There are thousands of islands, some tiny and some not so very, dotting the coastline of Maine. A good number of them are uninhabited. Some sport a handful of trees and others a tiny forest. Each island has its own micro ecosystem. Many of the smaller islands are completely reliant on rain for freshwater. The larger islands have underground sources as well as rain. The birds freely fly back and forth from island to island, giving a comparatively cosmopolitan feel to otherwise excruciatingly wild places.
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| Islands, islands everywhere. |
Some islands in Maine
are for sale. You could buy an
island. It’s amazing that you can still
do that these days, but then, Maine
is an amazing place. Imagine owning your
own little piece of land, surrounded entirely by the ocean. It would be like a tiny continent. As sovereign of your newly-acquired kingdom,
it would be your job to create a sustainable community that flourishes and
grows. It would be your job to make laws
and enforce rules. There’s just
something about being on a piece of land, surrounded by water and cut off from immediate
access to the rest of the world, that confers instant noblesse oblige.
If I were Queen of an island, I would insist that all
inhabitants greet the sun each day as it rises and also the moon when it rises
because both of these heavenly bodies would have so much to do with our little
ecosystem. As much as possible, I would
want us to provide our own food through gardening, animal raising, and
fishing. There would be many holidays
with large feasts, and everyone would sit and eat together. If we all broke bread together, we would be
more apt to be friends, I think.
We would live completely on the barter system. Song, music, arts, and crafts would be traded
for food and material goods, and vice versa.
There would be no clocks, but we wouldn’t need anything beyond the
timing of the sun and moon anyhow. We
would have no need for electronic gadgets or devices that dull the senses and
stifle the mind. People would be
responsible for themselves. Good deeds
would be encouraged, and kindness would be expected. Healers would be appreciated, and the barter
system would pay them. And
storytellers? Well, they would be most
esteemed, their tales weaving magic and entertainment for all as only
storytellers can do.
I am not Queen . . . yet.
But tomorrow is another day.
