EXTRAORDINARY RESPONSE

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

On behalf of the Tri-Town Ambulance and Emergency Medical Services responders who came from all over the Island to help at the recent fire in Menemsha, we would like to offer our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the wonderful Menemsha businesses and members of the community who without hesitation gave and offered everything they could to assist us and the firefighters.

The Menemsha Market, Menemsha Texaco and many others contributed buckets, ice, water and telephone services. We would like to particularly thank the Home Port Restaurant, which pitched in with their outstanding staff. Their contributions of huge quantities of ice, beverages and water were truly a lifesaving device for the men and women racing around near the flames on an already hot and humid summer day wearing 200 pounds of firefighting gear. There is no doubt that absent these generous helping hands we would have had far more people down from heat exhaustion and dehydration.

To Home Port staff members and owner, a special thank you for the multi-course meal made available complete with brownies; after hours of extraordinary exertion, this “refueling” helped us all!

This Island community absolutely stepped up to the plate and then some. We are blessed to be here, blessed that there were as few injuries as there were, and seriously blessed by the wind direction of the day.

Bob Bellinger

Edgartown

The writer is chief of Tri-Town Ambulance.

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WELCOME BACK

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

In January 2009 my wife and I were told Lola’s was being sold. We both knew our summer on the Vineyard would never be the same. Lola’s restaurant was the heart and soul of Oak Bluffs and the Vineyard. Generations would come there to celebrate being back on the Island and mark special occasions. The African American population came every July Fourth to be with their families. Everyone came to Lola’s and felt like they had come home.

Kathy (Lola) knew everyone by name. All the generations. My family has been there with four generations. Paul and Kathy made everyone feel at home. One of the best things I remember Kathy telling me is that a celebrity to her was someone who was a regular. Everyone was treated the same. Walter Cronkite and Spike Lee were celebrities because they were regulars, not because they were famous. The kitchen was never closed; if the restaurant was open you could always get served.

We all loved coming to Lola’s to hear the live music. The people who came to dance and listen to music were from all walks of life and all types of backgrounds. That is what made Lola’s special — no one cared who you were or what you did for a living or how you looked. Everyone was made to feel at home. I always said the rest of America should mix as well as everyone did at Lola’s. A 12-year-old kid said to me, look at the murals on the wall, that’s what Lola’s was and is all about.

All the regulars are happy to be back dancing and listening to music again. I know Lola’s will not be there forever, but at least this summer we can again enjoy being there. The heart and soul is back in Oak Bluffs and the Vineyard.

Written by a friend and a regular.

Thom Phiebeg

Oak Bluffs

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BIKE SAFETY

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

Following the recent bicycle tragedy in Vineyard Haven, there has been increased interest and attention paid on the Island to the issue of bicycle safety. There should be all this and more. As a society, we are often moved to action after such a great loss, so we can honor it, heal from it and learn from it. Yes, riding a bicycle, walking, driving, all present risks, and individuals must do their part to protect themselves, but it is our responsibility as a community to reduce those risks as best we can. Steady improvements to the Island’s bike path system have been made, but there are a few glaring problem areas that call out for action.

Meshacket Road from Morning Glory Farm on the West Tisbury Road in Edgartown to where it turns into Clevelandtown Road before finally reaching Katama Road, is a highly dangerous route for cyclists. Perhaps there is no more perilous stretch of road, with such twists and turns and side roads, on the Island. Cyclists, often families with kids, use this narrow route, shared with trucks, buses, cars, and pedestrians, to connect two key parts of town, both of which do have bike paths. A safe biking route between them is long overdue.

From discussions over the years with town officials, I know making a bike path along this admittedly treacherous route would present some difficulties, some expense and some imagination. I say the safety of the ever-increasing number of bicyclists is more than worth the effort it will take to make this necessity a reality.

Jeffrey Agnoli

Edgartown

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REARVIEW MIRRORS

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

In the aftermath of the tragic biking accident in Vineyard Haven, the subject of bicycle safety has been on the minds of many. At issue, and rightly so, has been the location of the accident with its heavy traffic, narrow roadway, lack of clearly marked lanes and the bumpy brick sidewalk confined on one side by a raised curb and encroaching buildings on the other. As in most accidents, this terrible tragedy was surely the confluence of other risk factors in addition to those just cited. Yet the down-Island area of the Vineyard, for the most part, is biker friendly with its many miles of paved pathways with markings and signs to alert the rider of potential hazards. Certainly, improvements can be made to enhance biker safety.

One area of concern for all bikers is the continual awareness of what is going on behind them. To help accomplish this, one should have a bike equipped with mirrors. Unfortunately, I seldom see bikes on the Vineyard with rearview mirrors. Absent this simple device, riders must turn their heads and twist their bodies in order to check for any traffic approaching from behind. Most bikers would agree that such a maneuver usually compromises overall balance and reduces stability. With only one properly adjusted mirror on the left handlebar of the bike, the rider can constantly monitor conditions and events to the rear while greatly reducing the risk of losing one’s balance and falling. Mirrors are fairly inexpensive and easy to install on most bikes. They can aid in eliminating some risk factors and result in a more enjoyable riding experience. Let’s all do what we can to make the Vineyard safer for all biking activities.

Jim Bradley

Glastonbury, Conn.