Category Archives: Uncategorized
August License Plate Report
August was looking like a complete bust — which isn’t all that unusual for August — when I pulled into the beer store on the last Sunday of the month and there it was: West Virginia. The parking lot that … Continue reading
February License Plate Report
In general, when January yields a bumper crop, the pickings in February are sparse, but when January’s haul is relatively meager, February makes up for it. 2021 proves the latter point. Ten new sightings in February: Louisiana, Wisconsin, Ohio, Alabama, … Continue reading
June License Plate Report
Utah, Iowa, and Louisiana are now on the map! Alaska was spotted in Edgartown a few days ago but not by me, so it doesn’t count. But if it’s on the island — hey! It’s way past time for Michigan … Continue reading
Growing Up with Guns
By Susan Robinson Susan Robinson posted this comment on my October 7 blog post, “Gun Store on Main Street.” It’s an eloquent story in its own right so I asked and was granted permission to reprint it here. It’s been … Continue reading
No Man Will Shake Me From This Land
An amazing meditation about place — maybe someday I’ll be able to write as well about New England and Martha’s Vineyard, but meanwhile this expresses so well why I know they’re crucial to my being.
So Much Depends on a Little Red Cart.
Originally posted on thetompostpile:
Here on Martha’s Vineyard, the town of Oak Bluffs has a rare jewel. A family-owned supermarket on its Main Street. The “Reliable Self-Service Market”. The market is of a type that was once common, the centrally-located…
November License Plate Report
So I thought November’s big news was going to be spotting British Columbia at up-island Cronig’s in the middle of the month. Officially I’m only tracking U.S. states, but Canada’s western provinces are rare, rare, rare on Martha’s Vineyard, and … Continue reading
Twelve Years a Slave
I saw Steve McQueen’s excellent film last night at the M.V. Film Center. I sing in Jim Thomas’s Spirituals Choir. Twelve Years a Slave depicts the world the slave songs came from, so I posted a brief comment on the … Continue reading
Year-End License Plate Report
Where have I been? you ask. Or maybe you don’t ask. Maybe you’ve been comparably occupied, and as little inclined to reading as I’ve been to writing. To get business out of the way: This is how the map looked … Continue reading
New Blogger up the Road
Now you don’t have to be on Facebook to follow the musings and photos that spring from the Tompost Pile. It’s flowering on WordPress. A wise and witty take on Vineyard life (etc.) by a musician, gardener, and sign painter … Continue reading
From the Seasonally Occupied Territories . . . 