A journey to Vermont

Robert Frost's stone house in Shaftsbury, VT

I traveled to Bennington, VT a couple of weeks ago to visit my niece who is in college up there, and to hopefully see some spectacular fall foliage. We do get a subtle leaf change here on the Vineyard, but not as colorful a one as Vermont does, so was hoping to see something dramatic. Unfortunately for me, the season was late this year, and there was only the most minimal change while I was there. I did, however, get to visit a really nice little museum, just a few miles up the road in Shaftsbury, VT. It is the Robert Frost Stone House Museum, and is located in a house that was built in 1769, and which became Frost's home from 1920-1929. It is in this house that he wrote one of his most famous poems, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening", which was part of his Pulitzer Prize winning book "New Hampshire".

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Over the years there have been many interpretations of this poem, from a man stopping for a moment in the middle of his travels to take in the beauty of the moment...this beautiful snowy evening...to a poem about someone contemplating suicide. I suppose that is what art elicits, various responses depending on the viewer, or in this case, the reader. Each gets out of it, perhaps a different thing, something meaningful for them, but perhaps not for someone else.

I don't think I have ever interpreted this poem as one about contemplating death. Even Frost is quoted as saying that this wasn't a death poem. He loved nature, and spent many hours wandering outside in the natural world, and had a great knowledge of plants. He was moved by nature, and wrote a number of poems that used flowers, insects, cows, birches, birds, seasons, butterflies, snow, and any number of other things in nature as their main theme. I share with Frost that love of nature, and know well those moments out there that capture you, like the man in the poem stopping for a moment to take in the extraordinary beauty of the quiet snowy evening before he continues on with his journey. They hold you in thrall, as you pause, amidst some task you were about, to take it in. Those moments are often fleeting, but often feel transforming.

There is a story connected with this poem, which I don't think I had ever heard before my visit to the museum, but I think adds something special. Frost apparently wrote this poem on a hot June morning in 1922, after he had stayed up all night. The story goes that he had come out of the house into the early morning light, and had seated himself down on a stump to take in the scene around him. He had gone way past tiredness, and had entered a kind of heightened state of awareness. The air had a soft feel, and in his euphoric state he felt mesmerized by the beauty of everything around him, and the interconnectedness of it all. He then went back inside, and wrote "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening". It is said that the images in the poem came partly from his memories of his life on his family's farm in Derry, NH which he no longer owned, but where he had spent many happy years. I liked the idea of him writing this beautiful capture of a snowy woods on a cold, dark night while sitting at his desk on a hot June morning.

So, each reader can take from this poem what they will, and in the end that is probably as it should be, but Frost himself was apparently quite impatient with over analysis of his poems...the constant quest by others to place some greater meaning to his simple but beautiful words. In 1954, when asked once again about the underlying meaning of "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening", he said ..."that one I have been more bothered with than anybody ever has been with a poem....in just the pressing it for more than should be pressed for. It means enough without its being pressed. That's all right, you know. I don't say that somebody shouldn't press it, but I don't want to be there. " And he is right, of course.....the poem, in its simple beauty, does mean enough without pressing it for more.

Vice Presidential debate ends in a draw...or does it?

Watching the Vice Presidential debate on Tuesday night, I was glad to see that John Edwards was able to hold his own against a formidable, and dangerous adversary like Dick Cheney. Everyone called it basically a draw, and I generally agree with that assessment. However, when coupled with the fact that Cheney is Vice President of the United States, and a very powerful Vice President at that, who is an old hand at this kind of thing, having been a big player in a number of administrations, and this was the first time for Edwards in this kind of venue, then I think Edwards deserves the edge. He stood his ground, handled himself very well, spoke intelligently, and didn't let himself get thrown by any of the underhanded derisive remarks by Cheney.

Tomorrow's second debate between Bush and Kerry ought to be interesting, considering that Bush has a lot to make up for after his bad performance during the first debate..and that compensation might prove to be his downfall, if he isn't careful.

Great White Shark returns to the sea

On Sept 21, a large Great White Shark was spotted swimming around a fairly shallow bay off of the Elizabeth Islands near Wood's Hole, Massachusetts. It was identified as a female that was about 14 feet long, and weighing about 1750lbs. This was a highly unusual event for this area, since it is not common for a Great White to come in so close to land at this most northern fringe of its range. It had become somewhat trapped in this bay because the only way in or out was through a narrow inlet, which at low tide was no more than 3 feet deep.

The excitement caused by its appearance, had not only the press but tons of people flocking to the area to get a glimpse of it. People were actually canoeing, kayaking, sailing and motorboating out to the shark as it swam around the shallow bay, often foolishly putting themselves in imminent danger by leaning over to try to touch the shark's fin, in some cases nearly tipping over their boats. Although the shark didn't seem too stressed by its predicament, and the nearness of so many people, the Division of Marine Fisheries of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, decided to protect the shark from harassment or injury by restricting access to the bay. Marine Biologist Greg Skomal was able to attach a tag to the shark which will collect data on its environment. After 6 months it will release from the shark, come to the surface, and then begin transmitting the data it has collected via satellite. Little is known about the Great White, so this information could prove very valuable.

