Aquinnah has opened its heart and its parking spots to derby fishermen.

The Aquinnah selectmen on Friday voted at a hastily called special meeting to open resident-only parking lots to derby fisherman for the duration of the derby after learning that contestants have been avoiding Aquinnah fishing spots for several years because they feared tickets or tows.

It is too much to hope for that my work and my words will be relevant and useful in 300 years. Perhaps it is egotistical to even pose the question, but on the anniversary of a wordsmithing botanist’s birth, I am thinking about persistence.

Not, as often is the case in this column, the persistence (and pestilence) of invasive species (but I digress), rather the longevity of scientific nomenclature and the durability of a classification system.

Hook into the Derby on Friday evening from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Louisa Gould Gallery, with live music, refreshments and first viewing of the benefit invitational Derby exhibition involving some 25 Island artists.

From 5 to 6 p.m. Ed Jerome will be signing the book he edited with Ray Ellis’s fishing art. The new exhibition includes oils, photographs, paintings, sculpture, works on paper and board, and the official Derby Grand Slam oil painting as well.

By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL

Thirty years ago, the invention of the electronic fish finder helped fishermen out in their boats find fish. Today’s great device, the computer hooked up to the Internet, helps the rest of us find fishermen who know where to find the fish.

The culture of the Internet has helped charter fishing captains just as it has helped a lot of other businesses.

Friday, August 31: Mostly sunny. High flying cirrus clouds. Ocean Park grass is green despite the recent drought. Waban Park grass is brown. Oak Bluffs beaches bustle with sunbathers. Sailboats move slowly across Nantucket Sound toward Edgartown. Starry night.