If you are a friend of famous architect Francis Pitts, one of the stellar denizens of Our Town, if you are on Facebook with him or just know him the old fashioned in person way, be sure to connect for 11 fabulous photos he took on his recent trip to South Korea. Francis was in that neck of the woods to accept an award for his great work.

Just after I saw the sad news last Monday on the Martha’s Vineyard Poetry Society Facebook page of William Waterway’s death last Monday, just after I had read the beautiful tribute poem Barbara Pope Peckham wrote in Bill’s honor, just after all this, I could not get Walt Whitman’s 1865 poem for Abraham Lincoln out of my mind. I think of William, I think of him as the captain of our fleet of poets. Who will lead us now?

Welcome to the country, Javier Gomez-Blanco!

Well Teri Praskach took the long boat and bus trip back to my Old Country to surprise Nonna and me for my birthday. She packed tomato plants, basil and lemon basil she had started, and many other gardening gifts that don’t usually go in suitcases. We have had a delightful time with her and she is adding new flora and fauna to my Dad’s gardens. Teri is on her way back to storybook Island to help judge the vegetables and fruit in the Fair. Nonna and I remain at the mercy of Nonna’s doctors here after her latest rehab incident. I see an all clear for an Island trip in our near future.