Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - Tales of the Rockland Breakwater Light

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Starting point is 00:00:40 When we listen, we relax and we get sleepy. I'm your host, Thomas. Thanks so much for being here. Tonight, Abbey returns for another installment of our series, exploring the famous Lighthouses of Maine in the Northeastern United States. If you missed the first story about the Portland Headlight, don't worry, you can always go back and listen to it another time. But for tonight, you'll have no trouble following along as our protagonist, Emma, makes her way

Starting point is 00:01:27 to the Rockland Breakwater Light. Now we're about to begin tonight's story, so make sure you're nice and settled, adjusting into a more comfortable position if needed. And allow your eyes to gently fall closed. And as you let the breath slow down and draw out. Sense your body relaxing into the bed and your mind easing into the peace and calm of night. In sync with your inhales and exhales, you can repeat the following words in your mind. I am calm and safe. And now, say to yourself, I am ready to rest.

Starting point is 00:03:01 I am ready to rest. Simply by being here, allowing your muscles to relax and your head to ease into the soft pillow. You are already resting. And it's okay if you're awake for now and for a while to come. Just enjoy the chance to rest and allow everything else to happen naturally without force. Meanwhile, allow your mind to wander to a cozy harbor. Water laps against boats and docks, which line the rocky shore. This is the beautiful coast of Maine, and it's where our story begins. Emma closed her eyes and savored a long sip of her sweet milky morning tea. She was sitting at the counter of a quietly bustling restaurant, enjoying breakfast with a generous side-helping of people watching. She rested comfortably on the padded high-backed seat and watched the servers move smoothly around the dining room. They were deftly pouring coffee and delivering

Starting point is 00:05:16 enormous buttermilk pancakes, eggs over easy and breakfast sandwiches. She had opted for a speciality of the house. Sitting in front of her were a couple of thick slabs of French toast that had been made from an enormous cinnamon bun. After all, a special day like this called for a treat. Emma was making her way along the coast of Maine, collecting research for her book about lighthouses. She had recently visited the storied Portland headlight in Cape Elizabeth. Now, she had proceeded in a delightfully unscientific fashion to the working harbour town of Rockland, some 90 minutes northward along the coast. It just so happened that a family friend lived there in a charming little home right near the ferry terminal. This friend had graciously invited Emma to stay in her guest room and Emma had

Starting point is 00:06:26 gratefully accepted. Not only had her friends home proven to be charming and ideally located but her host was a generous source of local information. To begin with thanks to her friends recommendation she was now eating the best breakfast in town. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the delicious smell of baked goods and coffee that permeated the entire place. Emma turned and gazed down the counter. Passed the glass-cake stands full of frosted cupcakes and elegantly latticeed blueberry pie. Over the heads of the other diners, she could see a light mist floating by the front window, partially obscuring in the colourful buildings across the street. A seagull sawed past the window, adding to the coastal morning atmosphere. She keenly felt her nearness to the harbor, and her friend

Starting point is 00:07:36 had assured her she'd see it better very soon. The morning fog was due to burn off any time now. Her breakfast spot was right on the way to her destination of the day, which was the Rockland breakwater night. Strictly speaking, there were other lighthouses in Maine with greater claims to fame. This Rockland beacon was not the oldest or the tallest or even the most photographed lighthouse in the state. In fact it was the walk to the lighthouse that was something extremely special. The path she would take in order to reach the beacon today was seven-eighths of a mile long and constructed using almost seven hundred and seventy thousand tons of granite. Reaching straight out into the Penobscot Bay, the breakwater was known to offer magnificent

Starting point is 00:08:40 views of Rockland and the Harbour in fine weather. And luckily, despite this bit of morning fog, fine weather was in the forecast that day. Indeed, Edezema paid her check at the restaurant and walked out the front door. The sun made its appearance on cue. As if heralding her upcoming adventure, the fog dissipated and she could spy the twinkling blue waters of the harbour in the gap between the buildings across the street. She lifted her face to the sun as she walked to her nearby car. As she unlocked the door, she saw that a few customers were being seated at umbrella-covered tables upstairs on the open deck of the restaurant.

