Opinion
May Days
Watersheds
Against a backdrop of national headlines over the massive and spreading oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that appears to have no end, regional headlines over the city main break that left two million residents in the greater Boston area having to boil their drinking water, it was a weekend where water quality was very much in the news.
It only took one day for them to smile and reach out with folded hands. Our little group from the Vineyard was in Nicaragua to teach English in a village school, leave some much-needed supplies, and, we hoped, make positive connections with the people. We did not know that the local expression of respect is to look another person in the eyes, fold hands together and reach out. The response is to place your hands over their hands in a similar gesture to show that the respect is returned.
I have been away for awhile, over here in Europe, learning a new language, adjusting to a new culture and finding out about the world. The Vineyard looks very different from here, giving a whole new perspective that I would like to share with you.
From Gazette editions of May, 1935:
YES TO NECTAR’S
Editors, Vineyard Gazette: