Author Archives: Susanna J. Sturgis
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
Is That You, Spring?
Memorial Day be damned, I’ve been in total denial that the summer season — not summer, but the summer season — is upon us. Most of the time it’s been feeling like mid or late April. Yesterday I wore jeans and a … Continue reading
May License Plate Report
Missouri and Michigan showed up in May. Too bad Mississippi didn’t make it a 3M hat trick. The tally was disappointing till I consulted my maps for previous years. They reminded me that May often isn’t a big month for … Continue reading
Some Personal History
Here’s an addendum of sorts to “Tolerant, Up to a Point,” posted yesterday. During the discussion of the Vineyard’s lesbian and gay history at the Spectrum Film Festival, an audience member mentioned Margaret Webster (1905–1972), the eminent Anglo-American actor and theater … Continue reading
Tolerant, Up to a Point
At the end of April, the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center held its first Spectrum Film Festival, featuring films with an L, G, B, T, and/or Q connection. Like the LGBTQ coalition itself, the films had an uneasy relationship with each … Continue reading
Mid-Spring on the Line
It was like winning the lottery: I was almost out of underwear, laundry needed to be done, and Wednesday — two-for-one day at the Airport Laundromat — dawned bright and very breezy. Off I went, a little later than usual: … Continue reading
From the Seasonally Occupied Territories . . . 