She took her first antibiotic at the age of 19.

“I never really got sick,” Katina L. Makris told an audience of about 30 people on August 18 at the Chilmark Community Church.

This was all before she was bitten by a tick and later diagnosed with Lyme disease.

Ms. Makris’s inspirational talk was part of Bite Back for a Cure, a day on Martha’s Vineyard dedicated to finding a cure.

Traci Monteith is afraid of heights but she loves depths. She’s been diving in Vineyard waters for more than 10 years, but only recently has she been working toward certification as an advanced diver on the Oak Bluffs fire department dive team. On a recent Thursday evening, she wet-suited up alongside two other members of the team for their first night dive.

From mussels for the president to lobster rolls for the press, from publicity to dollars, the economic impact — and the buzz — from President Obama’s Vineyard vacation spread far and wide across the Island.

Chris and Lynn McDonnell spent their vacation on the Vineyard this year the way they always do. End-to-end walks on Lighthouse Beach, filling Solo cups with shells, beach glass and wampum. Out to eat in Menemsha for fish and lobster. Down to the harborfront in Edgartown for ice cream. Up to Oak Bluffs to say hello to Johnny Cupcakes.

President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and their two daughters left the Vineyard quietly last Sunday night, departing the Island on Marine One in a steady drizzle. The departure, like most of the president’s visit, was out of the public eye.

Chilmark, August 18. It’s almost 
midnight, and lights at the Snail Road house up the hill are still on. But the guests of honor are gone. The 24-hour Secret Service protection is gone.

All things taken into account, we’re happy and proud that you chose to spend your week’s vacation on our small Island. Sure, it was disruptive to have South Road blocked off for a week. The gridlock that always grips Oak Bluffs on fireworks day was that much worse for your attendance. The occasional glimpse of armored vehicles and SWAT teams where we expected to see tourists in jeeps and on bikes was nothing short of chilling. And though we didn’t try, it probably was tough to get a tee time last week.

A caretaking crew for a private property in Aquinnah was hard at work Tuesday pruning dead branches with chainsaws. Sawdust was flying everywhere, so Alex Poole of Chilmark stepped down off the ladder to get the stuff out of his sneaker. While down there working on the sneaker, he was distracted by a flash of pink. On closer inspection, he announced: “Pink grasshopper!”

Albert Fischer, the man in charge of the crew, knew better. He’d seen katydids before, but never had they been pink.

Paul Schneider of West Tisbury has been named the new editor of the Martha’s Vineyard Magazine, publisher Jane Seagrave announced this week.

Have you been noticing the reports since Hurricane Sandy, consistently, nearly every week, all over the world — of very extreme weather events and conditions? If you’ve been denying yourself the opportunity to keep up on the details, now would be a good time to break the habit.