Excerpted from Martha’s Vineyard in World War II by Thomas Dresser, Herb Foster and Jay Schofield, an account by airman Joseph McLaughlin after flying over Vineyard waters during training exercises.

The debate about the infield of the track at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School is not about whether we should have grass or synthetic turf.

Last fall, Down on my knees, I dug holes, put in bone meal, And planted the bulbs, Points up.

This is where the world begins and ends: the elms that die slowly, the young men in clay-cuffed Levis talking of the summer, the rainless mornings, the dry fields.

Healthy Aging Martha’s Vineyard is using Health Care Decisions Day to launch a two-year initiative.