Whether you are packing up to leave this blessed lump of a rock or you are the Vineyarder on shore waving good-bye, there is a poignancy attached to this weekend, unlike any other kind of new year rotation. Labor Day pangs happen all over, but for obvious reasons the tug is more pronounced here.

For those who live here, this may be the first chance in months to take a break — time to breathe, finally go for a swim, enjoy a few bucks in your pocket after a good season.

Those heading for their real homes after an excellent vacation may be sorry that it’s over, but there is plenty back home that is new and exciting coming up. No wonder Carly Simon wrote Anticipation.

Consciously or not, we can’t help but wonder what this next cycle will deliver. I know many are looking forward to the 2026 half-time election, with fever dreams of a clean sweep of the fawning flunkies in the house and senate. Some of our hopes will stumble, some will succeed.

One way to acknowledge a fresh start is a new haircut. Our library is offering free back-to-school haircuts for kids on Saturday morning, August 30. The offering includes the services of a barber or stylist who speaks Portuguese. But you must register ahead at westtisburylibrary.org

Doctors Sara Rosenthal and Julie Prazich have returned to their Lambert’s Cove Road home after a mid-summer trip to their base in San Diego. They will remain on-Island through most of the fall.

Sundy Smith and John Previant didn’t go to their cabin in the woods of British Columbia this summer. But they did head north to see Canada’s Atlantic provinces, where they enjoyed seeing a great many red and white flags a-flutter. Sundy says she is sure the Canadians feel sorry for us. “It is pride, not punishment,” she says.

These two know how to chill. They followed their Canadian trip with another one to Iceland.

Paul Magid will talk about his discovery and the research entailed in the writing of his latest book, Pursuing the Leviathan. It is the remarkable and little-known true story of a Vineyard whaling captain and hero, Benjamin Clough. The talk takes place at the library on Thursday, Sept. 4 at 4:30 p.m.

Coincidently, the museum this past week posted online the program for the 1879 fair, which was mostly a list of committee meetings. It also listed various Agricultural Society committee members, including a name that jumped out at me: Benj. Clough.

Another must-do is to show up at the special town meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 9, beginning at 6 p.m. at the school. Voters approved the new quorum requirement and town clerk Tara Whiting Wells is enjoining us to meet that goal.

Happy birthday greetings on August 31 to Cleo Wild, Anna Edey, Pat Mitchell and GG DeBlase. Birthday wishes flow to Pat Mitchell on Sept. 1.

Double congratulations and happy anniversary greetings to Jim and Debbie Athearn for their marriage as well as for Morning Glory Farm.