Here It Comes

TV crews have the ocean side beach lit up like noon time covering the beginning of the beginning of a real one. The waves are pretty fantastic despite the winds being moderate to tame.  There is a rolling you hear when they get turning over the stone that is like being in a thousand lane bowling alley taken over by hyperactive octopi.  We have prepared as best we can and recognize there will be a mess to be cleaned up by the end of the day tomorrow.  School is out and I have already answered emails telling students the test is still on for Tuesday if we get back in then.  Haley did her math homework.  Before and after pictures will be up at some point in the morning. Check back.

Red Zone

My own version of a hundred year storm may be on tap.  I have moved the web cam that shot into the harbor back to a northeast position to watch it happen.  I have taken several "before" pictures, screwed in some plywood, kept some in reserve for the unforeseen.  I will be writing a sub plan in a few minutes in case I should not be heading to school in the morning.  I would guess if I can't go then a lot of Marshfield won't be able to go either but I like to show due diligence.  I am hemming and hawing about where to put the car.  I have wondered if up on the grass might be a good idea.

So tune in to the cameras as they become available.  Lets hope that the fog up there isn't too thick on the glass.  Lets hope too that the ridiculous numbers that have shown up in the past and put themselves in harms way don't show up this time. That will help keep the blood pressure out of the red zone.

Revolving Door

Lots and lots of visitors to the Lighthouse since the last post.

We held two more open house dates in August and September which saw a preponderance of adults visit and one more kid discovered in the refrigerator.  We had had our first in July and perhaps the word got out that the thing to see on the tour was the amazing collection of salad dressings we keep on the door.

My sister Christine joined the effort during the September date.  She pitched in with the usual stalwarts, Peter and Barbara Whitfield, my sister Lee, and Jules.  More and more we noticed groups of adults going from site to site and gratefully, there was less of me talking and more people asking questions.  These are long days and the Whitfields are amazing in their endurance.  We are so very lucky to have them join us.

With the shirts and books and signs and props put away we gathered around the table in the yard for a dinner Christine and Lee put together.  My brothers in law joined us and we looked up to find my cousin Lynne trucking up the driveway.  Some very nice hours in the Indian Summer light.  The only thing that went wrong that day was the Patriots score.

Thanks to John and Christine for the shot from the Tower.

We noted the anniversary of the utility room being renovated with a visit from a library group organized by the one time caretaker here Betty Foster.  She suffered through more broken pipes than anyone and survived the Blizzard of 78 here so she had a greater appreciation than most for how much improved that room is now. We made it a point of emphasis with each open house to ask people where they were from and to thank them if they lived in town for the support Town Meeting has offered projects here at the Lighthouse.  It is a beautiful thing now and the discoveries of a year ago have become valued additions to the tours.

Records kept by Simeon Bates show that the first order for oil for the newly lit Scituate Light was placed in October 1811.  We are now in year 201 at this location and because of the work done by Shawn Harris getting Smith Boilers to donate a new one here I have not had to order any yet.  The new system seems to burn infinitely better and for that I am thrilled.  Shawn probably has his doubts about it now as he is my source and I have seen a great deal less of his trucks now that the new system is in place.

Another group in town for a visit came from France with former Foreign Language department head Patricia Jaquart.  Julie and Haley enjoyed that visit and Hales got a chance to take her burgeoning mastery of French out for a spin. Better her than me I think.  No one was a worse foreign language student than I was.  This was a second group as Madame had a set of travelers here in August as well.  Selectmen John Dannehy joined in on that tour and I was able to show him some of the work done in the past three plus years.  I was very grateful for his time and I think he was grateful as well.

Two weeks ago we had a remarkable visit from the great grandson of the last Jetty Light Keeper, John Francis Cushman.  Chris Hall and his wife visited from New Orleans and donated some material I did not know existed.  While I was aware of a set of logs dealing with supplies and inventory in which Keepers Prouty and Cushman detailed the weather and the big storms, it turns out that there were another set of logs in which Frank Cushman went into even more detail.  Chris Hall has donated these log books to the Society and the Society is likely to seek funding for their preservation in the manner that the others are currently undergoing.  It was an amazing donation and it has me begging the question, could there be others out there kept by John Ensign Otis Prouty?