Starting point is 00:09:40 They were in for a gorgeous outdoor meal she thought to herself. What luck for them. She was no less fortunate, however, because she was going to have splendid weather for her walk. Pulling out of the parking lot, she turned onto Main Street and headed north. She knew it was a mere five-minute drive to her destination. Sure enough, she soon came to her turn off, which took her down a residential street that boarded the harbor. Each house along the way had a large sloping lawn that overlooked the water.

Starting point is 00:10:28 Another right turn revealed that her route continued to stick closely to the shore. She drove very slowly past more beautifully situated houses with incredible views. situated houses with incredible views. As the land wrapped around the working harbour, the view was as much of the fairy terminal and the heart of Rockland as it was of the open water. This was not merely a scenic port, it was humming with morning activity. In minutes, the end of the road made it clear that she had reached her destination. With a lovely Samo-Set result in its rolling green lawns to her left and the last few waterview homes to her right. She found a row of parking spaces at a dead end. There were only a couple of cars parked there. She would mostly have the breakwater to herself. She pulled on a light sweater and strolled towards the small park, that marked the beginning

Starting point is 00:11:48 of the trail to the breakwater. Posing Emma savored her first impressive view of the long granite stretch, which marched steadfastly out through the rippling blue waters of the bay. She knew it was nearly a mile long. It was hard to wrap her mind around that fact, with the entire length of it fully in her view. However, its true size was apparent when she spotted people moving along it and saw how small the other visitors appeared. In half an hour or so, she would be standing in their place, surrounded by the sound of

Starting point is 00:12:41 the gulls and the softly rolling waves of the harbour. She was ready to get started. A well-worn dirt path wound around the hillside at the foot of the resort, making its way to the first granite stones. This trail was charming in itself, was not quite wide enough for two people. She scoffed along the sandy path, feeling that childish sense of anticipation that comes with walking walking along a winding trail. To her left, Rugosa rose bushes clustered thickly, giving way to piles of stone above. To her right, a short clamber through the grass and down a slope led to a small beach that was littered with rocks. She could tell by the seaweed lying nearby that this area was generally covered by water

Starting point is 00:13:55 at high tide. At the moment though, it was the perfect place to entertain children. She could see a man and toddler some way down the beach, examining a shell together. A child stuffed some small treasure in his pocket and they walked on. Emma followed the enchanting by way around the hillside, and then, without ceremony, it ended at the foot of the granite breakwater. The walkway was impressive, with its majestic granite expanse stretching before her toward the horizon. She enjoyed a moment of delicious anticipation of the walk that was to come. The conditions seemed perfect. The temperature was warm, but the breezes were

Starting point is 00:14:58 cool and invigorating here at the water's edge. Stepping onto the first rock she looked down, the path was rugged and the massive size of the stones made it hard to imagine how it had been built by mere humans. Approved by the government for construction in 1890, it had taken nine years to complete, and she could well believe that. It had been finished late in 1899, just in time for the turn of the century. A person might think that the breakwater had been built in order to connect the lighthouse to the land, but that was not true. In fact, it was the breakwater that had been commissioned first, the lighthouse was built

Starting point is 00:15:58 later. Apparently, despite its modest appearance, Rockland had once been one of the busiest ports on the east coast of the United States. True to its name, the area had been a major source of limestone and granite. The stone had been quarried nearby and turned into lime locally. The lime and granite were shipped out to build the most important structures in cities all over the country. In fact, by 1850, Rockland reportedly had 136 working lime kilns.

Starting point is 00:16:45 136 working lime kilns. She had read on the city website that in 1910, the then American president William Howard Taft visited and peered into the deepest lime quarry in the world. And as impressive as that was, quarrying was not the only important trade. Rockland was also a hub in the fishing industry. It was an important harbor indeed. Unfortunately its harbor was not as well protected from the weather as it should have been. During the 1850s, powerful storms known as Noristas significantly damaged the waterfront, including both buildings and ships.

