“Everything the light touches is our kingdom. A king’s time as ruler rises and falls like the sun. One day, Simba, the sun will set on my time here, and will rise with you as the new king.”

James Earl Jones spoke these words in his role as Mufasa in The Lion King. A few days ago, after uttering countless memorable quotes throughout his honorable movie career, he died at the age of 93.

Just as James Earl Jones took his last breath, we lost a dear friend and tribal member Rich Derby. Rich and Karen would make a few trips to the Island each summer in their mobile wetu adorned with a license plate of that name. Parking, lounging and sunning at Menemsha Beach was a favorite pastime. Rich would stop by for a bag of ice or two quite regularly and it would be a twenty or thirty minute purchase because he’d have so many stories to share. I’ll miss that.

There was hustle and bustle around Menemsha this past weekend and much of it revolved around celebrating Spider Andreesen’s 80th birthday. Although it was already acknowledged a week-ish ago, the fanfare was carried over the top with all three of his children — Erika, Tyler and Whitney — in town for the occasion. Traveling from Colorado with their mom to celebrate Spider were grandkids Nova and Kai. Also joining in the fun were Lisa Keen, Sean Keen and his bride Jordan. The Keens cruised through the Menemsha jetties on the fully restored Odontoblast.

While much of the Andreesen birthday celebrants were sitting on Squid Row, passing a little time with Paul and Karen DiMaura, Ross McDowell wandered by with his eldest child five-year-old Reno. Ross is the son of Shakti Reynolds and Scott. Reno had just caught his first Bonito off the jetty and he was pretty excited. He shared with the awestruck crowd that the only other thing he’d caught was “scups” off the dock.

Ross and Reno were not only excited about the fish that would make a super family dinner, but also over the arrival of Ross’s sister Lauren from Hawaii with her husband Louis and their kids Colton and Cameron. Also part of this lovely mini reunion are Ross’s younger son Jackson and partner Sophia.

I have a lot of interactions on Squid Row. Some of them are odd, others laughable, many are pleasant and some are simply matter of fact. A recent matter of fact, here’s the scoop sort of statement, came from Abbe Burt. In town vacationing all the way from Vineyard Haven, she had family birthday news to share. As per usual, I explained my brain doesn’t retain column requests unless written down, so she put pen to paper and jotted down a list of birthdays.

Not only did Abbe turn 80 on Sept. 2, but Dick celebrated 90 on Sept. 3 and Shirley Burt Howell turned 85 on Sept. 10. Also getting a little extra kibble in her bowl was Sadie, Abbe’s pup, who turned 13. If dog years are truly the equivalent of seven human years then Sadie is 91. Happy days to all the Burts.

Speaking of birthdays, there is a new tiny human in our midst and I am a very excited cousin-aunt (defined as a cousin that is of an age that will perform more aunt-like duties). Welcomed to the world in the early morning hours of Sept. 6 to proud and pleased first-time parents Olivia (Higham) and Bill Fielder is Owen Douglas Fielder. I didn’t ask for his statistics, but simply reveled at the pictures that were shared and the joy his presence will bring to all of us for many years to come. Owen, you are welcomed and loved.