Derby Number 65

The sea and coastline around the Island have been roughed up by hurricanes and tropical storms this September, beginning last weekend when Earl blew through and again midweek when more tropical disturbances cropped up. The weather has been unstable: thunderstorms crashed down on Edgartown on Wednesday while West Tisbury stayed dry and sunny.

But the forecast calls for weather patterns to settle down by Sunday, just in time for the opening of the sixty-fifth Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby.

TOO MUCH PROTECTION

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

There comes a time where being overprotective is counterproductive. As a pilot, I have aviation weather at my disposal, so when I heard that all Island roads were being closed at 2 p.m. on Friday due to the public forecasted hurricane conditions, I immediately contacted the communications center, three times, to tell them that aviation weather forecasted no high winds until maybe after 8 p.m. I did notice the curfew finally got postponed to 8 p.m.

Our Town

From Gazette editions of September, 1960:

I used to be a liberal. It started in college. Was it those classic fall days up in Vermont? A few socialist professors? Or my love for the Clash?

I had a naive belief in income redistribution. I thought that capitalism was bad and the Ivy League elites in government had all the answers.

Requiem for Little Guy

Love’s embrace

Held thee

A short while — almost weightless.

Fly away

Little Soul

On butterfly wings.

Frail veil

Of human life

Slipped through love’s fingers — voiceless.

Fly high

Little Guy

On angel’s wings — all breathless.

New School Year Begins

Picture it this way: If a doctor, lawyer or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn’t want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher’s job.