Tim Johnson

O Say Can You See

What is there about Martha’s Vineyard / That urged a friend of mine from Lebanon / To say, “I don’t want to die without seeing / Martha’s Vineyard.”

What is there about Martha’s Vineyard
That urged a friend of mine from Lebanon
To say, “I don’t want to die without seeing
Martha’s Vineyard.” “Seeing” it. When I asked why, her answer was simple —
“It’s the most beautiful place in the world”.

On May 6, 2021, her words are true.
Look to the ocean, the sea, the ponds,
The fields of red-tipped grass before they
Grow tall enough to blow. Roads wind to their destinations held together by a State
Road handle and a sharp whip-line to

Edgartown. It takes a Covid winter to wonder at the architecture of the towns — colonial, Georgian, traditional, contemporary. Exquisite. Museum
quality.
Made by the eyes who imagined this Island from the start, informed by fishing,

Whaling, agriculture, sheep and goat and beef farming. People who lived and live here. A land of the people, by the people and for the people. Not
just a
Small piece of America — America itself.
Something to to build on and cherish.

 

Comments

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 05/11/2021 - 07:38

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Arnie Reisman Vineyard Haven

Thank you, Fan, for showing how minds are never idle on an island so idyllic. Yes, thank you!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 05/11/2021 - 08:03

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Jane Rabe Chilmark

This piece strikes a cord in me. I first came to the Vineyard in 1969. I drove up Island to have dinner with a student, Steve Asher, and his family. On the way, I stopped the car, looked out over Quitsa and fell in love with this beautiful place. Steve, and his wife Jeannie, are documentary film makers and made Our Towns, an extraordinary film about American towns.

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