Author Archives: Susanna J. Sturgis
A Bookselling Snake
Is it September 15th already?? I spend the whole summer looking forward to Labor Day, and now it’s been two weeks in the rear-view mirror. The island around me may have slowed down somewhat — the traffic definitely has — … Continue reading
August License Plate Report
When July ends, I damp my expectations way, way down. Pickin’s are always slim in the last five months of the year, and in a few years they’ve been nonexistent. So spotting Nebraska! and Kansas! in the first week of … Continue reading
Statues
I’m more than half Southern on my mother’s side, but I grew up (and have lived most of my life) in Massachusetts, so until pretty recently I was able to think of Confederate statues as mostly a matter of heritage … Continue reading
Gossip
Gossip is widely assumed to be, by definition, frivolous, erroneous, and/or malicious. Call it “orally transmitted information” and it gets more respect. My first few years on Martha’s Vineyard I didn’t believe people who said they rarely read the local … Continue reading
Insider, Outsider
When Senator Elizabeth Warren came to the Vineyard for a town hall last month (see “The Line, the Hall, and the Senator” for details), an estimated 1,000 people filled a hall whose official capacity is about 800. When my four … Continue reading
July License Plate Report
After June’s record-breaking tally of nine, July’s yield of precisely one — Wyoming — was a bit of a letdown. Pickings are always slim in the second half of the year, and it’s not because there’s a shortage of cars. Traffic … Continue reading
The Line, the Hall, and the Senator
Vineyarders are notorious for not RSVPing, signing up early, or buying tickets in advance. Case in point: Last Tuesday evening I shucked my soggy shorts and T-shirt for a crisp, presentable summer dress and headed into Vineyard Haven to see I … Continue reading
Street Fair
The Tisbury Street Fair takes place every year on July 8, a date I remember because it was my father’s birthday. From 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Main Street and Union Street are closed to traffic, shops and nonprofits set up … Continue reading
June License Plate Report
Woo woo! June was the best month ever in recent memory for the license plate game: nine new sightings. Consulting maps back to 2011, I find a high of six and a low of three. Nine beats ’em all, and they … Continue reading
Democratic State Convention
After many years as an unenrolled voter who voted Democratic and even occasionally worked for Democratic candidates, on January 30 I finally registered as a Democrat. Two weeks later, almost by accident, I became secretary of the Martha’s Vineyard Democrats, … Continue reading
