I went to the Tuesday selectmen’s meeting this week to talk about the new angled parking, but opted not to speak in the public comment time because very few listen with empathy. Politicians are funny birds; they know all and are best left to themselves.

As a 46-year-old woman and full-time resident, I felt compelled to write this in response to the job hunting experience I have had this spring. Early on I submitted my resume with 25 years of retail management and sales experience including a college degree in marketing to virtually every retail store in the three down-Island towns.

Last Saturday there was a memorial service at the Martha’s Vineyard Unitarian Universalist Society on upper Main street in Vineyard Haven. The gathering of family and friends was for John Eggs, a unique individual. Several spoke up about their experiences with John. A few brought down the house with laughter. They all loved him and I think they all feel lucky. I’m one of them. Near the end of the hour, Peter Boak led the whole congregation in the singing of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus. I never thought of this piece to be sung at a memorial service, but it was effective. If the church doors were open, they heard us at Five Corners.

The lack of natural gas from Yemen needed to generate electricity at New England power plants this summer has grid managers preparing for possible summer power disruptions, including the possibility of what are sometimes called rolling blackouts. In March, April and May of this year, terrorists in Yemen repeatedly destroyed natural gas pipelines, preventing the gas from being liquefied and loaded into LNG tankers for delivery to be used to generate electricity for New England, including the residents of the Cape and Martha’s Vineyard.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the entire community of Martha’s Vineyard for their continued support of the high school athletic program. We had another very successful year. Of the 18 varsity sports programs at the high school, it is a pleasure to announce that 15 of the 18 programs saw post-season play during the 2011-12 school year. None of this success would be possible without the outstanding and dedicated athletes and coaches, along with the supportive parents, that are part of the athletic program at the school.

Things have changed in our quiet, country neighborhood since the new, taller, bigger White-Lynch asphalt tower was built at Goodale’s ever-expanding pit. We are awakened to the asphalt plant machinery at 4 a.m. Black soot, spewing from the tower, stains our roof. Sensitive Vineyard wildlife habitat is placed at risk and destroyed. More trees have been cut and thrown on the side of the road. Machine guns echo through our neighborhood from the free-for-all firing range allowed at Goodale’s pit.