Commentary
On a sunny Sunday afternoon, what better activity to enjoy the Vineyard and burn off a few calories than a walk in the woods? No conservation organization walks were listed in the calendar section, so I set out on my own to explore the recently opened John Presbury Norton Farm, operated by the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank, located at the junction of State Road and Old County Road in West Tisbury.
Like the song says, you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone. And it was the absence of something I’d known every previous day of my life which woke me on Feb. 21, 2006, my first morning on Martha’s Vineyard.
Birdsong. I’d never realized how large a part of my life it was until that silent morning, almost three years ago.
Most of us have been plagued by the “origin sin” of racism, which has been a burden on our conscience since before our nation was formed. Throughout our history this disease of racial prejudice has cursed our nation and prevented us from reaching the lofty ideals of human equality on which America was founded. This sin compromised the Declaration of Independence and almost divided the nation in 1776.
J anuary is a time for post-holiday diets and economic panics, and this year we all face an uncertain future. The new year resolutions we make give us all time to reflect on the choices we make and, with our fingers crossed, we begin the great adventure of another year.
From Gazette editions of January, 1984:
One summer, I lived in a little house off Vineyard avenue in Oak Bluffs. Away from the sea breezes with no air conditioning in the house, I took up walking each evening after work. I told myself it was to drive less, but really it was out of sheer excitement and curiosity. For an up-Island girl, the downtown novelty of Oak Bluffs never wore off. So I walked down June avenue to the Lagoon. I strolled up School street (which no longer houses a school), to get a new book at the library, or just to see who was out and about.