Best-selling author and Yale law professor Stephen Carter deplores those bumper stickers with which people advertise their views on political and social issues.

He’s sorry if that offends anyone, but he really can’t stand them, for a couple of reasons.

First, they are overwhelmingly stuck on the backs of cars; thus they convey the message “Here’s my opinion, I don’t have to look at yours.”

Hay bales in the distance, belted Galloways grazing in the fields, the sun setting softly over Katama Farm — it was a picturesque Vineyard evening for the Farm Institute’s Meals in the Meadow event Saturday night that was full of local food, drink, fun, and most importantly, education. The annual fundraiser was held to raise money for the institute’s education programs that teach children and adults sustainability through farming practices.

With the mercury topping 90, Islanders elsewhere complained about the mugginess, but at the weekend’s annual Feast of the Holy Ghost, the prevailing atmosphere was, as ever, the light spirit of generosity.

Parking lots are filled and people are once again crowding the restaurants, shops and fish markets of Menemsha.

But the village did take a hit to business, at least in the few days following the fire.