The young think they will never be old. Gradually, they realize that they will age and even die, but not yet. At fifty, you’re just hitting your stride. Sixty is still pretty young. I thought I would never be seventy, but now I feel lucky to have made it so far. Even so, I don’t feel like an old woman except for the moments when I see my mother in the mirror or when a person offers me a seat on the T (or when nobody gives me a seat and I wish someone would) or when I get the senior discount without asking for it.
By Betsy Campbell
Steve and his brothers’ childhood adventures included jumping into the Atlantic from the concrete bunker, a relic from World War II, that still stood defiantly in the surf at South Beach a generation later. “The Bunker Is Leaving” When I was a boy I swam at South Beach We played in the waves My brothers and me We laid on our stomachs
We should also note that Bunch of Grapes Bookstore in Vineyard Haven was damaged by fire on the Fourth of July and is currently closed. We wish the building and business owners as well as the staff all the best through this difficult period. Fiction The Birth House by Ami McKay. Selected by Karen Harris of Bunch of Grapes. Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey. Selected by Dawn Braasch and Doug Ullman of Bunch of Grapes.
By Susan Catling
Friends of mine have so many house guests in summer that they keep a color-coded bar chart on their kitchen wall, indicating which guests sleep where on which dates. My husband and I used to have a lot of guests, especially the first couple of summers after we moved to the Vineyard year-round. Our friends back in New York missed us more then and often invited themselves up to visit.
By Laura D. Roosevelt
Friends of mine have so many house guests in summer that they keep a color-coded bar chart on their kitchen wall, indicating which guests sleep where on which dates. My husband and I used to have a lot of guests, especially the first couple of summers after we moved to the Vineyard year-round. Our friends back in New York missed us more then and often invited themselves up to visit. We were, I must say, excellent hosts, giving everyone the Island tour, taking them to the beach, and feeding them sumptuously.
By Laura D. Roosevelt
The Clintons? The Obamas? Or is this island big enough for both families to vacation here? Several months ago, when it looked like the shark from Jaws was circling the Democratic Party, I would have said “no way.”
By Kate Feiffer
“Can you give me the address of the Vineyard Playhouse?” “Oh, just drive up Main Street, turn left onto Church–” “No, please don’t give me the directions. Just give me the street address.” “But it’s really easy to find. All you have to do is–” “No, no, no! All I want is the address.”
By Shelley Christiansen
Not only did the Screen Actors Guild strike earlier this year keep Amy Brenneman from spending much time at her Vineyard home, but she joined a coalition of actors that call themselves Unite for Strength. Unite for Strength will challenge the slate of candidates running for election in September. Why? Unite for Strength claims they dropped the ball in negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
By Brooks Robards
Heads turn as my friends and I march purposefully down Circuit Avenue. The nine o’clock crowds looking for ice cream, the Game Room, fudge, and souvenirs part to let us slip through. It is guaranteed that we are noticed.
By Meredith Downing
Scully didn’t like to chase cars. He preferred to get out front and lead them like a dog-track hare, ears pinned back, jowls flapping, legs pumping like pistons in an old flathead Ford. He was a big dog but he could motor.
By Geoff Currier
I do not ask for much in life (and friends of mine say that sometimes it shows), but this springtime I do ask why the Vineyard staged Jaws Fest, the all-Island hullabaloo over the thirtieth anniversary of the release of Jaws three summers ago, but – at press time anyway – shows no sign whatsoever that it’s going to hold a Jaws 2 Fest to honor the 1978 release of the first of the three sequels to follow it.
By Tom Dunlop
Dear Summer Person: Goodbye. Fear not, this is not a good-riddance letter. I’ve lived on the Vineyard year-round for eight short years and still relish the Island summer and the people who come with it.
By Kate Feiffer
