On a blustery, damp Monday morning at the Grange Hall, U.S. Senator Scott Brown lamented the similarly dreary state of affairs in Washington, D.C.

“I too have been disgusted by the government’s complete lack of accountability to its citizens,” he said at yesterday’s appearance in West Tisbury as part of his three week “jobs tour” throughout the commonwealth, which he has represented in the senate since January last year. The event ended unexpectedly when a member of the audience was stricken with a medical emergency.

The Menemsha boat pumpout facility is barely working this summer. In front of the Menemsha harbor master’s shack, right next door to Menemsha Texaco, it has for most of the summer sat idle.

Edgartown harbor and Vineyard Haven harbor master departments have pumped more than 20,000 gallons in each of their towns. The Oak Bluffs harbor master’s office pumpout boat has handled around 10,000 gallons.

The smell of hay and cotton candy, the lowing of cows, the dusty August air blowing through barn doors, ruffling your hair. The scratching of a horse against a stall, the whirring of the Ferris wheel.

Thousands of stitches hanging over the barn beams, the pride of dropping off an entry, no matter the age. Echoes of footsteps on the wide floorboards, wet grass tickling bare feet.

Illumination Night Rocks Gently

It’s August and some of the heaviest hitters have come aboard. There’s the Agricultural Fair, the Oak Bluffs Fireworks, some guy from Washington, D.C. is rumored to be heading our way, and a host of other big name panels, readings and discussions are all in full bloom.