Opinion
Dishing Local
From the Gazette Turkey Files:
The turkeys that adorn Thanksgiving tables come mostly from the mainland. But there was once a time in the not-too-distant past when the Island-producd turkey was as much a part of Island gourmet eating as Island-produced seafood.
The County Conundrum
Does county government have a useful function anymore? Throughout the commonwealth the county form of government has gradually been phased out, and today only a handful of these white elephant governments remain. Dukes County is one. On the Vineyard county government has undergone evaluation twice in the past twenty years, and both times voters Islandwide agreed that it should continue, that its value as a regional government had the potential to be strengthened and broadened.
Roses in November
Autumn on the Vineyard this year has been an up-and-down tale of weather, as if the Island had been gripped by some environmental personality disorder, with cold rain for days at a stretch, then suddenly turning mild and sunny for many more days on end. The first killing frost arrived quite late last month, but we might not have noticed since the wind has been a near-constant companion, rattling the windows and at times the thoughts.
Warding off the Chill
Tiny broccoli florets from the Farm Institute piled high in a bin and sold by the pound. Dark red romaine lettuce and huge heads of unblemished radicchio in shades of scarlet, cream and pale green from Morning Glory Farm. Soft white farmhouse feta from Mermaid Farm. Silky homemade cakes of goat-milk soap from Flat Point Farm.
It was the presidential election here and Brazil was on fire. People seemed so confused about who to vote for and if I were able to vote, I wouldn’t be able to choose one myself and so I went around asking some questions. The question I asked was, who would you vote for? The first person who answered was Marcella. She is only 15 years old but she had a very interesting answer. She said: “Neither of them is prepared to lead a country. Serra reminds people of what they would have rather forget.
Out of Balance
Editors, Vineyard Gazette: