HOLLY NADLER
508-274-2329
Dateline Mocha Mott’s, Wednesday, May 26, 9:52 a.m. I’d like to get to know this place better, considering that it’s the Oak Bluffs year-round clubhouse. Back in 2003 when Marty and I divorced, he basically got Mott’s in the settlement. My ex has that bachelor dude thing going on of waking up in the morning and rolling into town for coffee and a muffin. So he’s one of the Mott’s regulars. Me, I wake up, read some Swami Vivikenanda, meditate, walk the dog, clean the kitchen. You lose out on a place like Mott’s when you waste so much time at home.
It’s not as if Marty and I drew a line down the middle of Circuit avenue. We’re friends, and in fact when we meet in town we often ramble over to Mott’s for coffee and yet another discussion about who’s entitled to the Fleetwood Mac tapes, and how much longer does he expect to hold on to the East Chop dinner table? But here I sit at Mott’s with my new husband, Jack Shea, who happens to be close friends with the owner, Tim Dobel. Funny how on the Island old business like this comes full circle. This morning the ever-ready Scott Hershowitz is behind the counter. Scott begins his day at 4:40 in the morning, a sorcerer’s apprentice who magically brings the cafe to life. Today, sunny and warm, is a run-of-the-mill morning, he says. “All good so far but nothing exciting has happened. Yet,” he says with a twinkle in his eye. Scott says that fully 80 per cent of the people wafting in and out of the lower-floor coffee shop are regular customers.
It’s clear he’s the philosopher in residence. “I’ve got the bartender mentality of offering unlicensed therapy,” he says. “I enjoy it!”
Meanwhile, Jack and I have tied up Huxley just at the base of the black wrought-iron stairs outside where the pooch can keep his steady gaze fastened on bites of toasted bagels and cream cheese making their way into our mouths. Both of us bound outdoors to hand the starving terrier a cheesy glob. On one of Jack’s strolls outside, he spots a grandma with her four year-old granddaughter in tow, each of them hefting AK-47-sized Super Soakers. There’s a rumble going down. We hang out at Mott’s a little longer until the threat is over.
On Thursdays at the soccer field of the Oak Bluffs School, starting at 7:40 a.m., Doug Brush, middle school teaching assistant, leads a running group. It’s open to all sixth, seventh and eighth graders. A great way to start the day. Also at the school, upcoming dates to remember include June 4, when the strings concert will take place.
Finally, school principal Laurie Binney thanks parents for helping kids prepare daily for the two-week MCAS testing in math and science for grades three to eight. The good news is, it’s over.
Movie night at the Oak Bluffs library is scheduled for this coming Thursday, June 3, at 6 p.m. The film is Invictus, an inspirational story about Nelson Mandela and South Africa’s national rugby team, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.
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