I am still a newcomer on the Island by the standards of many who have lived here for decades and whose families lived here decades before them. My Vashon experience has spanned the last 15 years and admittedly, only a third of it has been as a resident Islander. Even that time is divided into a four-year stay from 1998 to 2002 when I was a commuter and the last year and a half when I have lived and worked on-Island. Still I have a great appreciation for Vashon.
Every time I have driven off the ferry, whether it has been as a visitor, a commuter completing the long tedious trip home or returning from a day of exploration in the city, I have felt this great sense of peace. I’m not sure why I feel that way, but it has never waivered. It could be the immediately obvious slower pace, the beautiful trees, the rolling hills or the instant recall of the treasures I know exist in this peculiarly wonderful place.
I often find myself going on and on about Vashon when I am meeting with off-Islanders in the city. I extol its virtues more than I know they want to hear. I explain that our citizens are creative and smart. I make sure they know how many artists and musicians we have and that some of them are in my own family. Notice I said “we have” because I think we do feel as if their talents belong to all of us. We have an opera and a community theater and music venues and art galleries and beaches and some really good restaurants. I encourage them to come over, visit and spend a weekend. Enjoy the many things there are to do on this little Island: tour artist studios, watch dogs herd sheep or climb to the top of a lighthouse.
My current experience has been much different than when I was a commuter — especially since my job paves the way for me to be involved in lots of community groups, some formal and organized and some loosely knit and more fluid of purpose. I have discovered there is a group for almost everything and maybe even two or three. I’m much more of a participant this time around than I was before, and as you can imagine that has its good and not-so-good sides. How things get done is not always as pleasant as the result. Even so, my enthusiasm for Vashon has not diminished. In fact, it’s stronger than ever.
Vashon is filled with people who care. Even though we don’t all care about the same things, I think we all like the fact that most of us care about something. And even more important, most are willing to get involved, particularly when it means helping a neighbor in need. In those instances, differences don’t seem to matter. There are traditionalists who like to replicate the known and iconoclasts who do everything they can to find a different way. I believe we value the opportunity to believe what we want to believe so much that we would never want to interfere with the same opportunity being exercised by one of our neighbors even if our beliefs were at odds. We simply value our differences and our chance to be different.
I know firsthand that we are not without problems. We have shortcomings and there are things we could do better, but love for our community is not one of them. Vashon Islanders love Vashon and being a part of that is special. I love seeing the usual cast of characters at Minglement or Café Luna. I love passing by the John Deere Pond every morning on my way to work and knowing there is a bicycle stuck in a tree only a few hundred yards from my office. Visiting the Saturday Market, hiking at Fern Cove and knowing that around any corner I might see a llama, a goat or a horse when I am only a 20-minute boat ride away from the big city makes me smile with satisfaction.
More than one of us has written about our love of this Island, and I’m sure I have not been the most eloquent, but I was thrilled to have the opportunity to share my love of Vashon. It’s the holiday season and many gifts are being given to friends and loved ones. But none could be as wonderful as the gift we have all been given, the chance to call Vashon home.
— Ken Maaz is the director of Vashon Youth & Family Services.
