The Stone Pier Metaphor... Not long ago a Nor Easter tore a hole in the stone pier near The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Yesterday a friend brought a board to The Hole so we could cross the hole in the pier and make it to the end of the rocks and fish in the best spot. Once on the other side the board came with us. A little while later along came a man with a ladder. He crossed the water filled hole too, but he left the ladder in place for anyone who wanted to cross with him. The next day I fished The Hole and this time there were no friends with boards or ladders... just a stretch of water and a cold breeze standing between where I was and where I wanted to be. So without hesitation I jumped into the water and pulled myself up on the rocks and went on to fish my favorite spot on the rocks. Cold and wet? Yes a little, but I was happy to be in the spot that I wanted to be. At the end of that day... I thought about how much beauty and magic there can be in a ladder. The stone pier was never repaired and over time most of the pier has just fallen into the sea. Now nobody gets to fish in the best spot. A permanent crossing for everyone was never devised so a great spot... once built of stone, is now lost to all. Over the years I watched storm after storm batter the stone pier until there was almost nothing left of it. To me... The Stone Pier has become a critical metaphor for an America today that has fallen into disrepair on so many different levels and it feels like we are unable to do much of anything... but brace for the next storm. The obvious question is... How many more storms can a divided America really take?
Posted on: Fri, 29 Nov 2013 12:55:14 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015