Looking forward, we begin 2022 with plenty of hope for this Island that still holds its place for its quality of life. It is a place where the air and the water are clean, where the bluefish run thick in May and October, where people are able, for the most part, to live simply, where children are safe and sheltered from urban ills, and where the evening sunset over Aquinnah is rivaled only by the morning sunrise over Chappaquiddick.

But first we repeat those three familiar words that rang around the Island Saturday morning at the first tick past midnight:

Happy New Year.