During the last couple of weeks, Federal, State, and local officials worked together using various methods to try to help encourage the shark to move back out into the deeper waters where it normally lives. I am happy to report that this afternoon [Oct 4] the shark finally was able to make it out of the bay, and back into its normal environment, to the great relief of everyone. A number of videos were taken of the shark as it swam around the bay, and those, plus more detailed information on the shark can be accessed at the link above.

First Presidential Debate

After watching the first Presidential debate last night, I am sure Bush's advisors had to sit him down for a little talk. He came off very badly...nervous..furtive..angry, and on a one note track all night. It seemed that every other phrase out of his mouth was ..." it is hard work". I found myself feeling embarrassed for him at times. On the other hand, I was glad to see Kerry, who has been my Senator for quite a while, come off with such grace, and poise. He didn't seem thrown by anything, and was able to speak clearly, decisively and intelligently. It was nice to finally see him come across the way I have always seen him, and not the way the Republicans would like to portray him. He definitely had a confident, Presidential air to him, whereas Bush came off like a petulant child, who is upset because someone is questioning his judgement. Well...the truth is, going to war with Iraq was bad judgement...a very costly mistake, most especially in the unnecessary loss of human life because of an unnecessary war. He may even by now, deep down, realize that going into Iraq was more than he bargained for, but for the most part, he seems totally blind to reason, and the chaos falling down around him.....soon to get worse, I'm afraid. And with Wolfowitz and the rest of the neocon pack driving him on like a bunch of rabid wolves, I doubt that he would have the ability to stand up to them.

He calls Kerry a "flip-flopper" because he has changed his mind while voting as a Senator. My view on that, is I want someone who can change their mind on an issue, who can reassess a situation after more information is gathered, who is willing to show some intelligence in analyzing data coming in, and then change the way something is done, if necessary. All this Bush talk of "stay the course", and a resolve not to waver is downright scary, since volatile situations like the Iraq one, are changing all the time, and becoming more dangerous by the day. Marching forward with blinders on and a steely resolve will only worsen the deteriorating situation, and only increase the death toll. A huge mess is what we have created there, and it is going to be hell to fix, if that is even possible. We have lost credibility in the world. This misbegotten war has caused an ever increasing instability in the Middle East, and an ever increasing hatred for the United States. We are not more secure as Bush says, but in much more danger.

I was glad to finally see someone be able to challenge Bush outright on the reason for invading Iraq. Kerry has tried to do this all along, but not very effectively. This time he was able to catch Bush in his delusional statement that he was trying to stop the terrorists by invading Iraq. Nevermind that no Iraqis were part of the 9/11 attack, that there was no indication that Iraq harbored terrorists before we invaded, and that there were no WMD. Nevermind that Saddam Hussein hadn't attacked anyone in 12 years, and probably wasn't really that capable of doing so with the sanctions placed on him. He was a cruel, fanatical dictator who would have hardly tolerated terrorist groups to congregate in his country. Due to those sanctions placed on him, he was contained, and under the watchful eye of the world. He hardly represented the kind of danger that would require a pre-emptive strike, and an all out war. A disasterous war...a terrible mistake, because by removing him, we have opened the door to the very terrorists he would never have tolerated. Not that I don't believe the Iraqi people deserved to be free of his tyranical rule, but not this way.

The excuse to go in was WMD, and terrorism. Did he forget about Afghanistan? About Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaeda, the ones who gladly, and proudly proclaimed that they were behind the 9/11 attack? What was he thinking? One minute, post 9/11, we are in Afghanistan supposedly pursuing Osama, although with very poor strategy, and then suddenly, out of the blue, we take an abrupt left turn, and invade Iraq, and in the process, allow Osama and many of al-Qaeda to escape. Was no one thinking here? Obviously not...although it is pretty plain to see that Iraq is a more desireable place to control, monetarily because of all its oil, and because of its strategic position in the Middle East, than the goat trails of Afghanistan. The neocons had Iraq in their sights since way before 9/11, so what better excuse to use to go in. Just bring up 9/11 every time you want to justify your mission, even if it doesn't fit, because they know that much of the American public, now wrongly equates 9/11 with Saddam Hussein. Just by constantly saying it is so, they have been able to convince a huge number of people that it is so. What a terrible thing, to take the tragedy of 9/11, and just use it to justify an unfair war in a country that had nothing to do with the attack on 9/11, and in the process cause unnecessary deaths to more innocent people...Iraqi civilians and our own soldiers.

What a mess, and a difficult one to get out of easily now. I hate to think of what bigger mess we might be in if Bush gets in for another 4 years. If Kerry wins, he will inherit this terrible situation, but I have more confidence in him, to gather the right people around him, to reach out diplomatically to other nations, and work towards a better resolution. It will not be easy, but we can't let it get any worse, and I feel if Bush gets in, it will all get worse. ..much worse.