A Dream to Bridge the Gap

He was a shrewd charmer, the late Art Buchwald. A compelling raconteur and writer, he became renowned worldwide. This gave him enormous social capital, capital he was not afraid to use at home on the Vineyard, most notably every year as auctioneer for the Possible Dreams Auction that raises money for Martha’s Vineyard Community Services. The auction will take place without him again on Monday, settling in at its splendid new location in Ocean Park.

Three Decades, Built the Old Way

The names of the wooden boats they build by hand are a metaphor for the work they do: sturdy, elegant and graceful, even a bit mysterious. Spoken aloud, they take on their own poetic rhythm. Rebecca, Juno, Epiphany. Zorra. Ilona, Elita, Christine. Hope.

Please Don’t Pick the Lilies

Wood lilies are blooming in profusion this year on the Island, in at least one up-Island meadow owned by the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank and along grassy pathways to the sea on the north shore. Ordinarily considered rare on the Vineyard, the showy, sturdy red-orange lilies have no doubt been encouraged by the hot, dry weather conditions that they so love. The flame-colored blossoms are a lovely summer surprise, winking out of the tall, pale green meadow grass on walks and blueberry-picking expeditions.

Menemsha Boathouse Fire, July 12, 2010

Nobody died.

Some history, in the form of a beautiful old building with a signature red roof and a wharf, was destroyed and some boats and a truck burned, but most importantly nobody died, or was even badly hurt. Monday’s Menemsha fire was a big material loss but thankfully not a human tragedy.

Quite the reverse, in fact. It was a demonstration of individual bravery and collective response which deserves to be celebrated.

Early Summer Tragedy

Between 1987 and 2004 there were five fatal bicycle accidents on the Vineyard, according to Gazette records. On Tuesday this week one more was added to the archives and today’s edition is unmistakably colored by sadness as it carries the news of the death of Dina Dececca, age forty, who died in a horrific accident on State Road in Vineyard Haven while riding her bicycle on a day trip to the Island early Tuesday afternoon.

Islanders take the ferry to that other place, America. We even voted in Nineteen-Seventy-Seven to leave the state, and maybe the nation, too — when Beacon Hill moved to remove the Island’s seat in the statehouse, thereby leaving us with less representation for the taxation states always impose. So what if our ragtag secessionist revolution failed politically; the spirit of separation remains strong. Few remember the proposed Vineyard anthem, but a few more still have the flags of our one nation, and more than a few have good stories from those heady days when freedom was on every Islander’s mind again. In our hearts we remain a place apart.

Independence Day 2010