There is comfort to be found in the small community that comes together to share the burden of grief.

Sometimes I suspect that the word “work” is code for “paying attention” and “spending time.”

Phil Crossman has a new book out called Observations: A Maine Island, a Century of Newsletters and the Stories Found Between the Lines.

It was just a camp built by boys, because that is what we were back in 1959—boys in search of adventure where Brandy Brook empties its copper colored water into Carver’s Pond, an estuary of Vinalhaven’s main harbor.

For nearly 20 years, North Haven Community School's high school students have ventured into the woods for a week each year, usually in the fall. They canoe, hike or occasionally bike, most often breaking and making camp each day in a new spot.

Our social ties are very tight along the coast, and there is a great deal of information available to leaders working to solve community challenges.

Despite the desperate situation, we train for just such things. No matter how bad a situation at sea becomes, hope for survival always remains strong.

Each year, I buy three cords, cut and split, which costs me $675. Even as cold as last winter was, I still have a cord left over, stacked in the basement.

By this time, I and others have usually made our way through the odd feeling that comes at the end of August. Overtired from working days and staying out later than usual at night, we have scrambled for every last chance to see friends before saying those parting words, “Have a good winter!”