Old time Chappaquiddickers knew Joe Murray as a formidable player on the tennis court. But off-Island, he was well known as an innovator in several fields of medicine. I was up at the Brigham in Boston the other day. Right inside the Francis street entrance is a display case. In it is a photo of Joe receiving the Nobel Prize and, next to that, the very medal itself. There is also a group photo of Joe, his medical colleagues and the Herrick twins, upon whom he performed the first successful organ transplant. That miracle of lifesaving took place 67 years ago.

These days, that procedure is relatively common. Each of us knows someone who has either received an organ or donated theirs. Joe has been gone for nearly a decade. He was one of the older generation of Chappaquiddickers. Just a regular guy, spending the day in sneakers.

The Steamship Authority has many things in common with the Chappy Ferry. As Bridget Tobin used to say, “We’re in the same business cap’n. You carry as many cars per hour as the Islander.” Both ferry services use transfer bridges with massive counterweights to support them. The SSA hangs their counterweights on wire. And as recent events have shown, much to their chagrin.

The Chappy Ferry used to do the same. Then one day, a few short years after installation, one of the weights broke free of its wire and splashed into the water. Within a week another one fell, followed closely by a third.

The broken wires were replaced with roller chain. Just like a bicycle chain but much bigger and 10,000 times stronger. The fourth wire wasn’t given the opportunity to break. But when that wire was removed, instead of being flexible, it was as stiff as a broomstick. Roller chain has been used ever since.

Things tend to wear out evenly. When something at the Chappy Ferry shows signs of weakening, all of its cousins get replaced. It’s relatively easy to tell when a roller chain is nearing the end of its life. Wire, on the other hand, tends to take you by surprise. But you can be sure that the other wires will follow closely behind.