Just last Monday Julie had a wonderful visit with a family from California.  The Schotts, Tom, Shirley and their granddaughter Jessi had contacted the Society back in August while planning a trip east to visit their son in western Massachusetts.  Jessi had read a book about the Army of Two and her grandmother wanted the opportunity to take her to the horses mouth.  Julie loved having them here and Jessi was the brightest seven year ever here.  It remains a thrill that this place can connect us to so many wonderful people whom we would never otherwise meet.  We have begun to keep a log of our own that our guests are signing as they visit.

That morning began in a unique fashion as there was a portrait being done far out on the rocks on the ocean side just as the sun was coming up.  A young man negotiated the slippery path out and the photographer managed his way out too with flashes popping and reflectors reflecting.  Our cat made his way out there too.
I am sure it was a remarkable photograph but it surprised me no end to hear anyone at that hour and then to have the artificial lightning bouncing around outside while I was shaving.

Yesterday we had guests from Sweden here as one time Scituate High School Class of 1977 exchange student George Fieber and his wife Lotta joined the Evans clan of Scituate once again at the Lighthouse.  I remembered George from our high school years and he and his wife were delights to have with us.  Cross another country off the map in our attempt to cover them all.

Several members of the Scituate Historical Society, including your blogging Keeper, have contracted to write a book on the famous and infamous of Scituate.  We will be soliciting photographs by letter to the families of those nominated.  We know that our judgement will be called into question when the final result arrives next summer but we loved the idea of yet another Scituate history book and a chance to focus on the diverse accomplishments and diverse personalities of this amazing small town.  If you have a unique photograph of a political, business, or non profit leader please consider contacting me at scituatelight@comcast.net.  All photographs will be returned once scanned and any donations will be noted in the text of the book.

These two swans made an appearance on the beach just the other day and Julie caught them with the telephoto lens.  As I noted there are tons of portraits being done here and I wanted to caption this one this way.  "Which one of us was the ugly duck?"

Catching Up

It dawned on me the other day that I never reported out on the Annual Heritage Days weekend. Time to catch up.

Heritage Days begins with the lighting up of the coast on Friday night.  The Luminaria brings neighborhoods together to participate and Cedar Point sent its best.  Betty and John Kincaid stored the bottles all summer long and a crew fills them with sand and candles in the afternoon. Peter and Linda Martin with their son Peter, led the charge around 5:00 with the milk bottles and candles for the Jetties and the beach.  Haley was out there too, with Sophia and Charlotte and Kristen and lots of other neighbors.  The wind was up and I had my doubts about how many we would be able to get to hold the match but the vast majority burned all night long.

As I was working my way down the beach around 8:00 to light my share, I ended up in conversation with a mother, her daughter and her daughter's husband.  The senior member of the trio was a Mrs. Burton, formerly of Scituate and returned to visit after many years.  They shared with me their story of a tour of Etrusco on the day it came off the beach in November 1956.  Mrs. Burton's husband, Richard, (an easy one to remember) was part of the team working on re floating the ship.  Mother and daughter recalled dinner nearly on the table when Richard arrived home with word that they were going to have to drive to Boston to pick him up as he was going aboard ship now that the team had had success at last.  Once in Boston both were taken aboard.  The younger recalled it being a dirty and unpleasant tour until they made it into the captain's berth.  There the wood work was polished to perfection and the appointments were impeccable.  I kept up the questioning as long as I could as I was unbelievably excited to have stumbled into this story.  All those years later Etrusco has still got stories to tell.

Saturday and Sunday saw the Lighthouse and Tower open for tours once again.  There was scarcely a breeze on Saturday and on Sunday there was a gale.  Peter and Barbara Whitfield took their usual places and were joined on Saturday by my sister Lee and on Sunday by Nancy Fay and her nephew Ben.  I can never thank them enough for pitching in.   Haley headed up to the Bates House where I am pleased to report they had a new high mark set for visitors at an open house.

The crowds were of a reasonable size and that let me tell more stories than usual on Saturday.  On Sunday I took a step back and tried to take more questions rather than lecture.  The guests did not let me down either as I was asked many things that don't often come up.

One of the great surprises of the day was a question on a ball cap I keep in the office.  It is from the USS Enterprise and was a gift from a naval officer once of that ship and now on staff with the Joint Chiefs.  It turns out that his sister in law and her family were on the tour and it gave me a chance to let them now how much I miss Patrick's correspondence.  One of these days he will come through and we will get a picture of the two of us in those hats.

