(written on the 4th of July, posted now that I have computer access)
This evening I sit in the cupola of the grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, waiting for the sun to exit stage west and make room for fireworks. I’m thinking about setting tonight, and what an interesting mix of influences act upon this island.
There are no cars on Mackinac–thanks to the carriage drivers of the early 20th century, who insisted that the motor cars were startling the horses. The island makes some of the best compost in the U.S. People walk around (or bike around) with shovels and scoops and wheelbarrows. (Thank goodness.) (As an aside, from the 5th of July: tonight we were walking down the main drag in town and Alex shouts, “Mommy, look, it’s a poop bicycle!” Sure enough, it was a bike with a wheelbarrow attached to the back.) There is a clear commitment to at least semi-sustainable living on Mackinac, as evidenced by the composting and the extremely rigid code of recycling and trash management posted in the businesses. Yet for all these progressive influences, I have seen more smokers in the past week than in the last two months in Columbia.
The landscaping here is truly the most beautiful I’ve ever seen–unaffected, lush with both annuals and perennials, and relying very little on non-blooming shrubs. There is nothing “low-maintenance” about it. Here, on the 4th of July, the lilacs and peonies are still blooming.It’s especially beautiful here at the Grand, but even in Traverse City and the drive to Mackinaw City, the streets were lined with flowers.
The Grand, and Mackinac in general, employ hundreds of international workers, mostly from Eastern Europe, Africa and Jamaica, if my experience is representative. To a person, they are some of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. The clientele of the hotel, by contrast, is white. From Sunday to Thursday I saw exactly one non-white guest, and she was a child accompanied by a white mother. It makes me uncomfortable. It feels a little…I don’tknow, antebellum. (Inserting comment from 5th July: beginning Thursday evening the number of minorities took a marked upswing, so that the population over the weekend has been far more diverse, but still weighed heavily, heavily to white people.)
But the kids are back from the fort now (we had them with a sitter tonight), and they are needing attention, so I will sign off for tonight. (5th July: Pardon any typos and rough edges; I’m trying to get the computer back to my brother in law.)
