My spirit was bent over double in the spring of 2004 when I walked into Edgartown Books on Main street, which last week announced it is closing. At the time I yearned for a nourishing distraction and some pocket change besides. I figured art gallery or bookstore. The people at Edgartown Books took me in and, with nary a reference check, gave this perfect stranger the key to the door and the code to the cash register. Wow. After forty-some years of seasonal visits, I thought I knew a place. I was wrong.
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
Jan. 20 39 26 .09
Jan. 21 36 23 .05*
Jan. 22 33 28 .45*
Jan. 23 42 32 .00
Jan. 24 52 41 .34
Jan. 25 49 34 Trace
Jan. 26 44 32 .17*
*Melted precipitation
Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 42º F.
Ponce de Leon had it wrong. The fountain of youth was never bubbling away in some mangrove swamp in Florida. Rather, it rests on a hillside in winter, during the first snowfall of the year, the Tashmoo Overlook to be specific, where on Saturday all manner of children, big and small, towheaded and gray-haired, took to their sleds.
The hill is not huge, but the view is. While the snow fell, depth perception blurred until it seemed possible to launch off the hill and land somewhere halfway to the Cape.
Next Chapter
In the 1990 sci-fi movie Total Recall, Arnold Schwarzenegger and other residents of a futuristic Earth take their vacations virtually — by having computerized pleasure-trip experiences inserted in their brains while their bodies veg out at home. This method was presumably cheaper — and safer — than physically going on holiday.
As the Governator discovers, computer-assisted travel can be more dangerous than the real thing (not to mention the cost of even a virtual flight to Mars).
A January Miscellaney from earlier Gazette editions:
January is the perfect month to pull old books from shelves too high to reach at other times of the year. We came across a passage while reading the other night that set us to thinking about this first month of the new year. Most writers, we decided, find January something of a struggle, a month difficult to write about, especially when searching for a little light in the darkest part of the winter.
NANCY GARDELLA
508-693-3308
(vhavenvgazette@yahoo.com)
I always watch the State of the Union address, whether or not the president was my candidate, I like to see how well it is delivered and how well it was written. I consider it the annual pep rally for the country. I thought last Tuesday night’s was great, but the real jewel in the crown was former Arizona congressman Gabby Giffords. It was heartwarming to see her there.
Kathie Case
508-627-5349
(kathleencase@comcast.net)
A one day snowstorm, plus one day of shoveling, plus one day of fog and 50-degree temperatures equals a week in New England. I must say that I was one of those people who loved the look of the snow and it finally felt like winter.
Happy birthday to all who celebrated their day this past week. Big balloons go out to Kyle Fauteux, who celebrated her day Jan. 24.
Special wishes go out to Audrey Polleys, who will celebrate her day Jan. 29.
HOLLY NADLER
508-274-2329
(hollynadler@gmail.com)
I kid summer people, but the truth is that we miss you, especially when the sight of your empty houses, or a frozen stretch of beach, or closed-for-the-season cafés stir memories of times past. Often a walk down winter lanes brings out the sentimental side of us. You may even feel this tug, far away as you are in your cineplexes with a choice of 14 movies, or seated before heaps of chicken vindaloo in your favorite Indian dive. Hang on! Am I talking about n ostalgia or jealousy?
As of Jan. 1, the Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard became a fully independent, federally chartered, not-for-profit organization.
Since 2009, more than 300 dogs, cats, guinea pigs, bunnies and other Island pets have found a home through the Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard.
