayed. Wanting to keep all my options open - and painfully aware that if I didn't make it back that night, I would incur another $20 in parking charges - I took the bus to Hyannis. Fortunately, the planes started flying about 5 p.m. on Monday afternoon and I was soon back at our snow-covered airport.

As I waited for the inch of ice on my windshield to defrost so I could free the wipers (and find the airport's little white envelope) and contemplated how to get through the snow plowed up against my car and still avoid backing into a large truck, I mused about how the airport has magically guaranteed my return by converting my penny into its $20 bill - without

anyone seeing me fork it over. I

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