Part of me says make life easy, jot a few simple words down that really captures the essence of this week and call it a day. Those words would be: GO TO THE FAIR.

The other part of me says: good grief, this week is the most intense part of summer. Agendas are jam-packed with pastel sunsets, beach bonfires, offshore tuna trips, Bonito blitzes, house guests and the inevitable farewell-for-now conversations.

Mary and Perry Ambulos have embarked on their journey to deliver son Gabe to his freshman year at Gettysburg College. May his freshman-year journey be a fabulous one filled with new friends, great classes and wonderful stories to share when he visits home.

Constance Messmer and Steve Bernier have sent son Andrei off to another year at Washington State University and prepare to send Olya off to her first year at Unity College in Maine.

Andrew Ruimerman has set off for his senior year at Roanoke College. Brother Peter trails just a few days behind on his return to Manhattan College for his senior year. Parents Janet Weidner and Tom will revel in the peace and quiet their departure brings but will soon begin to long for their return.

Sarah (Levy), Eugene, Sam and Josh Langner are in town visiting with Sarah’s father Bernie Levy at his Prospect Hill home.

Tom and Susie Tokarz recently spent a few days in Menemsha on their boat Panic Control for an anniversary getaway.

Adam Goldman along with his kids Addison and Chase made the trip from Florida to visit his dad Andy Goldman and Susan Heilbron. The kids have pulled lobster pots, fished hard, dug clams and been rewarded with ice cream, saltwater swims on hot days and plenty of laughter while visiting with family and friends.

Christian (Parker) and Alex Sarason along with their kiddos, Nicholas and Benjamin, traveled from Seattle, Wash. and joined in the Keene/Parker extended clan family fun. Suzy Keene and her kids, James and Sarah, were also in the mix. Sophie Parker traveled from Carlisle to run the road race and join in the family fun, too. All in all, numbers soared into the upper 20s when everyone gathered at the Red Hark Lane Keene home.

The Chilmark Road Race, for many, is an annual opportunity for families to gather. The Heath Hen Way Anderson/Parker clan – Andy Anderson, Cola Parker and their children Willy, Ella and Lucy – gathers family members from far and near ranging in age from 10 to 90 to make the annual run for the lobsters. Cola’s sister Francie traveled from Santa Fe, N.M. along with her husband Russ Olson and their children Ian, 12, and Isaac, 10. Cola’s parents, Sumner and Fran, made the trip from their home in Exeter, N.H. to join in the fun.

All 11 of them, spanning three generations, laced up their running shoes, took to the pavement of Middle Road and managed to cross the finish line feeling accomplished. Isaac managed a fourth-place finish in his age group and won the fudge. Sumner, 90, who was the oldest competitor, won the newly-created 90-and-up division. (Thank you, Hugh Weisman, for recognizing the nonagenarians.) To round out the day, the family celebrated not only their success but grandmother Fran’s birthday with her favorite meal of scallops.

After battling a long illness, longtime summer resident Lisa Kimball died last November. Lisa, the daughter of the late Penn and Janet and stepdaughter to Julie Kimball, enjoyed over 50 years of summers at the family home overlooking West Meadow. All are welcome at a memorial gathering in her honor at Abel’s Hill Cemetery on Saturday, August 18 at 11 a.m.

At 103, Rena Fischer’s journey on earth quietly came to an end at her home nestled in amongst the swaying trees and ripening vegetables grown by generations of Fischers at Beetlebung Farm. I think about not only how lucky her family and our townspeople were to have known this remarkable woman but I also marvel at the thought of how the smallest of our school children had an opportunity to sing Christmas carols for someone nearly 100 years their senior as recently as this past December. Family and friends gathered this past Tuesday at St. Augustine’s for a funeral mass and a memorial gathering will take place later this fall.

Chilmark town news can be sent to squidrow@vineyard.net.