Commentary
Editor’s Note: The following went out to Whippoorwill Farm members in a newsletter this week.
By ANDREW WOODRUFF
Several weeks ago, I began to plow the fields at Thimble Farm for what most likely will be the last time. As the dust rose up from the turning of the soil, I began to wonder just what this land could mean to our community — not only now, but 30 years from now. Until recently, there had been little rain in months and it has been one of the driest starts to a growing season that I have ever experienced.
“M is for the million things she gave me . . . ”
The wind over Lucy Vincent Beach has to be just right, from the southeast and maybe 10 to 15 miles an hour, so that it strikes the cliff there and forms a column of rising air. When that happens, if you are a paraglider pilot, it can be magic.
My friend Chris tapped on the flimsy clear plastic that separated the checkout counter from the entryway of Shirley’s True Value Hardware in Vineyard Haven.
“Is this bulletproof glass?” he joked with the woman behind the counter.
“Well . . . why don’t you stay on that side, I’ll get a gun and shoot at you, and we’ll find out.”
With that, the woman walked out from behind the register. She had gray hair, and wore thick, round glasses.
When I was in second grade my teacher, Ms. Lipscombe, wore an ERA button to class every day. It was 1980 and the deadline for states to ratify the equal rights amendment was approaching. Ms. Lipscombe also had days where the girls and boys would switch gender roles and the boys had to serve the girls.
Editor’s Note: The following is the text of an opinion written by the Aquinnah town counsel for the Aquinnah selectmen.
You have requested that I provide the Aquinnah board of selectmen with an opinion as to whether the Wampanoag Tribal Council of Gay Head, Inc. (Aquinnah) can operate a gaming casino in Aquinnah. The simple answer to the question is no.