Listen to John Updike describe September: ”The breezes taste of apple peel. The air is full of smells to feel — ripe fruit, old footballs, drying grass, new books and blackboards chalk in class. The bee, his hive, well, honey hums while Mother cuts Chrysanthemums. Like plates washed clean with suds, the days are polished with a morning haze.”

And so it was indeed a priceless sunny Tivoli day in Oak Bluffs last Saturday. Hundreds strolled up and down Circuit avenue to look for bargains at the end of the season from clothiers delighted to sell and desperate not to bring any inventory back to the store. Food purveyors were salt and peppered  between the apparel pop-ups, including Black Joy, Fat Ronnie’s Burgers and Dogs, Red Cat and several service organizations such as The Red Cross and The Red House, among others.

It was a wonderful day for ice cream and the lime and lemon drinks were flying off the table at Rosie’s Frozen Yogurt. What a magnificent way to end the summer season.

But all the fun was not on Circuit avenue. Nancy’s on the harbor was full of patrons eating and consuming beverages in the sun on both levels of the restaurant. Boats were in every slip and while it is traditional to name boats I was intrigued by some in the harbor Saturday. Boat names can mean many things. Some relate to special people in the owner’s life, often someone they love. Other names might include some humor or a pun or joke or how the owner made his or her money to buy the boat. Here are some from my survey on Saturday: Valium 2, Why Knot, Salty for Life, Wicked Nauti, Easy Living, Anchor Management, Our Time and The Discotech.

This past July, Tom and Susanna Schenk hosted a cookout for those coming to the Island from the enormously successful National Girlfriend’s Conclave in Boston planned by the Boston Chapter. Little did we know they were also planning to host over 300 people in Buffalo for their daughter’s wedding a few weeks ago. Antonia Rose Schenk married Christopher Michael Caruana with Mark Saltarelli performing the ceremony. The ceremony was in the courtyard of the Saturn Club and the reception followed in the great hall of the Seneca One Tower. The newlyweds will reside in Providence before taking off to Japan for their honeymoon in 2026.

Congratulations to Oak Bluffs summer resident Attorney Miniard Culpepper for winning the recount in Boston for the District 7 City Council office. His experience in housing, community services and his advocacy for health equity and healthy foods propelled him into the November finals. Best of luck from your neighbors.

The Charles Ogletree Public Forums featured several authors this past summer at Union Chapel. Prof. Marion Orr from Brown University spoke about his upcoming book to be published by UNC Press, titled, House of Diggs: The Rise and Fall of America’s Most Consequential Black Congressman, Charles Diggs, Jr. Hope to see Professor Orr next summer.

Paradise on earth is living the Vineyard experience. Enjoy it as life is fleeting.

Rest in Peace , Randall Edward Taylor.