With eight days of school left and an unwritten graduation speech looming over my head, I harbored lingering feelings of frustration as I wandered the halls at this year’s Evening of the Arts, our school’s Fine and Performing Arts show. And then came the epiphany. I saw Phoebe Kelleher’s photographs of the people and wildlife of Africa; I saw Lonni Phillips’s captivating portraits; I read Ashley Drake’s witty captions, and I heard Maggie Howard sing her deeply resonant Animal Song.

When I came into high school I had a close-knit group of friends we called 4hb, which stood for four hot babes. Although the name has stayed with us throughout high school, my group of friends is by no means limited to a number. I would love to say I got to know each and every person in my graduating class as much as I would have liked to, but unfortunately I did not. Having said that, each and every person sitting before me is a part of our community on Martha’s Vineyard and, therefore, we will always be connected.

Lobster Hatchery Revival

A report just out from a technical committee of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission documents the perilous state of lobster stocks in southern New England, and much like the groundfish stocks on Georges Bank, the news is far from good.

From a 1991 Gazette article by Arthur Railton:

We can all quote William Shakespeare on the subject: What’s in a name? Forget how he answered the question. He was dead wrong. There’s a lot in a name. And the Vineyard provides proof, plenty of it. Years ago, many parents turned to the Bible when naming their children. But when Biblical names seemed inappropriate, parents often came up with something truly inspired.

The advertisement by the P.O.I.N.T. (Protect Our Islands Now for Tomorrow) organization in the May 28 edition of the Gazette contained a series of arguments that I think need to be addressed one by one. Many of the individual points are accurate and we should not ignore them, but the general thrust of the ad is very misleading. It seems to argue that the best way to deal with our energy need is to get it from somewhere else.