Archive for island life

HEY! Wait, do I know you…?

April 22, 2009 at 12:25 am · Filed under Blog Every Day April (BEDA), island life, life, writing

I have the world’s worst facial recognition. And car recognition. And name recognition. (I have awesome voice recognition, but it rarely comes in handy, particularly since the advent of caller ID.) Dave finds this hiLARious. Because we live in a small town, and I’m so afraid of not saying Hi to someone I should recognize and being considered snobby that I say Hi to EVERYONE. In a very familiar way.

Such as today in the grocery store. I see a dude. I say, “Hey, how are you doing?” He says, “Hey!” And looks at me a bit oddly. We pass. I say to Dave, “Was that ____’s son from the beach?” “No.” “He kinda looked like him though…?” “No.” “Well, it’s always nice to have someone say Hello to you, right?” Eye roll.
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I’m on a soapbox, and you should be too

April 15, 2009 at 7:41 pm · Filed under Blog Every Day April (BEDA), inspiration, island life, life, Martha's Vineyard, overthinking, politics, technologeee, writing

Yesterday I was busy Being A Capital-A American. I paid my Taxes and I attended Town Meeting and then when that was all over, I patronized my local Pub and drank Beer with My Mom. And I have to say, after all the presidential campaigning I endured on Facebook for the past year, I was very disappointed to see few people within ten years of my age at Town Meeting.

I don’t even see it as an option. I vote. I attend Town Meetings. It’s what I do. And I just find it surprising that, for the number of people around my age who I listen to all the time discuss politics with passion and sometimes pride and often vitriol, there is very little interest on the local level.
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Saturday drive

April 4, 2009 at 5:53 pm · Filed under Blog Every Day April (BEDA), inspiration, island life, Martha's Vineyard, writing

My mother and I took a ride up-island today to drop something off at a friend’s house – essentially, we ran an errand. This is the kind of thing I get to see when I run errands:

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Squibnocket Beach, Aquinnah, Massachusetts

Pretty lucky, right?

Sometimes I need to remind myself how wicked cool it is to live on an island, particularly this time of year when we mostly see traffic cones and roadwork – everyone working to get things ready for the onslaught of summer visitors.

This time of year, everything is still ours. We made it through yet another winter – this one, covered in snow – and for the next couple of months, we get to watch the island slowly rise from her winter slumber, wipe the salt out of her eyes, and come back to life.

And we will once again renew our appreciation for this wondrous place where we live.

Good morning, Martha’s Vineyard. Hope you had a good rest.

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The song of the pinkletink

April 2, 2009 at 3:04 pm · Filed under Blog Every Day April (BEDA), island life, Martha's Vineyard, writing

This is the third blog post I have started to write today. Nothing is coming out right. Everything is vague, devoid of the detail that makes blogs and writing in general fun to read. But I guess that’s how life has been lately – too many questions and very few answers.

I’m supposed to be on vacation right now. I’m supposed to be lying in a lounge chair, by a pool or ocean in Florida, soaking up the rays and the happy-making Vitamin D, catching up on some fantastic YA fiction, absently deciding what cocktail I might order with lunch. But rather than weighing the merits of Mount Gay and tonic versus vodka and cranberry, I’m here at home where the gray sky is filled to bursting with what will inevitably be an afternoon April shower.
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Dead barn cat: A eulogy…kind of

March 29, 2009 at 1:54 pm · Filed under island life, Martha's Vineyard

Last night, the Sweetened Water Farm barn cat finally lost its fight with suicidal pothole napping. In memory, I thought I’d share a story of my most vivid recollection of the cat, which might illustrate my belief that karma was going to get that sucker some day.

One day, I was driving down the dirt road to my parents’ house, past the split rail fence of the pastures where the horses graze. On top of the fence sat two birds. Robins, perhaps? My father can attest to the fact that I am inept at bird identification. Anyway, the two bird buddies were sharing a conversation that went something like this:

Bird 1: Tweet, tweet, tweet?

Bird 2: Tweet, tweet, tweet!

Then along skulks the fat orange feline, and POUNCE! Bird 2 is ripped from his perch and pulled to the ground, maimed and killed in cold blood while his buddy looks on, screaming. I kid you not: Bird 1 sat on that fence screaming. It was so sad.

So to you, barn cat, I say adieu.

And to the birds, it is now safe to come out of your hiding places. The reign of terror has ended.

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