I hope you all rested up during the snow months because the Island offers so much excitement from now on, starting with tomorrow’s annual Bike MS: Ride the Vineyard. The fun, fun ride is brought to you by the New England Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and our own Boys and Girls Club. It is not too late to register to ride; registration on the day of the ride is $35 plus a $2.50 pledge requirement.

May Wall especially wants to invite you to join her team, Folks on Spokes. Peter Lambos of the Boys and Girls Club is looking for volunteers who can spend an hour or more staffing the snack, water and rest stops. Reach out to Peter at plambos@mvbgclub.org. It’s easy, it’s fun, and it makes a huge difference. If you are volunteering for a station, bring your smile. The rest stops will be in Chilmark, West Tisbury, and Edgartown. Take off is from the high school. Last year’s weather was warm, sunny and no wind. I expect no less this year. I have some friends very dear to my heart who suffer from MS. God, I’d like to see their suffering end. Please help out.

In other good turns you can take for the community, Jessica Rogers wrote me a very nice letter in which she reminds us that Saturday, May 16, is our annual off-Island electronics disposal day, all done environmentally safe and friendly. Bring your stuff to the Community Services campus: cell phones, laptops, printers, scanners, ovens, refrigerators, fax machines, microwaves, you get the picture. Disposal costs range from $2 to $30. A special 10 per cent off each car load is in place. I’ll see you there.

I’m getting ahead of myself. Friday, May 8, calls for two important announcements. One is our Vineyard Haven library will be closed for maintenance issues. In more exciting news, that is the night at MVRHS where the Harlem Rockets come to play and entertain you all. This will benefit our wonderful Boys and Girls Club. Contact Peter Lambos about tickets.

Great news! The RMV has approved our design for the special Martha’s Vineyard license plate. Hurry to claim one at mvlicenseplate.com. It is an undeniably recognizable logo and will benefit our Martha’s Vineyard Community Services. Could this become more famous than the Black Dog T-shirt?

Thomas Dresser of Oak Bluffs has completed his eighth book of all things Island. Titled Martha’s Vineyard: A History, in the book Tom explores Wampanoag legends, the whaling industry, the deaf community in Chilmark, and the migration patterns from the Azores and Cape Verde. Tom has talks scheduled at Bunch of Grapes and at our Vineyard Haven library later in the season. But if you or your group want to book him for a talk try thomasdresser.com. I have attended some of his book talks and always find him a scintillating speaker.

Our YMCA has stepped up to the plate and offered an after prom party from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. on May 16. If you are not going to the prom, you are welcome to the party. How cool is that? There will be a DJ poolside at 2 a.m., snacks, food, breakfast, games, prizes and a photo booth. The Boys and Girls Club is involved in this also, and many local businesses are donating money, food and support. Two contact ladies who can help direct your donations or service are Rachel Araujo at 774-310-0027 and Debbie DeBettencourt at 774-836-6448. My son’s after prom party was in 2002 at the Boys and Girls Club. It was a rousing success and the best night of sleep I got since that kid was born!

Joyce Stiles-Tucker reminds you to sign up for the Medicare planning talk on May 6 at the Tisbury Senior Center. Sign up by May 4 by calling 508-696-4205. Remember, you needn’t be 65 yet or you needn’t be retiring at 65 to learn this important information.

I remind all the many friends and family of Brianna Combra of her celebration of life and service at noon at the Oak Bluffs cemetery on Saturday. Wear your kerchiefs, Brianna-style.

The birthday bandwagon pulls along twin Ellie Williamson today (whose twin Andie was born yesterday), Megan Stiller, Nancy Slonim Aronie, Arnie Riesman, Marina Natichioni, Kristen Claussen, Mary Muckerheide, Lindsey Ben David and Barbara Murray on Friday. May 2 shines on Celso in Brazil, and Wes Stokes in Connecticut. May 3 honors Laurie Denton Marotta who was just regaled at our hospital for her dedication. May 4 belongs to Anna Duarte and Jonathan Spencer Norton. On May 6, Sarah Francis, Jim MacDonald and Joey Murphy share the day. And on May 7 Don Groover and Ellen Dubraska take the cake.

Many happy returns.

Send your Vineyard Haven news to: iklean@yahoo.com.