I receive texts, emails and the occasional snail mail from friends pretty regularly. Some are simple and straight forward, most are thoughtful and sometimes there is that particular sentence, paragraph or reference that really sticks with me. My dear friend Kathy Coe wrapped up her recent email with a reference to Charlie Mackesy’s illustrated and lyrical book, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. His reference and her share paints such a vivid picture of the times that I simply had to share:

“We all need a reason to keep going,” said the horse.

“What’s yours?”

“You three,” said the fox.

“Getting home,” said the boy.

“Cake,” said the mole. “I’ve discovered something better than cake.”

“No you haven’t,” said the boy.

“I have,”replied the mole.

“ What is it?”

“A hug. It lasts longer.”

I am lucky. I have had the pleasure of a few hugs lately and one, in particular, came as quite a surprise. Many of you remember Joel Behr. He had been stationed in Menemsha with the Coast Guard until he was assigned to the ice breaker, Polar Star, last summer. You may recall I shared bits and pieces of his adventure to the Arctic, so clearly it was an unexpected surprise to have him personally deliver a fantastic USCG Polar Star patch for our collection, along with a real, not virtual, hug. Apparently, the east coast is where his heart is at (friends and family, too) so with a month off he hopped a plane and paid us a visit.

Scott McDowell celebrated a birthday last week. Rather than celebrating in a typical fashion, he travelled to the rolling hills of Pennsylvania where his dear friend Gino lives. The two of them did a little antiquing in between laughs, catching up and reminiscing.

If you enjoy strolling a gallery and browsing and contemplating interesting photographs then the Field Gallery is a place you should stop by between May 2 and 27 to check out the photography exhibition by the artists in Alison Shaw’s advanced mentorship class. The opening celebration is on May 2. Among other photographers is our very own Hillary Noyes-Keene.

Wayne Iacono took his lobster boat, Freedom, down to the shipyard for a haul out. After he scraped and scrubbed the bottom and did a few other odds and ends, including putting a fresh coat of bottom paint on, he steamed her back to Menemsha. After knocking the beard and growth off her, she glided through the water a whole lot quicker.

You may have seen a super slick and sporty little 1987 Volkswagen Cabriolet tooling about town recently. It is a bright red convertible and the new love of Meg Athearn. Sometimes cars don’t have to be brand new, shiny or have all the bells and whistles to reintroduce us to the passion we found when we became new drivers at the age of 16 or so. Meg has reclaimed the excitement of her high school days when the wind used to whip through her hair and she’s sharing that excitement with her three kiddos: Clara, Zeb and Penny. Clara is fast approaching driving age herself.

Chris and Caleb Slater paid a visit to Jane this past weekend and amidst performing a few household chores managed to splash their boat, No Problem. No Problem has a brand spanking new engine that will need a little break-in time, so this past weekend seemed like the perfect opportunity to begin the process.

Jennifer Burkin shares that the Chilmark Democratic Committee will meet in person on May 20 at 6 p.m. with Covid guidelines on the library patio. A focus of the meeting will be the George Floyd legislation among other matters. If you are more comfortable attending the meeting by Zoom then email Jennifer jenburkin@hotmail.com for an invite.

Robert Brown finds himself back in town for a stint. Work will fill his time, but a family catch-up certainly takes priority. He traversed the country from Seattle to Boston landing himself in his hometown just as the daffodils were in full swing. His folks Bobby and Janice were counting down the minutes until his arrival. Nephew Bennett and niece Juniper (Aaron and Lindsey’s kids) sure are lucky to have Uncle Bubs around.

How about that sailboat that spent a few days anchored on Menemsha Beach? The story keeps getting better and better, a bit like that classic game of telephone. Which version have you heard?