The next Chappy Community Center potluck supper will be hosted by Emily Davis and Quincy Dewing on Wednesday April 16. Conversation and appetizers start at 6 p.m. with dinner beginning at 6:30.

This month’s full moon is known as the pink moon and will be totally eclipsed by the shadow of the earth. The moon will rise at 7 p.m. on Monday evening April 14. By 2 a.m. early in the morning of Tuesday, April 15, the partial phase will have begun and by 3 a.m. the total phase. The moon sets here at 6 a.m., still partially eclipsed. Those who keep track of these celestial events will already be aware of the finer details. The moon usually has a reddish hue during a total eclipse due to the bending of the sunlight through the earth’s atmosphere. Let’s hope for clear skies Monday night.

The annual Chappy spring egg hunt is scheduled for Saturday, April 19, at the CCC, once again under the sponsorship of Liz Villard. The egg hunt begins at 2 p.m. followed by tea. Liz says it’s okay to be late for tea, but be on time for the hunt because it goes pretty quickly. Kids should bring their own collecting basket. Older kids will kindly give the littler kids a chance to find some eggs, too.

When you drive past me on the road you can be sure that I’m humming along to country or folk music on the radio, but when you pass Abigail Southard Chandler she’s likely to be going over the arias and recitatives of Felix Mendelssohn’s St. Paul oratorio. I hope that you had a chance to hear her soprano solos as she sang with the Island Community Chorus last Saturday and Sunday. The chorus and orchestra all did a fabulous job, but from my point of view they were accompaniment for Abby.

By the time that you read this Sally and I will be peering into the depths of the Grand Canyon and reveling in the open expanses of New Mexico and Arizona. Our ultimate destination is the ferry service at Balboa Island near Long Beach, Calif. Their ferries are very similar to the Chappy ferry. They occasionally operate three ferries on a crossing of 800 feet. Practically all of Skip Bettencourt’s male relatives have driven those ferries. I have already had the pleasure of meeting Seymour Beek, whose family has operated the service since 1919. I look forward to seeing first hand how they do things out in California.

At long last, we’re about take the final step towards getting cable service on Chappy. It’s by no means a done deal yet and it’s time to put our money where our mouths are. Anyone who signed the commitment letter for Comcast service last year should have received an installation fee agreement letter by now. If you did not receive your letter yet or threw it out since it looked like an advertisement, please contact Roger Becker through the CIA website.

Your letter will indicate that you must send in a check for $2,139 to Comcast as a one-time fee for “aid in construction,” plus any additional fee for running the cable to your home. Apparently most homes do not require additional installation charges. However, we have heard of a few with long driveways being assessed an extra fee. The installation agreement letter must be sent into escrow agent Edgartown National Bank along with a check by July 21. It’s vital that you use the installation agreement form portion of the letter as it includes a code and account number particular to your household.

Comcast is still playing hardball with us on the numbers and to make it even harder, they’ve decided that only those of us who sent in the commitment letter last year will have our installation agreements counted towards the required minimum of 270. Folks who have had a change of heart can sign up with Comcast but they won’t be counted among the 270. Your money will be refunded if we fall short. Don’t wait until the deadline. Please send it in now so that we will know as soon as possible if there is going to be a problem reaching the goal. Those working to get Comcast to Chappy need to know what your intentions are. Please go to the CIA website and respond to the survey. Click on the “Comcast for Chappy” tab. Then click on the “Survey” tab. There you will also find information regarding Comcast rates. At the very bottom of the page is a contact form if you need more information or a duplicate of your letter.

At the moment, we know of 110 respondents. Keep in mind that if we don’t reach the threshold of 270 households, Chappy will be excluded from Comcast service for another 10 years. This is our chance to catch up with the rest of Edgartown and most of the rest of the civilized world. According to Comcast advertising, a bundled service package costs $79 per month, which includes high speed Internet, nationwide telephone and television. For many this will be a savings, as well as a way to provide 21st-century technology for you, your children and your grandchildren. Seasonal residents can downgrade during the off-season,but must maintain the basic service of $24 per month. We are required to subscribe to two years of at least basic service. To date we have raised over $50,000 to help those in need with the $2,139 one-time fee and additional installation fees. If you need more information, please call Woody Filley at 508-627-7881 or Dennis Goldin at 774-310-1020. This project can only be accomplished as a community effort.