Starting point is 00:17:40 As a result, citizens, local officers and politicians began lobbying Congress to fund a protective breakwater. In 1881, Congress finally agreed, tasking the Army Corps of Engineers with the project. Emma had learned from her study of the Portland Headlight that lighthouse construction was an ever-changing process. With the height of a beacon sometimes changing over time, by trial and error, the breakwater was no different. The original plan for two short breakwaters turned into a design for one longer breakwater. Even when the wall of granite had reached its final length, it was still not

Starting point is 00:18:38 sufficient. Some storms in the winter following its completion revealed that the breakwater was not tall enough and that it became submerged too easily. Therefore, the wall of granite was built up by four additional feet. That addition was completed in October of 1901 and it included the base for a lighthouse. That was because the breakwater that protected the harbour now also created a hazard for ships. In order to keep vessels from striking this growing new obstacle, lanterns were placed at the end of it. The first beacon was on an iron crane that lifted a simple white light 24 feet above sea level. As the breakwater grew in 1892, the White Lantern was replaced with two stacked red lanterns on a mast. In 1895 a man named Charles Ames became the attendant of the small beacon for

Starting point is 00:19:58 the pay of $25 a month. He walked out to the light from nearby Jameson Point or rode in a boat when it was too icy to go on foot. Because there was no fog signal, he used to sound a metal triangle when visibility was bad. This last bit of information always made Emma laugh to herself as she imagined the triangle she had so happily played in music class as a child. Naturally she was sure that the folk triangle was far larger than that and that it emitted a far less melodious sound. As she took her first steps along the enormous blocks of the breakwater, lightly hopping over the irregular cracks, Emma imagined its depth and width.

Starting point is 00:21:00 From what she had read, by the time it reached the lighthouse, the structure was 65 feet deep. At the bottom, it was 175 feet wide, narrowing to 43 feet at the top. In short, it was massive. Emma took her time, breathing deeply of the saltier that blew gently across her path. Shielding her eyes from the sun, she scanned the horizon to her right, picking out the different parts of the Rockland harbour in the distance. Here and there, a sailboat floated by, and she could see many others moored in the distance. As if to sweetly offer her the most pleasing soundtrack for her excursion. The waves lapped at the stone all around her. They splashed without any regularity.

Starting point is 00:22:10 For many seconds at a time, just gentle lapping could be heard, punctuated every so often by a few larger waves. The music of the water beneath her feet brought to mind a verse she had read recently. Upon learning that the poet Edna St Vincent Millet had been born in Rockland, Emma had read some of her writing. One stands are from the poem Exiled, really rang true at the moment. Speaking of her longing for the sea, Miele said that she was wanting the sticky, salty sweetness of the strong wind and shattered spray, wanting the loud sound and the soft sound of the big surf that breaks all day.

Starting point is 00:23:13 Emma was feeling neither strongly blown about nor shattered, but the loud and soft sounds of the surf really made sense now. Looking at the vastness of the bay however, Emma recalled reading that some storms were still known to completely submerge the breakwater if the tide was high, sending waves crashing over the top of it. It was beautiful to imagine, although her sunny, dry stroll was more welcome today. There was something very soothing about the consistent progress she made towards the lighthouse. Step, step, a small hop over a crevice and then another step. She repeated this until it became a familiar rhythm. It was a

Starting point is 00:24:19 meditative process. As the shore receded into the background, the lighthouse very slowly loomed larger. And there was so much to see along the way. Lobster boys dotted the harbor on both sides, bobbing merrily in the rolling water. both sides, bobbing merrily in the rolling water. Since coming to Maine, Emma had learned that these were attached to the underwater traps of many different lobster men and women. Each person had their own unique pattern painted on their boys, so everyone knew to whom they belonged. She was amazed at this honour system. What a marvel of cooperation it was. Here and there large rocks emerged from the water on the left. That's where Emma saw something very special. A couple of harbour seals they casually sunning themselves on the warm rocks. They flipped their tails and turned their faces skyward in lazy delight as she walked by.

