Seeing the Light(s)!

by Bruce Blair

Watching endless hours of Stockbridge town board meetings, I realized something, other than I must be retired. Not every building permit must be approved! High-powered applicants can hint they will go to court to get what they want. Once a governing Board has been subjected to lawsuits, public service may not feel the same, as the Conservation Commission knows.

Are we too late on overbuilding the lake? I am not a fan of above ground septic systems next to the water. I sure hope this concept works. My appetite for fresh trout has waned just thinking about this.

Will a quiet evening of fishing on the Bowl this summer come to feel like New Year's Eve in Times Square?

My feeling about mostly glass homes in general is that, after picking up the dead birds, why turn on all the lights in the evening? As a fisherman, I experience exhausting afternoons listening to maintenance and construction equipment buzzing and pounding across the water. Will I be dodging well-lit new docks and floats laying claim to more lake? Let the twilight fall softly where it will. But then comes the night...

The Elm Court resort's new owner said in the Eagle, "the world will hear about the project and it will shed warm light on our great towns...shine a bright light globally, and be a beacon for Stockbridge, Lenox and the entire Berkshire region."

She may have seen the light. I think a light bulb has gone off over my head. She may not realize that Naumkeag already has some sort of open-ended permit to shine bright lights on us from October to January. I can already feel my circadian rhythms shifting to the rhythms of "Here Comes Santa Claus" just thinking about it.

We are getting new streetlights in town, greener, maybe safer for dozens of Naumkeag patrons in dark clothing, heedlessly running across the street for their buses. We may find parking near the library if a headlight goes out.

It used to be darker across much of Stockbridge. It was like being in the country! Imagine when Elm Court lights up its beacon for the region, its global bright light. Or even someday, DeSisto, combining with Tanglewood, Kripalu, and all those big buildings on the Bowl. Sell your telescopes! Bid the night sky goodbye! Everybody's gonna leave the light on for ya...

Photo: Lionel Delevingne