Commentary
Farewell Sunday on Martha’s Vineyard
Martha’s Vineyard rested quietly in the golden haze of her warmth,
Her sandy thighs cooling in the wide blue-white wash of the sea.
The passions of the night had wearied her,
But her rest was peaceful and she glowed,
Like burnished gold in the late morning, easy warming,
Sun of this so fine a Sunday.
A grey dorsal cut the crest of a Katama bound roller,
It was paradise. Serene, contem plative, energizing and varied, my regular early morning round-trip walks from South Beach to Chappy traversed the narrow length of Norton Point, swept around Wasque, and lighted on East Beach to face the morning sun at the spot where Cape Pogue Light can just be seen on clear days. Almost eight miles and two hours of unspoiled nature — soft sand, playful surf, warm sun, azure sky, endless sea, lonely dunes and active shore birds — before breakfast was, in short, always the perfect start to a beautiful Vineyard day.
Our Town
From Gazette editions of September, 1960:
I used to be a liberal. It started in college. Was it those classic fall days up in Vermont? A few socialist professors? Or my love for the Clash?
I had a naive belief in income redistribution. I thought that capitalism was bad and the Ivy League elites in government had all the answers.
TOO MUCH PROTECTION
Editors, Vineyard Gazette:
There comes a time where being overprotective is counterproductive. As a pilot, I have aviation weather at my disposal, so when I heard that all Island roads were being closed at 2 p.m. on Friday due to the public forecasted hurricane conditions, I immediately contacted the communications center, three times, to tell them that aviation weather forecasted no high winds until maybe after 8 p.m. I did notice the curfew finally got postponed to 8 p.m.
Derby Number 65
The sea and coastline around the Island have been roughed up by hurricanes and tropical storms this September, beginning last weekend when Earl blew through and again midweek when more tropical disturbances cropped up. The weather has been unstable: thunderstorms crashed down on Edgartown on Wednesday while West Tisbury stayed dry and sunny.
But the forecast calls for weather patterns to settle down by Sunday, just in time for the opening of the sixty-fifth Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby.