Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Little Red Boat

Carvers Harbor is a lobstering community on Vinalhaven Island. The harbor still stinks like dead fish sometimes, and the lobster boats take up every inch of the harbor - though, this year, there was one pricey-looking sailboat anchored in the middle of them all. When we went ashore, a lobster boat was secured to the public landing for repairs or a paint job when the tide went out, and the locals still barreled through town in loud pick up trucks.

The fishing boats weren't working - it wasn't the season yet so all was quiet on the water. Linda Bean's operation across the way would make our spot a non-stop roller coaster ride when they are. We saw a bald eagle causing a loud commotion with the local gulls as it tried to feast on a carcass - we assumed it was a carcass anyway. We couldn't see what was hidden behind the rocks about 500 feet from where we were anchored for the night. All we saw was a lot of gulls dive-bombing this huge bird when it landed. Eventually it gave up and flew off.

The town is changing - there's a new pricey dress shop, and a city coffee shop with WiFi. There was a restored VW station wagon in the town landing parking lot among the local beaters, and the local grocer now offers gourmet and artisan foods along with the boxes of regular mac and cheese.

More than a couple of old fisherman's homes and shacks around the harbor have morphed into Martha Stewart summer homes. It's beginning to look a bit like Maine Home - boring.

I think all people deserve a chance to work, make a good living, send their kids to college, afford health care, take a vacation, and even make a fortune from the sale of their waterfront shack. But I really wish folks from away would simply appreciate the way places like this look - which is what drew them in the first place, and leave nothing of themselves except the money it takes to keep them looking the same. It's like donating to your favorite museum, except the things you're preserving are still alive.

Little Red Boat • 8"x 8" watercolor framed to 12" x 12" • $200



2 comments:

  1. It really is a special place- one of my favorites. I love your painting!

    I heard that Vinalhaven was getting a cell phone service and wifi.. I felt sad about that.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yep - it's kind of a bummer, but inevitable I suppose.

    ReplyDelete