The shoulder season is off to a big bang, weather included, we do need the rain between the beautiful sunny days.

Sad goodbyes for now in our neighborhood with the departures of Jim and Trude Hart, Bill and Jan Stokes, and Paul and Marge Howes who had the temerity to abscond with my favorite cat, Charlie. All is not lost, Wanda Denton returned. Wes Stokes and many of his fishing buddies are in the Derby and apparently catching more false albacore than they would like to. Mary Afton and Shane Vanderhoop True Little Eagle are keeping us on our toes. Ditto for my new house guest, young — very young! — Christian Patrick Ciancio. I have renamed him Red Chief in honor of the O.Henry story, which the author was prescient enough to write many years before Christian’s arrival on earth. To round out my guest list, beautiful Whitney Fulp is back on-Island, chez moi. The Island that never sleeps.

If you missed the town vision planning session today be sure to attend tomorrow, Oct. 4, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Tisbury EMS building on Spring street. These workshops are incredibly useful in planning the direction you want our town to take. I’ll see you there.

As October is Cancer Awareness Month — and who hasn’t been touched by this problem? — there will be a potluck Get Your Pink On Party on Wednesday, Oct. 15, at 6 p.m. at Isabelle’s Beach House in Oak Bluffs. Dinner donations and small door prizes are welcome. For more information contact hanrobee@comcast.net. I’ll see you there.

Joyce and Sandy are always busy planning great events at the Tisbury Senior Center. Now that most of the summer guests are gone, we have time to concentrate on our writing. A writers group will commence on Tuesday, Oct. 14, at 10 a.m. at the Tisbury Senior Center. Bring your work in progress or any finished pieces for reading aloud and receiving gentle criticism. We will also be taught how to publish. I’ll see you there.

The Friends of the Vineyard Haven Public Library do just as much as the senior center crew in keeping the town well occupied. Our Martha’s Vineyard Poets Society has chosen Arnie Reisman as the poet laureate of Martha’s Vineyard for the next two-year term. Arnie is a well-known producer, writer, director and performer. I know you have read many of his interesting pieces published here in the Gazette. The Friends and the library welcome him at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 7, at the Katharine Cornell Theatre on Spring street. Yes, I’ll be there too.

Learning never ends, so if you had your eye on some of the wonderful courses offered by ACE MV for the fall season, sign up online now before Oct. 6 at acemv.org. There will be a late fee imposed for signing up on the day of the class. All classes begin next week.

Ed Colligan’s celebration of life, mass, burial and reception at the Agricultural Hall was just so perfect a way to say goodbye to a perfect man. There were touching tributes, lots of laughter, and American flags passed out in Ed’s name, one of the greatest patriots of all. We all got our Irish out to remember him. Our love to Lil and his beautiful family.

One of the best weddings I ever attended was that of Laurel Redington and Ray Whitaker so many Oct. 5ths ago. Anniversary bouquets go out to them.

The birthday bandwagon pulls along Jeanie Hay-Sternbach and Toby Codding today. Tomorrow is shared by Liz Figuerado, Rebecca Palmer, Lizzie Andrews, Zach Post and Michael Sawyer. October 6 shines on Megan Willey and Ross MacPherson, and Oct. 7 is claimed by Kim Samuels. And on Oct. 9, Jesse Evan Klein Jacobs, Donna Rhoades and Sarah Von Bremen take the cake. Many happy returns.

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