The next open house is here on Sunday August 19th from 1:00 to 4:00.  Visitors are asked to donate $2.00 and there will be t-shirts and sweatshirts available as souvenirs.  There are also books on Scituate history, mugs, prints and Christmas cards.  Come on down and support the Light and the Society.

I know, I know ...

The router at the top of the Light has died.  This puts the cameras out of commission until I can find a replacement and get it installed.  It could be the long cable that takes the signal from the top to the connection by my desk is cooked as well.  Tests will begin today and repairs will be as timely as possible.

Update:  Tests have determined it is the long cable that snakes under the kitchen, down the runway, and up the Tower.  Repair date to be determined.

Update 2:  We are back up with both cameras.  There was a faulty cable along with the originally burned out  router.  I had a back up for both and once again you can get a glimpse of this storied harbor.

Tuesday Night News

In the middle of a tremendously fun band of thunderstorms I thought I better note that the web cams are down because of an earlier set of thunderstorms that burned out my router.  I will be on the case tomorrow and hope to have the kit back in place then.

In other news I would like to reveal that the lobster that adorns the garden has been named 5 Eyes.  

Getting glasses for him is going to be a challenge.  Thanks to Dave Ball for the name.

We hosted an open house here Sunday and just over 200 visited from 1:00 to 4:00.  Thanks go out to the team supreme of Julie, Lee Coscia, with Peter and Barbara Whitfield.  It was gusty out there and a  tent went flying over Barbara's head on its way to the parking lot.  I enjoyed being able to share the renovated Utility Room for the first time and the response from young and old was terrific.  Heritage Days are the next opportunities for the public to tour the Cottage and the Tower.  Come and see us on August 4 and 5.

Don't Lose That Number

A weekend heatwave brought a tremendous crowd to Scituate Light.  Some behaved and some did not.

We get guests on the beach and guests all around the Tower and the Jetties every day.  The numbers are incredible.  We have the greatest conversations on the fence and in the yard.  We see old friends and meet new ones.  Most people are good guests; they clean up after their dogs, they recognize the limits we have to place on access, they admire the Light and wish us well taking care of the site.  And as I noted, the numbers are incredible.  There could be one thousand people here on an average day.  Posing for pictures, walking the seawall, grabbing a hot dog, pacing the dog, reading the papers. All of these things happened here this weekend and in all that I  haven't a complaint.

But, (and you knew this was coming didn't you,) there is another list of activities that happens here that I can not applaud.

On Friday night I had to phone the police at around 11:00 when a group formed around the Tower and onto the Big Jetty that was determined to share a play by play account of the various indignities that exist when drinking beer and not having access to a restroom coincide.  Girls voices visited me as I was reading, at a pitch that shook the glasses in the cabinet, with nouns and verbs I would rather not hear next to each other if I have to hear them at all.  I have gone out to groups like these in the past and moved them on myself.  At the  end of the summer especially, groups meet here to add one more memory of the old home town before a new chapter begins some where else. This was different in that words were exchanged at a high decibel level that ought not be exchanged at all.  There was a shamelessness to the behavior. I considered going out with a camera to take some pictures until I recognized that there was no way to embarrass such people.  They had crossed over into another universe from mine; one where you could apparently be both physically and verbally disgusting en mass.  Scituate Police moved them on very quickly. I asked that they send the message that this is not the place for that alternative universe to reappear.

Saturday morning we had a great set of guests as an old friend and roommate of my brother brought his extended in laws to the Light. I got to practice for next weekend's open house and take some questions as we moved from the Utility Room with its new displays through the office, the runway and at last, the Tower. It was a wonderful visit for us and we hope for them.  Later in the day we caught them again as they headed out on a chartered boat for a cruise. It was a  perfect evening for that and a great day all around.

Sunday saw lots of weeds pulled up, gardens watered, a gutter repaired, and even a swim.  We had a ton of company all afternoon and we enjoyed all of it.  I sold a few shirts from a table set up in the yard as a fund raiser for the Cottage and the Tower.  I poured through a classic mystery, listened to the Sox.  There were all the elements in place for another perfect day.

Then the power went out.  It was nearly 9:00 when we lost it and we got our flashlights in place and read a little bit.  Around 10:30 it was time to go up to bed and call it a nearly perfect day.

