KATHIE CASE

508-627-5349

(kathleencase@comcast.net)

This has been a great week. Lots of good weather, special time with friends, nice family cookouts, and the traffic has calmed down too.

Happy birthday to all who celebrated their day this past week. Because of the school just getting started I did not get the new list for September, so I will make up for it next week. Balloons go out to Sam Leighton, who partied Sept. 7.

Special anniversary wishes go out to Chris and Liza Dolby who celebrated their day Sept. 14.

The past couple of weeks, the school has been busy with all the parents and the kindergarten children getting used to their new school and being away from home and familiar faces for the day. This week has been half-days for them; next week they will attend the full day.

Irv and Estelle Brager, residents of Edgartown for almost 40 years, report that their daughter, Alison Bass, has received a prestigious prize for her book, Side Effects: A Prosecutor, a Whistleblower and a Bestselling Antidepressant on Trial (Algonquin Books). She is the winner of the 2009 Science in Society Journalism Award given by the National Association of Science Writers and will be flown to Texas to receive it. One of the judges noted that “Her investigations led to changes in policy in many areas of public health, not only nationally but internationally.” Alison is a former investigative reporter for the Boston Globe.

The freshmen began their orientation last Wednesday at the regional high school, and Thursday was the official first day of school.

The beach gang had a big Labor Day weekend gathering. We had a very special day, as one of our couples got engaged: Derek Avakian proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Brooke Zwien, on Saturday afternoon. She of course said yes, and the celebration began.

Brooke and Derek arrived at the beach to a clapping crowd, and all the women put on sunglasses to observe the beautiful diamond Brooke was proudly wearing.

Derek is the son of Bob and Gail Avakian of Edgartown and Brooke is the daughter of Steve and Barbara Zwien of Exeter, N.H. There has been no date set yet, but as you can probably guess, I will keep you informed.

We had a great crew on the beach and we were finally back on the Katama side after many Sundays in the Chappy ferry line. So when we arrived at our usual place with a whole new covering of sand and new lines to the shoreline, we were very happy. We were happy to have Spike Smith and his wife, Tracy, and daughters Isabelle and Olivia and mother Annette Smith at the beach with us. They had not been with us as the girls participated (and did well in) a summer of horse shows.

I keep hearing great things about the new aquarium in Oak Bluffs. Children of all ages have had a great time during their visits, and I guess at the end most go home with a Samurai fighting fish. So if you want a different outing, take a ride to Oak Bluffs and check it out.

Well, after listening to the amazement that we had an Island traffic light, I finally experienced it Wednesday night. It was getting to be around sunset and the parasailors were at the pond, so it wasn’t all that difficult to sit and watch; however, I am sure those on their way to work may disagree. But for now, it is big news.

Our sympathies go out to the family of Billy Norton of Oak Bluffs. Billy served as assistant fire chief for many years. Our sadness comes from the fact that he was one of the encouraging men that welcomed many people into the cardiac class at the hospital. Ralph and he bonded the first week; they formed a support system for each other that went beyond words. He was a special man with many talents, and you were always happy to call him a friend. He will be missed by many.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001. It doesn’t seem possible that eight years have gone by since that awful day.

Have a great week, and keep the home candles burning.