Editorials
Last swim in the ocean. First fire in the fireplace. Tomatoes simmering on the stove, ready for the freezer or canning jars. Ditto apples and beach plums. Fishermen silhouetted on the shoreline, casting into the silvery light of a harvest moon.
These are the benchmarks of September, the month when seasons shift along with the rhythms of Island life. The hectic pace of August is just a memory now, replaced by the decidedly more measured pace of fall. Warm sunlight remains abundant but summery days are fleeting and everyone feels it.
September quiet settled over Katama Bay this week, as a handful of sailboats scudded in and out of the harbor. It was quiet too on the twelve oyster farms scattered across the broad saltwater bay that lies at the eastern end of Edgartown.
On Monday familiar yellow buses will roll over Island roads, stopping along the way to collect their precious cargo: school-age children from kindergarten through high school.
And another Vineyard school year begins.
Author Robert Putnam in his book Bowling Alone, published in 2000, examined trends in American society and concluded that the country was growing apart due to lack of community involvement. His thesis pointed to a disengaged populace that was more isolated and therefore less likely to be empathetic. The traditional outlets for bringing a community together were no longer thriving, he said, from bowling leagues to PTA meetings, and as a result the country as a whole was suffering.
Where have all the flowers gone? The line from the old Pete Seeger folk song is a fitting metaphor for the Vineyard as one season comes to an end and another one begins.
Labor Day weekend has arrived. Summer residents and visitors are packing the cars, taking one last swim, sweeping sand from the cottage before closing the door on another Vineyard summer.
All things taken into account, we’re happy and proud that you chose to spend your week’s vacation on our small Island. Sure, it was disruptive to have South Road blocked off for a week. The gridlock that always grips Oak Bluffs on fireworks day was that much worse for your attendance. The occasional glimpse of armored vehicles and SWAT teams where we expected to see tourists in jeeps and on bikes was nothing short of chilling. And though we didn’t try, it probably was tough to get a tee time last week.