If I didn’t have Molly Glasgow of the Grey Barn and Farm in my life I would never have known that Jan. 20 is National Cheese Lovers Day. Folks have been making cheese for over 8,000 years. Of the more than 900 known cheeses in the world, the Glasgows and their cheese maker, Jacqueline Foster, have perfected a bloomy-rind Eidolon and a washed rind Prufrock. Both of these delectable treats are available at the farm stand, which is open daily at 22 South Road. The team is working on a third cheese which is a soft, non-crumbly blue. Be prepared to give this currently unnamed blue-veined goodness a taste sometime this spring. Because all of this amazing cheese making is going on, the Grey Barn will have some tasty whey-fed pork ready for consumption mid February.

This week has been a lot like morning circle at the Chilmark School, where students are given the opportunity to take turns sharing a story or a favorite item from home. My brain has been loaded up with stories and photographs of days gone by. Recounting tales of spotting swordfish and cod fishing off Noman’s were a couple of my favorites.

Jonathan Mayhew retold the tale of his unintentional water landing “back in the day.” He was 22. He had coordinated with his brother Gregory on a swordfish fishing trip but, before he got much farther than Noman’s, his plane began to sputter and lose altitude. Needless to say, Jonathan didn’t make it back to land but had to ease his plane down for as soft a water landing as he could manage. He was scooped up by a nearby dragger but the plane, well, sadly, that was a goner.

Wayne Iacono had a group of his photographs documenting his days cod fishing printed by the folks at Tisbury Printer. Documented in the photos were Scott Stevens and Eric Cottle. Scott still lobsters out of Menemsha on his vessel F/V Royal. Although Mr. Cottle has been gone for some time now, I can still envision the twinkle that appeared in his eye when we had our daily chats. Wayne recounted the day documented in the photos as if he had just been fishing yesterday. Sadly, we all know that’s not possible because it has been decades since there were enough codfish in the area to tub trawl.

David Tilton is at his Menemsha home recovering from shoulder surgery. He is another one with some really great fishing stories. Perhaps now, while he is laying low, is an opportune time to catch up on some of those tales.

Mentioning Mr. Cottle, yes, he will always be Mr. Cottle to me rather than Eric, makes me think of his son Wesley. Wesley is recovering remarkably from neck surgery. We chatted the other day about none other than Don Hurley. At this time, I must shout out a quick hello to dear Don.

Jimmy Morgan and his son Allistair certainly made a lot of folks jealous when they were lucky enough to score tickets to the Patriots vs. Colts game. It seems that whenever Jimmy manages to align the stars and plan a Patriots adventure, a wrench gets thrown in the works. Whether it’s high winds that cease ferry trips or snow that makes highways impassible, there is always something that makes a Morgan Patriots adventure noteworthy. This time, they made it to Gillette Stadium with time to spare but found themselves in the rain. The excitement the game provided was well worth the stressed vocal cords and raspy voice Jimmy returned home with.

Betsy Larsen and Bob Sloane celebrated their 12th anniversary with a fabulous trip to San Francisco. The couple didn’t set out on their adventure alone, Patty Rossi and Glenn Dickson joined them cruising under the Golden Gate and up and down streets on historic cable cars.

Pam Goff reached out and shared that the Tuesday, Jan. 27, soup supper held at the Chilmark Community Church will not only host the typical weekly “slap-dash quasi potluck,” but Seongmoon and Eunji Ahn will prepare a few traditional Korean dishes for the offering. I know this past week Claire Ganz prepared chicken soup with wild rice to share. Your time to connect with friends is 5:30 p.m — time to warm your heart and warm your belly.

Another local happening is the Free Friday Films at the library. Tonight’s show brings me back to my childhood. My parents used to let my brother and me stay up late on Saturday nights to watch classic films. The African Queen, being shown Friday night at 7, was one of my favorites.

The Chilmark School’s big PTO/Outing Program fundraising event Red Hot Blues has folks pulling out their dancing shoes in preparation for Saturday night’s event featuring Mike Benjamin. In addition to music and a scrumptious dessert spread, various gift certificates, tickets to see the Indigo Girls, drum and riding lessons, a Maui vacation get-a-way, Patriots tickets, goods and services and more are being auctioned. The children, parents and teachers thank you all in advance for you willingness to help keep our community school the remarkable place that it is. See you at the CCC Saturday night from 7 to 11 p.m.

Just a quick update, the Menemsha jetty repair is running a tad behind schedule. A representative of the Army Corps of Engineers popped into the Texaco, said hello and mentioned the project will get underway on/around Feb. 1. Moving, reconfiguring and adding big rock to the Hurricane Sandy-battered jetty will certainly add a little excitement to life in town. I’ll need to wipe off the salt spray from my camera lens in preparation.

Send your Chilmark news to: squidrow@vineyard.net.