The Pleasurable Pause of Winter in Jamestown

I live on an island. Yes, it’s connected by bridges (as well as a ferry), but it still feels both insulated and isolated from the rest of the world. Especially this time of year, when license plates are all local and summer houses stand empty. 

While I completely understand the appeal of escaping New England winter, I also appreciate the unspoken community of our increasingly short off-season. Toughing it out here at home creates a sense of  “locals only;” a shared understanding that we’re all in this together. 

Most communities are built around a common passion, but this one is built on geography; an irrational sense that it’s different here from anywhere else. We feel like we automatically have something in common with others who are also somehow finding a way to stay warm and motivated until spring finally arrives, no matter what we’re each thinking about what’s happening out in the wider world. And thanks to our unpredictable New England weather, we always have a neutral topic to start off those wonderful offhand chats at the grocery or hardware store. Such “Jamestown moments” are sure to chase away any winter blues.

While I’m extremely grateful for the digital link this blog provides to book and boat lovers around the world, it will never replace the far more analog connections of interacting with my fellow islanders. Community matters—especially right now, when it’s so easy to feel more isolated than insulated by the storm waters lapping at our shores.

So, before the out-of-town license plates fill up the island again, let’s all pause to savor the joys of getting through the winter in a small town. And if you’ve had an unexpected interaction that helped fend off the winter blues, please share it in the comments below or send me an email. I read every single one, with a boatload of digital gratitude.