Left hungry on the street after his mother’s death, on the run from police and stoned on shoemaker’s glue, 13-year-old Emmanuel has meager expectations for life. He is simply looking for something to eat, a place to sleep and perhaps just a chance at a better life.

“I want to go school right now!” he defiantly shouts over and over to anyone who will listen.

Even though it is only February, there will soon be a mad smattering of blooms Islandwide.

It is not global warming causing the flowers to blossom early; rather, it is the lovefest of St. Valentine’s Day that brings out the buds. Flowers are one of the more common gifts bestowed on this special day, keeping florists very busy. Valentine’s Day is their number one holiday, accounting for about 36 per cent of their annual volume and 40 per cent of their yearly income.

Sounds of water running in the gutters were unmistakable. It was the night of Feb. 7, and the skies were clear, so the source of the water was not a rainstorm. It was the sound of melting snow and ice draining off my roof; a welcome sound to my ears as it optimistically signifies that the winter’s deep freeze is over.

This meltwater is but one of the many signals of the coming spring.

Making Time With Your Crockpot

By Cynthia Cowan>

It’s tough to turn out a slow-cooked meal if you work full-time. Lunch breaks involve mad dashes home to sear the pot roast before settling it into the oven for a four-hour braise. Stews are nearly impossible, requiring a stirring every half hour or so. It would be asking too much of your neighbor to take a turn with the spoon. What are time-challenged home cooks to do? Consider the crockpot.

On Friday, Feb. 13 from 7 p.m. to closing, the Grill on Main will host Casino for Camp, a casino night featuring blackjack, roulette, Texas hold-em, and cash prizes. All proceeds will benefit the Safe Haven Project spring camp in April. The project is a nonprofit learning organization that provides educational opportunities for young people living with, or affected by, HIV/AIDS. Along with the familiar weeklong camp held every year at the Island youth hostel, the project has efforts nation and worldwide through speaking tours and educational efforts.

Michael Zide Featured

Photographer Michael Zide will be featured by the Moab Paper Company at an upcoming convention in Las Vegas this weekend. Select images from his Vineyard landscapes and fine art portfolios will be on display. A former photographer for the Vineyard Gazette who now teaches at the Hallmark Photography Institute in Turners Falls, Mr. Zide is one of two photographers who was recently interviewed by Moab and will be the subject of an upcoming online profile and photo gallery.

Granary Sale

The Granary Gallery at the Red Barn in West Tisbury is offering 25 per cent off original artworks starting on Valentine’s Day and continuing through March. For details, visit granarygallery.com or call 508-693-0455.

C harles Schulz never much liked Valentine’s Day, and neither did his fictional creation Charlie Brown. As Charlie Brown says, it is the day that reminds us that, “nothing echoes like the sound of an empty mailbox.”

When Mr. Schulz died on this day nine years ago, bringing an end to the 50-year run of his supremely popular comic strip, Peanuts, it was exactly one day before he would ever have to witness another red paper doily or another message candy heart.

By LYNNE IRONS

February is my favorite month. For starters, I share a birthday with Abraham Lincoln. In elementary school I was expected to memorize the Gettysburg Address and build log cabins for history projects. It has been fun this year being his 200th birthday. He looks good for his age, don’t you think? I love the fondness our new president has for the Emancipator.

In this year-long serialized novel set on the Vineyard in real time, a native Islander (“Call me Becca”) returns home after two decades to help her eccentric Uncle Abe keep his landscaping business, Pequot, afloat. Abe has a paranoid hatred of Richard Moby, the CEO of an off-Island wholesale nursery, Broadway. Convinced that Moby wants to destroy Abe personally, and all Island-based landscaping/nursery businesses generally, Abe is obsessed with “taking down” Moby.