HOLLY NADLER
508-693-3880
My grandfather’s fourth wife, Lena, who had the thickest Yiddish accent ever heard in the Farifax district of Los Angeles, would have characterized this week as “a time of sedness and gledness.”
The sedness part is, of course, the Giants winning the Super Bowl. (Not that I personally gave two shekels about the game; on Sunday evening Paula Catanese and I drove to Edgartown to see Jack Nicolson and Morgan Freeman in Bucket List, leaving Paula’s partner, Ron DiOrio, on the couch with their Weimaramer, Rigby, and my dog, Huxley, who was overjoyed at the playdate, to watch the game.)
What I hadn’t anticipated was the anguish certain Patriots fans would undergo the next day. I spoke with one O.B. fellow, who wishes to remain anonymous, who sounded as if he’d lost both his girlfriend and his Merrill Lynch stocks all in one fell swoop.
“But it’s just a game!” I argued. “Surely this isn’t going to be important to you on your deathbed or even next week?”
But he remained irremedially downcast. “The Patriots had this winning record, and now it’s gone,” he said.
I didn’t pursue it any further because, well, I didn’t feel like it.
The gledness derives from the communal fun and hopefulness we’re experiencing with the primary elections. It’s Wednesday morning as I write this, and the news is that the competition will continue between those two admirable candidates, Hillary and Barack.
If you’re a Republican, it might be advisable for you to stop reading my column this week. I wish I could cater to you folks, too, but I believe no Republican should run for office or vote this time around until he or she has performed one hundred hours of community service. Besides, do any Republicans even live in Oaks Bluffs? If they do, I’d like to meet them. I recall that back in 2004 when I learned my co-workers at the food pantry, Marie Connelly and Phyllis Ross, were voting for George W. — again! — I thanked them for putting likable faces on red voters. I’d never met any others.
But getting back to Hill & Bar, their various charms, strengths and foibles have made for much engrossing conversation among Oak Bluffs residents lately, that it’s sort of nice they and we will be carrying on the debate for another few weeks or however long it takes.
News from the Oak Bluffs school: Feb. 11 is the 100th day of school. Feb. 25 to 29 is winter break. Check your mail for kindergarten through grade five report cards — they went into the mail last Monday.
Mathew Bose at the library reminds us that the Basic Computer Skills II class will take place on Feb. 21 from 10:45 to noon. Learn more about Windows operating systems, how to save and manage your files, tips for using the keyboard and mouse, and strategies to help you learn more. Call to reserve your space at 508-693-9433.
More library stuff: Today, Friday, Feb. 8, the 6 to 10-year-old story-telling time will take place from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. and will highlight Valentine themes plus the making of love boxes. On Saturday, Feb. 9 from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m., there will be a special workshop for crafting valentines. And on Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 10 a.m., pre-schoolers will have their turn at the Valentine theme.
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