HOLLY NADLER
508-274-2329
Today’s column will be what the Italians call un po di tutti , one of those meals where all the leftovers are excavated from the fridge and arranged as a mini buffet on the table. We never had those in my childhood because my father scarfed up everything in sight. Sometimes you’d see him hungrily eyeing whatever you were still eating, and you’d hunch your arms protectively around your plate. Once when I was pregnant (eating for two, in other words) and visiting my parents in Paris ... well, never mind, it isn’t something that can’t be hammered out in therapy.
Last week I ran into Oak Bluffs storyteller Susan Klein at an Arts Collective gathering at the Grange Hall in West Tisbury. I first met Susie back in the late 70s at Liza Coogan’s house on Bridge street near Crystal Lake, back when Eddie was still alive and Willy, Geoghan and Nellie were little kids. From that evening forward, Susie has always been one of my favorite Islanders. So the other day, she had on a satiny purple blouse and long dangling purple earrings. I told her what I’d recently learned, that purple was one of the most flattering colors a person could wear, and yet people so rarely sported it.
Susan said, the way a poker player flashes an extra ace, “Oh, yeah? Well, I also have purple lipstick!” She hauled the case out of her pocket, opened it up and applied it to her lips.
It was so re-energizing to see Susan happy and purple and standing behind a table piled high with her book, Martha’s Vineyard Now & Zen, with photographs by Alan Brigish, a beautiful and entertaining compendium of stories about the Vineyard. And by the way, Susan will be doing her fabulous thing on July 9 at the Performing Arts Center at the regional high school.
Marty and I lunched recently at the Sand Bar along the harbor. We tried sitting at one of the “beachy” tables, but the strong wind carried off one of the umbrellas. Seriously! The umbrella got launched over the three-story roof of the adjoining blue building. Had anyone been holding it, he or she could have enjoyed a Mary Poppins experience. So we sat at the bar, happily awaiting our lunch, knowing full well that master chef Raymond Schilcher, the founding father of the Oyster Bar & Grill in the early 80s, was back on the Vineyard and presiding over the Sand Bar kitchen.
Marty ordered a cheese quesadilla into which Raymond slipped some lobster. Marty gave me a slice and, even though I’m a vegetarian, when I tasted the lobster I couldn’t stop gobbling it; it was too good; my ideals flew away like the vanishing umbrella. Also, the platter of sweet potato fries we shared was so addicting, I was close to putting my face against the dish and snuffling them up as my dog would have done. Maybe this has something to do with my dad’s food piracy.
And, finally, the last po di tutti , my friend, Sharon Kelly, owner of the Secret Garden, said she’d enjoyed my senior moment story about forgetting I’d locked my bicycle along the beach rail, and proceeding to think it was stolen. She said she and John have a friend, a Harvard professor, who recently landed back at Logan and couldn’t find his car where he’d parked it. He went to the attendants’ office to report the theft. He was told that before they called the police, he would need to be wheeled around in an electric cart from level to level to search for his car. Well, he sat in a huff as a young girl drove him around, the prof protesting that this exercise was unnecessary: he always parked his car in the same place, and now it was missing.
Finally they reached the open-air level, and the man fumed, “I’m a Harvard professor! I would know if I’d parked my car on the roof because I never park it on the roof!”
Well, guess where they found it?
And it’s only going to get worse, folks. The younger generations will have stories to tell for years about us dingbat boomers.
Don’t forget to bring your pets, either leashed or caged, for the Celebration of Animals festival at Sunset Lake, Saturday, June 18, from noon to 2 p.m. A benediction will be delivered for all sentient beings.
On June 27 at 3:45, I have a dentist appoint – oops! I’m following my calendar too closely.
Here’s one: The 2011 summer season at Trinity Episcopal Church in Oak Bluffs commences this Sunday, June 19th at 9 a.m. with the Rev. Deborah Warner, rector of the Church of the Messiah in Woods Hole. Built in 1882 in what was then Cottage City, Trinity was the first Episcopal worship house on the Vineyard. It offers a diverse and inspirational schedule of visiting clergy throughout the summer. Trinity Church is located at the foot of Ocean Park, just across from the ferry terminal.
The Martha’s Vineyard Center for Living is holding its second annual summer welcome dinner/dancing fundraiser on Friday, June 24 from 5:30 to 10 p.m. at the P.A. Club in Oak Bluffs. The ticket is $15. The bash begins with appetizers and drinks (cash bar) from 5:30 to 6:30, with dinner at 6:30, after which some tables will be cleared for dancing with music provided by deejay Steve McCullough. There will be a silent auction with winners announced at 8 p.m. Ellen O’Brien’s lovely table centerpieces will be given away as door prizes at the end of the party. Mark Martin (Eco MV) is once again donating the eco-friendly eating utensils and napkins. Call MVC4L director Leslie Clapp for tickets: 508-939-9440.
Comments
Comment policy »