The Island Road

How much is there really to write about a road? A lot. I was young, so the road appeared to go on for eternity and so do the memories. It was one lane that winded first through the woods south of Vienna, Maryland. Then it dipped even lower and went through the marsh as a single lane road for what seemed like forever.

You never knew what you might come across on the drive. It was like it's own adventure theme park. Maybe there would be people you knew that would flash a peace sign or an index finger wave. Or maybe there would be someone from "away." You might even see some silly birdwatchers dressed in hats and netting that would brave the mosquito infested marsh road for the chance of seeing or hearing something spectacular (like the Elliott's Island Rail - an extremely rare marsh bird that could only be heard at night). There would likely be bald eagles, maybe some interesting road kill and possibly flooded sections with fish or crabs crossing the road. (Apparently one time I fell out of the open car door and got a concussion while watching crabs cross the road.) There could be a marsh fire, the senior citizen bus with the ladies in it, someone fishing in a creek, some trappers or people to see at one of the hunt clubs. The most exciting thing was usually if a car had sunk on the side of the road into the marsh, especially if they were from "away" and Lev had to come and tow them out. Or, maybe one of the teenagers on the island had managed to hit something other than the marsh, which they did with amazing accuracy. There were miles and miles of marsh and yet somehow they would fall asleep just at the point of a pole or power box or something. It was uncanny really how they did that.

The old-timers knew the island road like the back of their hands. They could navigate practically with their eyes closed even when the road was flooded and one had to judge where to put the car based on the tips of the marsh grass or possibly even snow poles put up by the state.  Before the state made the road into two lanes (which was a big controversy because it would bring in people from "away") there were pull-offs that you had to use to let someone pass. Now all of us "from there" knew to only use the pull-offs. But, people from "away" were not so enlightened. In the spring when the marsh was green and the state would trim the sides, it almost looked like grass. These "city folk" would pull onto the "grass" to let another car go by and then the car would sink. It was entertaining for us locals but probably not as much for those that now had to sit in the mosquito infested marsh waiting for someone to go and call Lev (who lived in a compound up the road in the woods) so he could come and charge an arm and a leg to tow them out. Lev's was another entertaining part of the drive. You never knew how many hunters, cars, pieces of broken equipment, etc. would be in his yard. He was such a character.

On the road we would pass Bill's, a dilapidated trailer in the woods just before the marsh. If the road was starting to flood there we knew we were in for an adventure. Occasionally when coming home on the bus he would come out and give Sherwood or Junior, our drivers, a report. Now this flooding was something to take seriously. When it really flooded, especially in the spring, it meant no one came to or left the island. This was always great fun for the kids because we would Ms. school for days sometimes. The phone would ring each day with a report from someone of what the roads were like and if anyone had gotten off the island yet. If need be someone would occasionally take a marsh boat up the road to get any needed supplies and be picked up by Bill or Lev. And who needed the TV news to tell us what was happening when we had the elderly island ladies. They gossiped on the phone constantly. Nothing happened on the island without everyone knowing in minutes. Even word of a strange car (someone from "away") crossing the bridge onto the island would reach the other end of the island within minutes. It was amazing really. One can't underestimate the power of the island ladies (more on them later).

Back to the flooding, as it really was impressive when it happened. And equally as entertaining was after the flood, as it was receding, watching the huge carp fish get stuck on the road. It wasn't so fun once they starting rotting and stinking. But then we would at least get to watch the vultures eating the carp. That was fun. It was a long ride to school so we would take whatever entertainment we could get!

The impressive memory I have about the flooding was one spring the tide was high and we happened to be getting a big rainstorm with heavy winds. The announcement came at the Vienna Elementary School that anyone riding our bus would be dismissed early. This was really exciting, especially for the kids that didn't live on the island but rode our bus. That particular day though was not average by any means.

Our driver, Sherwood, was one of the old-timers who could navigate the road with his eyes closed. He knew it like the back of his hand --- thankfully. But even he got concerned when there was some flooding in the woods. That wasn't supposed to happen. When we got to Bill's trailer all we could see was water. The little marsh bridge by his house was completely flooded. I remember him standing on the flooded steps of his trailer yelling out to Sherwood and them trying to decide if he should even continue and how to navigate through that turn. But Sherwood was stubborn and he wanted to get us home so he went for it.

As we went further it became amazing from a kid's perspective and likely very frightening for Sherwood. We were driving in what looked like Fishing Bay. You couldn't even see the marsh grass. All there was to show the road were the snow poles. Basically Sherwood was driving in a Bay with a bus of kids being guided only by his memory of the road and a few poles. Amazing!

Eventually Sherwood's miraculous navigation skills were no match for Mother Nature. Due to the heavy rains and wind and tide ---a lethal combo --- the engine of the school bus croaked not far from the island bridge. We almost made it. But unfortunately almost doesn't count except for horseshoes and hand grenades (a saying from my childhood). I remember the water being in the stairwell of the bus and if we opened the bus windows and reached down we could actually touched the water. Once we stalled I remember Sherwood communicating on the CB radio trying to figure out what to do. The details are fuzzy. I do remember it feeling like we were on the bus for an eternity and that Sherwood seemed very stressed. He was so stressed that he even asked one of the teenage boys for a cigarette, but for once they didn't have any. (He was always yelling at them for trying to smoke on or near the bus, so this was definitely desperation.) I also remember there being talk on the CB radio at some point of bringing in the National Guard to get us if the tide didn't recede soon. The plan was for the water level to go down enough that Junior could bring out his tractor and tow us in. Eventually this plan worked and Junior was able to tow us to the island. What an adventure. According to the old-timers this was one for the record books.