“In Bulgaria the government has the people by the throat.” So goes one of my favorite quotes from my favorite movie, Casablanca. To paraphrase this famous line, I say, “In the U.S. Senate, the NRA has the senators by the throat.” I was thoroughly disgusted with the spineless behavior of our elected officials. All I keep thinking of is how classic fairy tales are often modernized and rewritten. I am certainly willing to rewrite The Emperor’s New Clothes into The Senators’ New Clothes, and expose them as they are now presenting in all their nakedness. For shame! In my book, the NRA stands for No Responsible Attitude. Keep up the pressure in any way you can. The madness has to end.

April showers bring May flowers. After this week’s rain, the Island should be in full bloom next week. We were told that the warm weather is coming and so is the sunshine — something to look forward to. Happy birthday to all who celebrated their day these past few weeks. Big balloons go out to Kyle Boyd, who celebrated on April 22; Rebecca Lima, April 23; Emily Freeman and Caroline Hurley, who all celebrated April 25; and Kayla Dowd, who celebrates her day today, April 26

When I was a little kid, on May Day my mother would send me out with little baskets of flowers for each of the neighbor ladies. We made the baskets out of purple construction paper and filled them with pansies and johnny-jump-ups. The ladies were so delighted that I was convinced at a very early age that you really can’t go wrong with flowers. I still enjoy bringing home a big bouquet of roses.

The character of the colorful town of Oak Bluffs lends itself to characters. One colorful character of note was Eben D. Bodfish, one of the more aggressive real estate brokers on Martha’s Vineyard in the 1920s. Born in Yarmouth in 1870, Eben was educated at Bridgewater State Normal School in the class of 1887 where he studied teaching, and he evidently taught for a time on the Cape.

A Farm to Faith Shabbat will be held Friday, April 26, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the Hebrew Center, 130 Center street in Vineyard Haven.

Admission is free to the live and silent auctions held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, May 31, at the Agricultural Hall, Panhandle Road, West Tisbury, but bring your pocketbook anyway because auction proceeds benefit the recreation department at Windemere Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Oak Bluffs.

138 Tellette Street in Oak Bluffs sold for $340,000 on April 17.

39 Fuller Street in Edgartown sold for $1,675,000 on April 17.

95 Litchfield Road in Edgartown sold for $850,000 on April 16.

23 Majors Cove Lane in Edgartown sold for $1,390,000 on April 16.