More "Chop!"

If getting to Frenchboro was an adventure, getting home was even more so!

 
Paul's boat, Sparrow

Paul Joy lives on Swans Island where he is a lobsterman every morning.

He picks up the mail on Frenchboro "'bout noontime."  

He drives the school bus on Swans every weekday afternoon.

And he is the pastor of the Swans Island church every Sunday. 

   Did I mention he has 10 children and a bunch of grandchildren?  .

He is also a delight.  He greeted us warmly as he tied up his boat. Then he teased us with, "This here's a working boat, ladies. This ain't no pleasure cruise!"

  Often, there's nowhere to sit on a lobsterboat so I found a place to stand at the dash, next to some of Paul's lobstering gear. To save trouble, lobstermen often leave their boots and hauling pants like this, so they can pull them off and on in one motion.  Imagine a big smell of bait right now, too!

"Did ya pack your Dramamine?" he asked.



You might not be able to hear him here, but he asks Jan Coates of Island Readers and Writers if she told me that he's a pastor. Then he joked that when the waves are rough like this . . . 

"I like to ask people, 'How are you doing with your Maker?  Is everything all right with you and the Lord?'" 

This is all I had to hold onto.

 A strip of wood nailed to the dash to keep things from rolling off!

But once we were through the stretch of open ocean, Swans Island came into view. It's another beautiful place. I was glad to get off the boat to see it!  :-)



Paul tied up and introduced us to the other lobstermen on the dock. "These here are learned people," he teased. "This one's a book writer!"

I turned twelve shades of purple.

"Well, ain't that something!" one said. 

Another asked me if I were Cynthia Rylant. What a lovely surprise to hear a familiar children's book author's name come up. He told me he reads with his seven year old, and she's a favorite author right now. 



Paul told us he would drive us across the island to the ferry terminal, but we had an hour to wait and would we like a coffee?  "I'll take you to the island Wal-Mart. It's not a Super Wal-Mart, though. Not yet, anyway!"

He pulled in here:



It had the finest "Wal-Mart" coffee ever.

  I couldn't have asked for a better trip. Even the wild waves made it memorable and special. 

Today I head back up to Mt. Desert Island for another school visit with Island Readers and Writers on Monday. This time we're going way Down East to Machias.  Machias isn't an island, but Jan is spreading her organization's reach to include rural areas in Maine, whether they are islands or not.