Excerpted from the Martha’s Vineyard Magazine, by Nelson Bryant, who died Jan. 11.

I count myself as among the very fortunate to have been a close friend of Ward Just.

In years past we all have looked forward to celebrating and remembering the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as we recalled his leadership and contributions during the civil rights struggles.

Politicians of the Reagan era scuttled a time-honored tradition. They gutted the media doctrines of fairness, equal time and anti-monopoly practices.

Admittedly, it was decades ago that I was in Iran, during the last year of the U.S.-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi regime, but I have never forgotten the beauty of the Imam Mosque.

My husband Bill and I were vacationing on the Cape in the summer of 1965 when some friends sailed over to visit us.