Category Archives: Martha’s Vineyard
10 Reasons Why I Like Living on Martha’s Vineyard
I wrote this about 10 years ago, when setting up susannajsturgis.com, my first home on the web. On a recent rereading I was surprised to realize that most of it is still mostly true. I now have several virtual homes: … Continue reading
September License Plate Report
Nothing new to report, I’m afraid: at the end of September the map looked exactly as it did at the end of August. Sightings that would have been notable in the spring are ho-hum now because I’ve spotted them already: … Continue reading
August License Plate Report
Back in 2012 I didn’t spot a single new plate after July 31. Now, whenever August rolls around I wonder nervously if that’s it for the year. My first August plate comes as a big relief. This August was stellar. This August I … Continue reading
Going to Church
When I moved to Martha’s Vineyard, I wasn’t surprised by the number of churches. The town I grew up in west of Boston, population about 10,000, had one for every denomination I’d ever heard of at the time (which isn’t … Continue reading
Undercover in the Summerland
Ta-Nehisi Coates might be the best, most challenging, most important writer I’ve read in years. I’ve been following his blog on TheAtlantic.com for a while now. His Atlantic essay “The Case for Reparations” is must-reading for anyone on the verge of rage … Continue reading
30 Changeovers
It’s changeover weekend — the 30th anniversary of my arrival on Martha’s Vineyard to take a year off. Ha ha ha. I’d saved enough money to live for a year and to buy my first PC — a Leading Edge Model … Continue reading
July License Plate Report
Hawaii showed up when July had barely started. The month could have ended there and it would have been all good. West Virginia came about two-thirds of the way through. Not a big haul, especially considering the number of cars … Continue reading
The Wedding
Why did it take me almost 20 years to find my way to The Wedding? It’s not as though I didn’t know it was there, and it’s certainly not as though I didn’t know of Dorothy West. I read her first … Continue reading
Sonnets on a Planning Board Meeting
In “Small-Town Journalism in the ’80s,” guest blogger Eileen Maley recalled covering “West Tisbury’s planning board meetings, where much of the action took place. Overflow crowds showed up to hear proposals to chop up large plots of land for housing … Continue reading
Small-Town Journalism in the ’80s
Guest blogger Eileen Maley was the first Calendar editor of the Martha’s Vineyard Times. I was the second. If it hadn’t been for Eileen, I wouldn’t have wound up at the Times at all: at a West Tisbury town meeting ca. 1987, this woman I … Continue reading
From the Seasonally Occupied Territories . . . 