If you haven’t been in the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital lately, I’m happy for you. That’s usually good news, but you’ve been missing out on the fabulous exhibits of photographs and paintings in the main hall.
About two years ago Skip Bettencourt and I were looking out over the Katama opening from atop the bluff near the Wacks’ house. Norton Point had grown eastward rapidly to within several hundred yards of the Chappaquiddick shore. At that moment the flow of water through the opening was barely discernible. Regardless of what I knew of the well-documented timetable that previous openings had followed, I could easily picture this one choked off by sand very soon and in the very location that it then occupied.
The next Chappy potluck will be on Wednesday, March 5, hosted by Pat Rose and John Ortman. Catching up on gossip begins at 6 p.m. with the dinner bell ringing at 6:30. The potlucks are always a lot of fun and lately have a good turnout of children.
Spring is upon us. There are many signs, some of which seem to conflict with the thermometer reading. Just within the last few days the ferry captain on the afternoon shift has been able to get home before darkness sets in. I have seen the new 2014 seed catalogs at friends’ houses. The full moon in mid March is known as the Worm Moon, in contrast to the recent Snow Moon of this month. Though the fields at Slipaway Farm are covered in snow, the hen house is a real crowd scene with at least four dozen hens all talking at once. The farm needs egg cartons as you can imagine.
Happy Valentine’s Day and happy birthday to my daughter Nearess who is here visiting with my grandsons Isaiah and Bailey. She has flown in from California to be with us for a week. Their grandmother will be pretty tired but very happy to have all five of her grandchildren in one place at one time.
Years ago contra dances were held monthly on Martha’s Vineyard. We even had one here on Chappy at the Chappy Community Center one summer. Sally and I attended regularly enough that we could easily carry out the steps and figures. Contra dances usually include some square dancing as well as a few waltzes. During the contra and square dances the caller would tell us what figure to do next. A big part of it was teaching the figures to the newcomers and introducing new figures to the old-timers.
So far Sue and Jerry Wacks have been winning the staring contest they are engaged in with Mother Nature. Their house remains intact at the moment in its ringside seat overlooking the Wasque opening.
The erosion at Wasque continues unabated. If the Schifter’s buildings had not been moved, the guesthouse and pool would have fallen over the bluff this week. For the moment the Wacks house seems to have been granted a reprieve.
This is pretty much as close as we will get to the dead of winter here on Chappy. Aside from the burst of activity at morning and evening rush hour, traffic is light at the ferry. Perhaps this is a good time to take a moment to reflect upon the integral role that the Chappy ferry plays in life on Chappaquiddick. I know that it can be a love/hate relationship. As the ferry itself serves to create the solitude and separation from the rest of the world that we value on Chappy, it is also a source of frustration.
