Commentary
NO POSITION
Editors, Vineyard Gazette:
The following letter was sent to Mark Forrest, chief of staff for Cong. Bill Delahunt:
I understand that Congressman Delahunt, my representative, has failed to indicate his position on the House health care initiative. I find this unconscionable at a time when we are all considering its merits and faults. Fence sitting at this time appears indecisive at best and cowardly at worst. Do you not think his constituents deserve better?
Hadden Blair
West Tisbury
The dance of the sprinklers is just that — a dance. From the front porch, to across the street, to the growing fields of Morning Glory Farm, I watch the sprinklers as they dance across the horizon, in the light, in the wind, in the setting sun, and back and forth as they intertwine their arms of spray, as they sashay in and out of each other, doing the rumba or the mambo or even a little rock and roll. Their rhythm is perfection as they water the crops that all of us will eat and enjoy. Talk about buying local; this is as local as local gets.
Forks in a Rural Road
There are deepening divisions on Chappaquiddick over whether a bike path should be built on the tiny rural island that lies off the extreme eastern end of Edgartown. Indeed, the debate over the Chappy bike path has continued for more than thirty years, but the discussion has taken on more urgency in recent months and weeks and landed in front of the Edgartown selectmen again.
Notebook on an Auction
It was a splendid night, this first Monday in August, and a splendid new venue for the annual Possible Dreams auction: an elegant tent in Ocean Park with the moon rising over the sea beyond. A few years ago, when the event was postponed due to rain, organizers learned the hard way that some big spenders could stretch their weekends to Monday night but not another night, so they addressed that. The auction is now weatherproof, yet still picture-perfect Martha’s Vineyard.
Blueberry Obsession
Least terns have nested on the Vineyard for as long as I can remember. According to Ludlow Griscom and Guy Emerson, the least terns of the Vineyard were able to avoid “plume-hunting persecution” of the 1800s. They nested successfully along what was termed Great South Beach and at Cape Pogue in the 1900s. No doubt the plume hunters were not willing to walk for miles in soft sand for a few plumes. However, least terns have not fared well on the Island since skunks were introduced, off-road vehicles are a dime a dozen and dogs accompany the family to the beach.
