The Sound of Shared Purpose

Last week’s Gazette carried a story about marine scientist Jesse Ausubel. Near the end of the piece there was a reference to a project Mr. Ausubel is about to undertake: An international effort to halt all forms of man-made noise in the ocean for a few hours.

Perhaps we landlubbers would do well to attempt a similar period of silence.

Elegy for Swans

New Beginnings in Menemsha

It has been seven long months since the investigation into the Menemsha fire began by top federal and state experts, including the state fire marshal, the United States Coast Guard and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. And now the investigation has ended, not with a bang but something far more open-ended: The cause of the fire that destroyed the Coast Guard boathouse and forced the evacuation of the village of Menemsha last July cannot be precisely determined.

February Days

A spell of warm days has melted the snow. The grass, although looking like someone just recovering from the flu, dull yellow and bent over, is a welcome sight. So too is the sun, spending a bit more time with us now. The hens are beginning to lay more eggs thanks to the extended daylight. Young children are waking earlier too, stirred by the light.

Saving Parsonage House

The old house is one of those places you drive by — nearly every day if you live up-Island and frequently if you live anywhere else on the Vineyard and come through West Tisbury on State Road. Probably you take it for granted, and that’s the way it is with the old houses and barns of the Vineyard that are so much a part of its architectural and living character and history.

We take them for granted until they are gone.

Silent Stigma

We do not talk much about mental illness. Considering how widespread such disorders are — whether depression or dementia, bipolar or anxiety disorders, schizophrenia or some of the two hundred other possible diagnoses assigned to tens of millions of Americans each year — it is remarkable how singularly ill-prepared we are to cope with finding out someone we love is suffering from a mental illness. Family, where we take everything to heart, becomes a place of seemingly inexpressible heartbreak.