Barstool Sports And The View From Our Island Home

To the editor: “Nantucket has always been my favorite place on Earth. The best day of my year was heading to the island for vacation. The worst day was taking the ferry back home...I dreamed of buying a place where I could see the ferry come and go and have privacy because seeing the ferry leave makes me appreciate every second I got to spend on the island.”

That is a quote from David Portnoy as reported in the Inquirer & Mirror. The Nantucket Current deserves credit for the breaking story that Portnoy paid $42 million for the Monomoy residence, where he has a harbor view.

Oddly enough, his remarks, quite eloquent actually, remind me of the view from Our Island Home. When there, you also have a magnificent view of the harbor, and you can see the ferries come and go out the windows, or on the patio. This was a view that many fought to preserve for the nursing home residents when a move to Sherburne Commons was proposed for the new nursing home. That will now most likely take place, but OIH in its present location will be replaced by a senior center so the view will not be lost to the older members of the Nantucket community.

As a resident of Our Island Home, my mother was fortunate to have the harbor view from her window. The irony was that she was blind. However, she would ask her caregivers about what was happening in the harbor, about the big yachts or sailing ships that came during the summer months. She could also hear the ferry horn as the ferry left the island.

Fortunately, then, this is a view available to many, regardless of income or wealth. On an island so divided by wealth, it is good to know that there still is a place where the members of the Nantucket community can go to enjoy the view from the comfort of the OIH dining room or a bed, as in my mother’s case, because she was also bed bound. For years and years, OIH residents, staff, and visitors have had the $42 million dollar view. And it is nice to know that the older members of the Nantucket community will still have it when the new senior center comes to be.

Maureen Searle