Ed Gyne in Milwaukee in the 1960s, Charlie Manson’s gang in the 1970s, the Oklahoma City bombing, genocide in Rwanda and 9/11 — it appears the perpetrators relied on knives, fertilizer, machetes, box cutters and airplanes to perpetrate their atrocities. It seems that mass murderers employ many means, so much so that one might easily conclude that guns may not be the weapon of choice to kill lots of people in peacetime. One might even conclude the obsessed and deranged individuals are the proximate cause of these awful deeds! Nevertheless, in the Gazette last week, Mr. Reisman seizes on Aurora to insist that guns are the cause rather than the means of these horrific acts.

A recent heavy rainstorm, complete with thunder and lightning, set off an alarm on our property. We needed help to deal with this situation and called the communications center. Within minutes of our call, fire chief Manny Estrella was at our house, and happily all was satisfactorily and speedily resolved.

There has been a strong appeal by recent letter writers to retain the 16 transient fixed wooden dock spaces in Menemsha harbor in lieu of replacing them with concrete floating docks as proposed by the harbor master.

The proponents of this appeal claim that the concrete floating docks will “dramatically change the character of the harbor that we have strived to retain.”

The Chilmark selectmen are ready to move on to phase three of our plan for rebuilding the docks in Menemsha harbor. This part of our plan calls for rebuilding the fuel dock, the transient yacht dock and other small repairs to our harbor.

I read with increasing alarm about people who want to limit the size of the their neighbors’ homes. I wonder what the old whaling captains would think of this. If you don’t want a big house, don’t build one.

I currently live in the largest house in Edgartown and thoroughly enjoy it.

In Mending Wall, the poet Robert Frost wrote that “something there is that doesn’t love a wall.” I thought of this poem after reading “Super-sized Houses Are Talk of Towns” in the July 27 issue. I think I know what Frost meant.

I congratulate the Gazette on its coverage in your July 27 issue of the large house issue and of the related zoning board of appeals hearing in Chilmark last Wednesday concerning the Zoia property on the shore of Nashaquitsa Pond. In fact, we are fortunate to have had this hearing which has highlighted the weaknesses of current regulation.

The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank reported revenues of $110,650 for the business week ending on Friday, July 27, 2012. The land bank receives its funds from a two per cent fee charged on many Vineyard real estate transactions.

Much of the land bank revenue last week came from the town of Edgartown, where five transactions resulted in $81,070. In Chilmark, two eligible transactions yielded $26,300. Two transactions in Tisbury generated $3,200. No eligible transactions were recorded in Aquinnah, Oak Bluffs or West Tisbury.

What did you think when you heard President Obama say, “If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.” Did this statement make you angry or nod your head? Prof. Elizabeth Warren shares this bitter ideology and has used it against Sen. Scott Brown.

Phone Scam Alert

Dukes County Veterans Agent Jo Ann Murphy is cautioning Vineyarders to be wary of telephone solicitations to raise money for veterans.

Ms. Murphy said that she’s heard from a few people who have received the phone calls, but she has not been contacted about any fundraising endeavors that will go to Island veterans. “I haven’t heard anything,” she said. “Well, who are these people?”

“There are a lot of scams out there,” Ms. Murphy said. “I would just be leery of it.”