When the power returned, the sound of computers and microwaves waking up, woke me up.  At about 3:00 I let the cat out, noticed a skunk in the courtyard by the office going to town on the clover, and, as I was heading back up to sleep, I heard something in the yard. At first I thought it was someone on the roof of the runway.

Window by window I checked, and as I went, I turned on some lights.  As I flicked on a kitchen light, I saw someone run across the yard and duck through the fence.  I came to the conclusion that there had been someone sitting in the Adirondack chair that I sat in all afternoon while I read. I began to wonder if the car break ins I had read about on Seaview and Scituate Aves had moved down to the Point.

That had me up and wide awake.  It was approaching 3:30.

I did not want to overreact.  I don't like to call and in the three plus years we have been here I have called all of four times prior to this weekend.  I want cars to come when I call but recognize that human nature being what it is, if I call once a week, they may not come as fast as I want them to.  I got a flashlight and went up stairs where I could scan around the Tower and the Jetty.  There didn't seem like too many voices out there and I only saw one car in the lot.  I decided this could be a couple using the wee hours of the morning to advance their relationship.  I was partially right.

By ten minutes to four it was quiet again. The lone car was still in place but I couldn't see any one or hear anyone. I had checked the door to the Tower, I had checked our cars.  The kayaks were fine. The flashlight and the flicking lights seemed to have done the trick.  I was just getting back to bed when I heard two voices approaching the car.  Oddly they did not get in and drive away.  The two of them began to wander toward Rebecca Road.  I decided I had to call again.  I told the dispatcher all that had transpired and that I couldn't go back to sleep until I knew that this wasn't a crew breaking into cars.

Down the street rolled three cruisers.  It was after four.  The couple was back at the car and greeted the officers like it wasn't four in the morning and it was as normal a thing in the world to be in the Lighthouse Parking lot hanging around.  I began to think the alternative universe had returned.  (I was also rooting for the skunk to play a role.) Inexplicably the two didn't get into the car and drive away.  I had only been partially right.  There were actually four of them and the driver and his femme fatale were missing!

The first young lady, (lets call her Doris, for the Doris Day voice she used when greeting the police) began to call out for her missing chauffeur.  Her partner was a young man making the continually perplexing fashion choice of boxers pulled up to mid chest and shorts dropped down to mid thigh. (I always think that kids dressed this way look like old men getting undressed.) We will call him Stanley Kowalski  as at one point he tore off his t shirt like Brando in Street Car Named Desire.  She was now using the voice of a thousand cigarettes and language that would make a prison guard blush.  It was ten after four and we have gone back into the twilight zone.

She called for him for about five minutes straight, using the voice of Vito Corleone with a head cold and the language of a deranged rapper trying to empty the cursing dictionary of all its adjectives.  I did not want to think about what he might be doing so I pulled the pillow over my head and began to catalog all the things I knew he was not doing.

He was not:  Solving Pi to a repeating decimal, chairing a Mensa meeting, debating the Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act, gathering records needed to be considered as Mitt Romney's VP, writing a thank you card to his aunt, flossing his teeth, training for the Olympics, learning the Boy Scout pledge, writing a book, reading a book, researching the Higgs Bosun particle, trading recipes, trading baseball cards, playing Monopoly or home asleep.

He was also not:  Panning for gold, auditioning for Broadway, raising the Titanic, developing film, recovering from surgery, buying the world a Coke, renewing season tickets, parsing his words, playing Roulette, running laps, felling trees, digging ditches, or saving the whales.

I had many more but I began to entertain thoughts that I was crazed by sleep deprivation and that all of it was nothing but a bad dream.  Then I heard the laughing.

Doris and Stanley had at last been joined by Romeo and Juliet of the Jetty.  With their arms around each other they lolled across the parking lot in the halogen glare of the dark before dawn.  With a great deal of cheer they made their way to the car and at last took leave of Cedar Point.  In some ways a scene of great innocence and in others a trip to a maddening place where there isn't any sort of recognition that life can be anything better than coarse and animal.

I could do without this kind of visit.  I could do without having to watch the growing pains of the shameless and phony Doris and Stanleys of the world, seemingly raised by filthy mouthed wolves who see every place they go as an outhouse or brothel.  I did in fact get back to sleep in time for another amazing sun rise to wake me up. My first thought this morning:

Wouldn't it have been great if the skunk played a bigger role in the story?