Commentary
It was the right thing to do.
This past April we sold our primary residence outside of Boston and moved the proverbial lock, stock and what seemed like 47 barrels to Vineyard Haven. At the same time, we told friends that we also intended to sell the house we’ve had in Menemsha for 24 years. We decided it was time to live permanently on this Island. But the only way we could seriously entertain that notion was to live within walking distance of a town that breathed life more than four months of the year.
Dear President Obama:
With so many top-notch advisors to routinely advise you, how audacious of me to think I might offer some nugget that might get your attention, yet I believe citizen perspectives can be instructive.
To do something big and to do it now, at a time of national economic peril is the thing great presidencies are made of. You are correct. The state of the economy does call for action, “swift and bold,” and you say on your Web site that you will act, “Not only to create jobs, but to lay a foundation for growth.”
Dinner for Eight
The view of the Elizabeth Islands was breathtaking. The food delicious. A group of friends gathered to enjoy a meal and talk about their grandchildren, summer and ultimately, President Obama.
If you see one bark beetle and you are an entomolo gist, you know immediately you’ve got big problems. Those beetles can eat an entire forest.
I’ve long thought that we are making a mess of Island roads — a widening here, a widening there and the Island rural character slowly dribbles away. I’ve looked diligently to see whether these changes were just products of inattention or a real contagion bent on making Martha’s Vineyard look more like everywhere else.
Bath Time
From Gazette editions of August, 1936:
We went over to the Chappaquiddick bathing beach the other day and made some observations. We were told there are fewer bathers in the afternoon because most of the society people have other things to do. If most of the society people were busy elsewhere, who were the few who were present? The servants of the summer people, in large measure, we were informed.
Mohammad (Reza) Ahmadi didn’t go down without a fight. The middle-aged Londoner is stocky enough to occasionally assume bouncer duties outside his small cocktail lounge in Ealing, which is where he was positioned last Monday night, standing guard against a mob who were trying to light a trash can on fire and roll it into his place of business.