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Who could possibly forget that heart stopping scene from the 1942 classic Casablanca when Humphrey Bogart has to break it to the stunningly beautiful Ingrid Bergman that he’s putting her on a plane without him. Even if you’re not a hopeless romantic like me, you can’t help by sigh a little as he reminds her they’ll always have Paris. Then, without the luxury of champagne glasses in hand, he still manages to “toast” their relationship and his affection for her by uttering those five famous words – “here’s looking at you kid.” Sigh…
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Words matter…and when we raise our glasses to offer a toast we can’t always know the longevity of the impact the words will have. One year ago this week my father-in-law treated his three granddaughters and eight other Dunlap women to the trip of a lifetime through France and Italy. Our last evening in France found us on a balcony perched high on a hillside overlooking the Mediterranean Sea at the Hotel Eze. As champagne was poured and the girls toasted Grandpa, he took the opportunity to turn the tables and offer them a treasured memory. He toasted them…first with words of pride for each of them, but then with personal hope and expectation for how each of them would lead their lives and choices they would make. The girls couldn’t have known that was the last time all three of them would be together with their grandfather. He passed away in February. He couldn’t have known it would be the most important words he would ever share with them.
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This week as thousands of people gather on Nantucket for the 20th Annual Nantucket Wine Festival, glasses will be raised repeatedly all around the island. Some will toast the wine or the food, others their hosts or dear friends. Still others will offer words of wisdom or encouragement and a few will settle on the simple, but meaningful “cheers.” As the glasses clink and the sips are taken all involved will be assured that goodwill is being shared. Maybe some will venture further…paying true homage to a loved one, an employer, a co-worker or a neighbor. The wine will be savored and consumed, but the words shared as the toasts are given will live on. I’m reminded to make them count.
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All across the island many will be raising glasses to toast the Grey Lady herself. With sincere affection and appreciation, we’ll unite to say…Here’s to you Nantucket for gathering generations of families for clambakes on Surfside Beach and family picnics at Great Point. For teaching our kids to sail at Nantucket Community Sailing when they were tiny and then teaching them how to work hard at the Boys and Girls Club when they were teens. Cheers to you for protecting our mesmerizing harbor and acres of conservation land, for preserving the fabric of our island history and the stories it holds. To the thick foggy days that remind us to focus on the here and now…and for the assurance that eventually the sunshine always returns. For being a place that many of us are honored to call home and others can’t wait to return to again and again… we thank you.
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We’ll always have Nantucket.
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