Before I leave the Island for the long winter, I would like to thank the Chilmarkers for all their services that make our summers so pleasant — the Chilmark selectmen who provide a ball field for our Sunday games; the entrepreneurs, Joel at the Chilmark Store, Jenna at the Tavern and the Larsen sisters, who let me get fresh fish early in the morning.

We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of good wishes on announcing our “retirement” from the Dragonfly Fine Arts Gallery as of Oct. 7. Many wonderful people have touched our lives here during the past five years: artists, clients, visitors, other gallery owners, friends and so many others.

In light of the coverage of Oak Bluffs' commercial district, I believe attention needs to be paid to the Friends of Oak Bluffs. This grassroots organization has done outstanding work improving the appearance of the town and making it a hospitable destination.

What a summer this has been. I haven’t lived on the Island long enough to remember the old Vineyard, but surely it wasn’t like this.

Last Wednesday, Sept. 4, my husband and I were drifting seaward from the outer harbor in our disabled sailboat. We had to take down our sails and had no motor. The wind was blowing so hard that our cries for help could not be heard by two passing boats.

Alvin Eisenman was truly a gentleman and a scholar. I was one of his students in the graphic design program at Yale; he and the distinguished group of leading professionals he gathered together to form the program’s faculty guided me and my fellow classmates into the world of design and opened ways of seeing, organizing and communicating that informed my 45-year career in graphic design — and continue to inspire and direct my outlook on the world.