Starting point is 00:25:49 Although the route was blissfully free of crowds, Emma was occasionally passed by people working their way back in the other direction toward the land. land. Families, couples and people with dogs all seem to find this a delightful walk. Some appeared to be locals casually following a familiar cause. Some now to take photos from just the right angle, urging family to group together in the picture. As she was nearing the lighthouse, an antique schooner approached from the right, sailing away from Rockland. It had three masks with white sales, and the hull was painted black. Even from this distance, Emma could see people standing on board watching the breakwater as the ship near its end. She was overwhelmed by its beauty. Emma felt temporarily transported back in time by the sight of this gorgeous vessel. Silently gliding through the crystalline waves and out to the cool open waters. cool open waters. She imagined the adventures of the people on board, visiting islands, here and there off the coast of New England. It was marvellous.

Starting point is 00:27:38 The walk did not feel like nearly a mile. Too soon she was at the other end of the approach. She found herself standing at the foot of the lighthouse next to a tall flagpole. The Keepers' house itself was immediately before her. It rose a level above the breakwater, reachable by stone stairs with a railing. In front of it, people could sit on a bench, look down at the breakwater, and see all the way back to the land. The entire structure was a modest and functional little building. The keepers' dwelling was just a wood-framed white house with a gambler roof. It was one and a half stories tall. Emma went up the stairs and began to circle the structure.

Starting point is 00:28:47 Attached to the back of it was a red brick, fog signal building that was slightly shorter than the keepers house. And the beacon for the lighthouse was in a tower that rose above, made of the same brake. It was just 25 feet tall or tall. Emma smiled to herself and thought about how the lighthouse couldn't have been more different from the Portland headlight. The oldest and most photographed beacon in Maine, the Portland Light Tower rose about three times higher than this one. In this case, it looked more like someone had built a house at the end of a long walk and added a lighthouse beacon as a bonus feature.

Starting point is 00:29:42 It was a very unassuming and practical station. Emma knew that this modest tower had once housed a rotating fourth-order frunell lens, but the light had been automated in 1965 and nobody knew what had happened to the original. Unlike lighthouses that were located on islands or otherwise on the land, this modestly sized building was not meant for family life. Emma had read that the Rockland lighthouse had been referred to as a STAG station, meaning that the Light Keepers lived there alone.

Starting point is 00:30:30 She could well imagine that it could feel isolated in bad weather. Apparently, the first keeper of the lighthouse was a man named Howard P. Robbins, who was initially paid $500 a year. Mr. Robbins was a veteran lightkeeper, having worked at three other lighthouses before. But his son Clifford took on the keep her position and did not last long. He and his father both resigned in 1909 and the younger man was quoted as saying, three or four winters like that in a row and I got fed up with lighthouse keeping. Emma had read in the same source that permission was given in 1915 for the two keepers at the time to bring their wives there to live.

Starting point is 00:31:38 Humorously, one of the keepers very quickly wrote to ask that the permission be revoked. Apparently the Rockland breakwater lighthouse was not roomy enough for two couples to live there in harmony for long. Emma pondered those close quarters as she walked carefully around the Keepers house and the brick portion of the lighthouse emerging on the other side. She stood in front of the light tower, leaning on the metal railing and gazing out over the water. As she watched, a fairy slowly chugged by. She knew that it was on its way to Vinyl Haven Island. The people outside on the top deck waved slowly at her, and she smiled and waved back. Looking down below her, she could see a couple of people exploring the lower level of the

Starting point is 00:32:55 Stone Lighthouse Foundation. Flat stones gave way to a pile of borders that tumbled gradually into the ocean on all sides. The pair were examining a crevice between the spot right below where she'd been standing. The stalwart tower rose up against the sky above her. It was a uniquely immersive experience, being surrounded on three sides by water that was so close by. That was certainly a major advantage to visiting this otherwise modest beacon, a setting was incredible. As she walked around the east side of the lighthouse, making a full circuit, she again admired the quantity of colourful lobster boys fanning out before her.

