Author Archives: Susanna J. Sturgis
Messiah
I sang in a performance of Handel’s Messiah on Saturday night. “An Island Family Tradition Returns” said the poster, and so it was. I’m not a trained singer but I can carry a tune, I like to sing, and if I … Continue reading
Goatscape
Seen from a slightly (only slightly) jaded angle, Martha’s Vineyard is a theme park. We’ve got theme park agriculture, theme park woodlands, theme park arts, theme park progressivism, theme park charity, and so on, all based on things that used … Continue reading
Wednesday, Wednesday
When only a few days’ worth of clean underwear remain in the drawer, I start watching the weather. Hanging one’s wash out at this time of year can be a challenge. Daylight hours are short and getting shorter, overcast skies are … Continue reading
Listening Tour #1
Dylan Fernandes, state representative elect from the Barnstable Dukes Nantucket district, ran a campaign that emphasized “transparency, accessibility, and community engagement,” so it’s not surprising that a month before he takes office he was already conducting his first “listening tour” of … Continue reading
November License Plate Report
I thought about titling this “Nothing to See Here, Folks” but every license-plate-related post in this blog so far has been titled “[MONTH] License Plate Report” and I am nothing if not conservative. Some of my friends do not believe … Continue reading
A Liberal Paradox
The other day I overheard a guy I know who most certainly voted for Trump complain that a guy he knows has said he won’t do business with Trump supporters. Well, I wasn’t about to wade into that one. I … Continue reading
We Stand Together
Word spread quickly, via social media, word of mouth, and flyers in the usual places, that Vineyarders would rally at Waban Park, Oak Bluffs, at 3:30 p.m., Saturday, November 19. That was yesterday. Of course I went, knowing almost nothing … Continue reading
Do We Love Our Freedom?
I’ve written before about my ambivalence about Veterans Day. November 11 was the birthday of my uncle Neville, a gentle soul who came home shell-shocked from World War II, so the family story goes, and never really got his feet … Continue reading
Dear Vineyarders Who Haven’t Voted Yet
I’ve been trying hard not to give in to apocalyptic rhetoric this election season, but these much-quoted words from Lord of the Rings keep running through my head: “But this, I deem, is our duty. And better so than to perish … Continue reading
October License Plate Report
Fall is never great for license-plate spotting. The hard-to-find states are even harder to find when the island population drops. However, in the course of a day it seems that all the world passes through Five Corners, Vineyard Haven. Virtually … Continue reading
From the Seasonally Occupied Territories . . . 