BRAD WOODGER

508-627-4216

(ibwsgolf@aol.com)

Yesterday was one of those days that changed 17 times (I counted). Flannel shirt. T-shirt. No shirt (down Lady G.!). Flannel shirt again. And so on. Today however is uniformly fallish. Breezy, crackling, clear. Seaweed and oak mulch. A lovely day; made to order. Not that one can order or put order on the weather. The last remaining bastion of nature’s will.

As I was heading onto the Chappy ferry Monday (sounds like a sixties folk song), I was made to pause by a woman holding court with Captain Bob over the ramp railing. Apparently her bike has been missing for quite some time from the Chappy bike rack (a year?) and I believe she was inquiring as to whether Bob may have seen it. I don’t know what Bob told her, but he told me it sounds an awful lot like the bike Peter has been pedaling for quite some time now. This is why we must lock our cars not just in the parking lot, but on the ferry itself. Peter will take them.

I received a nice note from Cindy Packard Richmond thanking me for providing little slices of Chappy pie to those readers that find themselves out-of-pie range. I like nice notes. Wish I received more. I’d settled for moderately nice. Or even marginally rude. Just nice to know I exist outside my skin.

Lauren Martin is leaving the Gazette to return to Australia. Lauren is the news editor. I think. As such, she has the distinct pleasure of editing my columns. Mostly she leaves them alone, but on occasion she removes the odd rant here or there. She is very good at guiding me along the path of just enough and too much. She will be missed. By me. And I’d guess a bunch of others too. A word of advice Lauren: If you choose to babysit Meryl Streep’s infants, do not leave them unchaperoned near packs of dingoes. Or Peter Wells. They take stuff.

And how crazy is this? I am also losing my other editor to Australia! Kim is headed east (west?) as well. Kim has been an invaluable resource in sorting out what I mean to say from what I’m saying. Awkward phrasing, out-of-character characterizations and pretense all are stricken from the record by Kim’s practiced hand. It, and she, will be missed.

I heard my first deer grunting last night. Perhaps this is a common sound to others, more deer-intimate folk (hunters and the like), but to me the guttural warning was alien and a bit startling. I was simply watching a family of deer: Paula (the Mom); Gary (the eldest son); Barb (the middle child and only daughter); and Jonathan (the minx-y youngest child) stare vacantly at a point beyond my head, when Stewart (a be-antlered buck) began making warning sounds from his spot almost hidden in the brush. I turned my tractor slowly, and retreated, not turning back lest I witness Stewart, nose breathing fire, in hot pursuit. No, if I were to meet my end at the hands (hooves) of a territorial overly-testosteroned buck, I would face it back turned. Much like life.

Somebody in front of me at Edgartown Hardware bought a pair of dowels (half-inch, three-footers I believe) and a box of screws (couldn’t get an eye on the screw size). I could barely wait to report.

In other news, Mary Spencer reports the following from the CCC:

The community center’s 2012 Chappy Calendar will soon be printed, once again containing beautiful photos submitted by Chappaquiddickers. Thanks to Marvene O’Rourke and Fran Clay, who have done a wonderful job putting together the calendar this year.

Many people may not be aware that sales of the calendar are one of the community center’s major fund-raising sources each year, so we are very grateful for the support of those who purchase a calendar. An order form is on the Web site, chappaquiddickcommunitycenter.org.

Also, Mary reports, the usual fall activities are continuing at the community center. Right now they are looking for people who would like to volunteer to host potlucks on the first and third Wednesday of each month, beginning in October. Anyone interested please call me at 508-624-4011 or e-mail me at maryvineyard@verizon.net.

And Dot Dropik reminds us all that the Chappy Book Club will discuss The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 10:15 a.m. at the CCC. All are welcome.”