A friend and somehow distant relative — I’ll need to get my mom Diana Lees, the family genealogist, to make the exact connection — recently turned 90. I catch a glimpse of him every couple of weeks, although I wish it were more so I’ll need to work on that. He begins nearly every conversation with a pleasant “well, hello” and ends each with “fair winds.”

With that characteristic closing phrase, you likely know I am referring to Alan Wilder. Our dear friend Alan became a nonagenarian last month. After nine decades as a member of the human race, he has a lot of keen thoughts to share. For those of us who call Alan Wilder a friend, we are lucky.

Aleta Bezanson paid a visit to town with some friends for one of many girls trip adventures over the years. Lots of heartfelt conversations were intertwined with laughter, adventure and rustic harborside seafood dining. Aleta is always a pleasure to bump into because she wears a smile that perfectly combines her mother Amelia’s joy and her father Jeff’s memory.

August 1 is coming up quickly and that date is a special one. Uncle Don Smith, who’s been keeping watch over the head of the harbor from Topside, will celebrate his 95th birthday. Since he’s reached the status of being chauffeured around rather than grabbing the car keys and buzzing the Bight daily behind the wheel himself, I don’t see him quite as often. I do, however. know he will be celebrating in style, surrounded by a few close loved ones over cake and cocktails.

Every person who shares their life with a dog know the inevitable day will come when they must say farewell. After 14 years the Sausville family said goodbye to Lulu, who grew up alongside their human companions, Hayden and Luke. Rosie, who grew up alongside Cory Medeiros, will now be remembered through pictures and stories. For some like Claire Ganz, elderly pup Blitz, after being a service dog to Claire and a childhood companion to Owen and Hugh Singer, simply wandered off on July 12. The thought is he knew it was time.

I am sending my love to you all and hope the mourning process brings with it many opportunities to say, “Do you remember when…?”

The hearts of Spider and Sarah Andresen were full this past week when all three of their children — Erica, Tyler and Whitney — visited with their families. Grandkids Nova, Kai, Violet, Casey, Maya, Wilder and Bodie all provided much needed cuddles, hugs and an opportunity to eat ice cream. A cousins photo with everyone looking at the camera was even squeezed into their Menemsha adventure.

Harriet Goldberg and Don Weitzman have been in town for the past weeks for their annual month of July visit. As I’ve mentioned before, I first met them close to 30 years ago when their daughter Lily would, wide-eyed and quietly, purchase her favorite Hood rocket ice cream. Don and Harriet celebrated their anniversary, as they usually do, on Menemsha Beach with a couple of friends and lobster rolls. This time when they strolled by, Harriett pulled a copy of The New York Times from the pouch of her sweatshirt and said “I made the paper.”

Harriet is described as a late-blooming, part-time musician and the queen of hold music with her song titled My Time to Fly. If you are wondering what hold music is, it’s just that. When you are on hold waiting to speak with a representative from Capital One, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, Costco, Nasdaq, the Kansas unemployment office, Sagami Railway in Japan, Dartmoor prison in England, scores of hotels and restaurants and, yes, the very paper where she is featured — The New York Times — you will hear Harriet’s composition.