My five-year-old son, Hardy, and I were kicking the soccer ball around the backyard and for the first time Hardy seemed engaged in the game rather than frustrated with the rule of not being able to use his hands. This was big progress. Up until the age of four, Hardy was a city boy, and I have to admit I hadn’t been doing enough to make sports a part of our lives. But since moving to the Island I have been determined to make up for lost time; especially with youth soccer just beginning.

TO SEWER, OR NOT

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

Regarding the selectmen’s rush to include the Island Grove sewer article on Edgartown’s Oct. 27 special town meeting warrant, I suggest we all take a moment to consider a few pieces of the puzzle before committing ourselves to more debt.

For one thing, if the wastewater department receives the grant, will all the residents of the Island Grove subdivision be required to hook up to the sewer system once it is installed? For me this point is key.

A fter the recent hearing and learning what others are doing and thinking regarding the state plan to locate at Noman’s Land (already designated by the federal government as a bird sanctuary) and Cuttyhunk, up to 166 turbines over 450 feet high generating enough electricity to power over 200,000 homes, the following thoughts occur:

It’s easy to be cynical about love these days. Divorce rates seem always on the rise and tabloid fodder makes a public mockery of marriage and commitment. But some people are still able to hold on for a lifetime, or longer.

A Friday night event at the Bunch of Grapes bookstore, billed as a book discussion, turned out to be more a testament by a loving wife to her late husband. At the event, Rose Styron offered a bittersweet glimpse into the relationship that spanned the major part of her life so far; her marriage to fellow writer William Styron.

Change the Soundtrack

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

Complications of Flu Clinics

Public health officials on the Island, as elsewhere, have been working feverishly in recent months to devise a plan to vaccinate Islanders against seasonal flu as well as the novel H1N1 flu virus before the winter, as theses viruses thrive in cooler temperatures and lower humidity. Both viruses can be life-threatening, though the course the flu will take, particularly the H1N1, remains unknown.