HOLLY NADLER

508-274-2329

(hollynadler@gmail.com)

The Facebook thing started out for young people. As the mother of a young man in his 20s, I was cool with this. After all, I could flash back to the 60s when the last thing we wanted was for our parents to decipher us in any way. My dad used to sneer at Bob Dylan’s lyrics, “‘Burning like a candle in the sun,’ what the hell does that mean? Now, Shakespeare —” and at that point we’d tune out.

So a few years back, around 2004, kids started doing this thing called Face-book, and we pretty much left them to it. After all, when we were young and sitting with our backs to the walls in record stores with the new Stones’ album Between the Buttons blaring from huge speakers; did we want our moms coming in with brownies?

Until a few years back when friends in our general oldster category started sending out invitations to join Facebook, my own response was, more gently put but in essence, “Shut up!” The younger generation has its fads (beer pong, Frisbee golf), its fashions (tattoos and skinny jeans for boys, and for girls cleavage such as we haven’t seen since the British Restoration). These Millennials also spout, just as we did, incomprehensible jargon: “ThugLyfer,” “so whack” and such commentary as “Eddie Murphy hosting the Oscars shows that cryogenics works!” Sheesh! We used to think the ancient Bob Hope did a fine job.

My position on Facebook: It was invented for the young, leave it to the young.

Now statistics show that boomers are the biggest users of Facebook!

Well, after a lot of badgering from my sister in Los Angeles, who seems to believe that nonFacebookers are the modern equivalent of the hominids who climbed down from the wrong tree, I joined, and . . . it’s fun! Admittedly at first I was a little addicted which is always scary, but I learned to pace myself. I found my old high school friend, Jasmine North, who introduced me to my first husband. It was just a practice marriage – two and a half years – so it really didn’t count but, funnily, Jasmine didn’t even remember the matchmaking nor, for that matter, him! And, by the way, on his Facebook page, he mentions as one of his “likes” Sarah Palin, so I don’t suppose we’ll have much catching up to do.

I guess my main point is this one: We boomers were dreamers and idealists but we didn’t like getting shot at Kent State, nor being shipped off to a war to which the grownups in our world seemed willing to sacrifice us. What we didn’t have is power, so we shed our leather fringe, tie-dyed shirts and beads and became yuppies. Well, look, gang, we’re still dreamers and idealists, and now we have the power, but we need to learn to get rid of the psychopaths that shoot up the corporate ladders like lizards on adobe walls. We’ve got Facebook as our salient, and we’re talking to each other, often in meaningful terms, so maybe some good can come of this not-so-new social media.

And we can take the younger generation with us! Just so long as they don’t mind us saying “groovy,” and singing “hunka-hunka burnin’ love” and “Strawberry Fields forever.”

Okay, enough said: We’ve got a lot of town business to cover:

Claudia Bowser of Oak Bluffs entertained her sister Frances Steele’s annual guests from the metropolitan D.C./Maryland area with a delightful luncheon. Claudia is known for her creative parties where everyone gets a “goodie bag,” great food and conversation. In attendance was Louise Reed, Joanne Johnson, Ada Holt, Valerie Lee, Mable McCarthy and Jeanette McConnechey. Guests from the Boston area included Mildria Clark Sharon Miller and Rene Scott, and Laura Horn.

The Electronics Disposal Day is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1, at Martha’s Vineyard Community Services, 111 Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road across from the high school. Fees are between $1 and $30. Please check the Web site for more details: www.mvcommunityservices.com. The site will tell you what objects to bring.

Early notice that on Tuesday, Oct. 4 there will be walk-in registration for Adult and Community Education (ACE MV) 4:30 to 6 p.m. at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School. Information and online registration at is available at acemv.org or you can e-mail lynn@acemv.org.

Poet Michael West will be leading a Poetry Writing Workshop at Featherstone Center for the Arts from this week through Dec. 14. Michael received his BA from Williams College and a master’s in creative writing, poetry from the writing seminars at Johns Hopkins University, studied at American University and taught at Northeastern University. On Island, he has taught poetry seminars at Featherstone and conducted dozens of poetry performance events at Outerland, Che’s Lounge, the Yard, and at the Vineyard Haven Public Library.

Over and out — gotta get back on to my Facebook page!