I thought you might like a little history of Benny’s Barbershop in Oak Bluffs. My husband Mark decided that the Island needed another barbershop, so in the winter of 1991 he went to the co-op bank for a loan. Mr. Knight would not give it to him because he said it would never make it. So we took our life savings of $20,000 and found the building on Circuit avenue, rented it from Kim Cyrs (owner of Our Market) and went shopping. We shopped for vintage items, as we wanted it to resemble an old-fashioned shop.

Last Friday after buying bird seed at SBS I went to my car and it wouldn’t start. Assuming the battery was dead, I returned inside and asked if I could use the phone to call AAA. Katrina Nevin, who works at SBS, asked what the problem was and offered her jumper cables to charge the battery.

To Millie: Good-bye my friend

I know I’ll never see you again.

Our time together through all the years

Will take away my tears.

Good-bye my friend.

At a wedding that I recently attended, the deejay explained to me that from his position behind the speakers it was hard for him to judge how loud the music was in front of the speakers. It is also distinctly possible that hearing impairment is an occupational hazard. Would it not be sensible for every deejay and every live band to have a decibel meter app on their smartphone?

The situation in Syria is indeed very troubling. I can understand why President Obama first hesitated to send even light weapons to aid the rebels against the Assad government’s cruel treatment of its own people. I am distressed that the president has changed his mind in this matter but perhaps it is not too late to apply one remedy that I have in mind.

I hope the giant utility poles springing up around the Island are not a fait accompli. It seems we are going to have to bury our power lines at some point anyway, so waiting may just be a false economy. (Can you imagine the poles growing by that much again some day?)