If You Go to Sea

If you go to sea you really must know

What to do when the wind she blows.

If weather bodes toward a nasty gale

You must, beforehand, shorten sail.

As the gale comes on and it gets quite rough

Head up to weather but don’t let sails to luff.

It’s a good idea to use a drogue

To keep the vessel under good control.

If when quite rough and stomach is sour

Many Vineyarders have been treated to the sight: You’re driving north along Old County Road and up ahead you spot a shiny yellow, banana-shaped metal pod — looks a bit like a small rocket ship that failed to achieve liftoff — trundling along at 35 miles an hour. A head clad in a bicycle helmet pokes out of the top. Will you pass him? Well, he’s doing the posted speed limit and, what’s that up ahead? It’s another yellow bomber! At the straightaway past Old Stage Road the encapsulated riders zoom ahead.

Sometimes life makes us realize things about ourselves that we wouldn’t be able to see on our own. On our journey through life we are able to find some hints, and even a few proofs that tell us that what we think to be fantasy is real. Life can show us that dreams do become reality and all we have to do is believe in ourselves and not be so willing to put all our faith in others.

I come from a family where everyone assumes a role in the kitchen. My brother mans the grill, you can usually find me elbow deep in sugar and butter, my father makes a mean Bolognese sauce, and my mother is one of those cooks who can whip up something delicious with whatever is in the fridge.

But there was one Hanukkah a few years ago where no matter what we did, dinner was bound for disaster.

When Vineyard Gazette editor Julia Wells hired me as a reporter in the fall of 2006, she took a big risk. Then again, at such a little paper, most risks are big.

HASTY DECISION

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

The Edgartown selectmen chose to include the question of the town’s membership in the Martha’s Vineyard Commission on the special town meeting warrant on Dec. 14. It was done hastily and without any public hearing or discussion or any meaningful effort to negotiate with the MVC about Edgartown’s share of the cost and the benefits to the town of being a member.

New Era for an Old Broadsheet

Now begins a new chapter at the Vineyard Gazette, the newspaper of record for the Island since 1846 that was sold last week to philanthropists and seasonal residents Jerome and Nancy Kohlberg. There is much anticipation, excitement and interest, both inside the paper and out, over this moment and what it may mean for the future.

Property Value Reset

Falling property values are the quiet news of the day on the Vineyard, where assessors in every town are preparing revaluations. And while there has been no precipitous crash here and thankfully no foreclosure floods of the type that have been seen on the mainland, values have fallen significantly. This a direct reflection of a real estate market which is going through a significant correction amid ongoing reverberations from the economic recession.

The Tisbury School announces its first quarter Honor Roll for the 2010-2011 academic year.

Fifth grade high honors go to: Sophia Kent, Dillon McAndrews and Elizabeth Williamson.

Fifth grade honors go to: Margarett Burke, Carolyn Duarte, Curtis Fisher, Zachary Fullin, Belle Hattingh, Emily Hewson, Cole Houston, Alexis Hughes, Coralee LaRue, Graham Lewis, Nathan Lopez-Mata, Casey McCarron, Evelyn Medeiros, Michael Moore, Gabriel Nadelstein, Finn O’Callaghan, Gabriel Oliveira, Larner Peak, Lily Pigott, Nathan Tenorio, Devon Teves and Benjamin Tillman.

Dylan Walsh

Dylan Walsh, son of Mrs. Barbara K. Walsh of Chilmark, has spent the fall 2010 semester studying abroad in Florence, Italy through a program run by Saint Michael’s College. Walsh was a student at Lorenzo de Medici School.

Walsh, a junior business administration major at Saint Michael’s in Burlington, Vt., graduated from Dover-Sherborn Regional High School.