Starting point is 00:34:18 She was reminded of a story she'd read, quoting one of the former Coast Guard officers who had been stationed there to maintain the light in late years. The man whose name was Warren Ears had once told the Bangor Daily News that he'd caught a 27 pound lobster and that the claw was as big as his shoe. Emma had seen posters around town about the annual main lobster festival that took place in Rockland. Although she saw such large lobsters were probably rare now, she could believe this tale. It seemed to her that everything had been larger than life in the past. Emma made her way back to the front of the lighthouse and climbed the stairs once more, taking advantage of the empty bench at the top.

Starting point is 00:35:28 From this vantage point, she had a view of the entire breakwater dotted here and there by pedestrians, moving at different paces. Beyond it was a glimpse of the Samuset Resolve rising above the entire scene on a hill. It seemed impossible that the starting point of the breakwater was near the amyel away. It appeared to be much closer than that on this beautifully clear day. Emma closed her eyes for a moment and breathed in the smell of the salty air, feeling the breeze blow against her face. The loud loud and soft waves Milay had written about in her poem were all around. She sat there for some time pondering the great achievement of engineering that stretched out before her. She was at a lighthouse that was only reachable due to the quarrying and transport of hundreds

Starting point is 00:36:49 of thousands of tons of granite stone. Countless people had contributed to the creation of those giant stepping stones that allowed others to simply walk across the water. More importantly, of course, they had done the job of protecting the harbor and its day-to-day activities. As she began her walk back to shore, Emma scanned the water to her right. The harbor seals were gone now but she knew from her research that the waters were thriving with life here. On the surface she saw a world teeming with boats, sea birds and seals. Underneath the waves, just as much was happening. Among the marine animals that lived in these cold, blue waters, was Starfish, Sea Urchins, Lobsters and Dogfish.

Starting point is 00:38:07 With only a few minutes left in her walk, Emma was treated to the sweetest few of the day. After her left, in the direction of the harbour, she saw a group of tiny sailboats. Each one of them was piloted by a child who was learning to sail. The group was like a plucky little army of future mariners, enjoying the sun and learning to travel with the wind. Not having grown up by the seaside, Emma thought how wonderful it must be to find a connection with the coastal waters at such a young age. She was certainly falling in love with those waters now.

Starting point is 00:39:07 Later that night Emma settled into her soft double bed in her friend's tiny guest bedroom. This enticing nook was under the steeply pitched roof of an antique house and her bed was snuggled under the years. Her crisp white sheets welcomed her and the open window blew the salt breezes across her lightweight antique quilt. The trees were rustling lightly outside, and she could see the moon peeking through them as they moved gently in the breeze. There There was no traffic noise here, just the occasional sound of a seagull. As she closed her eyes, she saw the shimmering water all around her, and the light house rising in the distance. She felt such a strong pull to it, and Millais' words came to her once more. I should be happy, that was happy. All day long on that coast of Maine. I have a need to hold and handle shells and anchors and ships

Starting point is 00:40:49 again. Emma had come to Maine to experience lighthouses, and so far it had been better than she'd imagined. More than that though, she was falling in love with the salty tales of the people who built them and cared for them. She was smitten by all of it. Pulling her covers up to her ears and sinking deeply into the soft pillows beneath her head, Emma pictured a hundred tiny sailboats as they sailed out into the twinkling blue waves. And then, she slept. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... I'm going to go back to the next room. I'm going to go back to the next room. I'm going to go back to the next room. I'm going to go back to the next room. I'm going to go back to the next room. I'm going to go back to the next room.

Starting point is 00:47:34 I'm going to go back to the next room. I'm going to go back to the next room. I'm going to go back to the next room. I'm going to go back to the next room. I'm going to go back to the next room. I'm going to go back to the next room. I'm going to go back to the next room. I'm going to go back to the next room. ... ... you you

Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - Tales of the Rockland Breakwater Light

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