Tag Archives: community
Housing 101
How bad is the housing situation on Martha’s Vineyard? In recent memory (which is to say mine, which goes back 30 years), it’s never been good. No situation is “good” where about 20 percent of the population has to move … Continue reading
All Hail Kale
I know some people out there still believe there’s some kind of barrier between social media and the F2F world — you know, the physical world where people meet face to face, like at town meeting — but on Martha’s … Continue reading
Sunderings
In recent months I’ve edited or read several books that deal with peoples and nations dispersed, usually by war, sometimes by political upheaval, often by a combination of both. The matter of community has fascinated me for a long time … Continue reading
Snowy, Snowy
Around the middle of January the landscape looked pretty bleak. No leaves, bare ground, relentlessly gray skies. Where’s winter? some of us wondered. Complained, even. Some years we get through to the spring equinox still wondering when winter is going … Continue reading
My Martha’s Vineyard
Originally posted on From the Seasonally Occupied Territories . . .:
Which Martha’s Vineyard do you live on? All the road maps and atlases agree that there’s just one Martha’s Vineyard, but none of us live on those maps. I’m talking about the…
My First Visit to Pathways
Early on New Year’s Eve, I made my way up-island to Pathways, a winter happening at the Chilmark Tavern. Pathways is now, I’m told, in its sixth year, but this was my first visit. Chilmark and, beyond it, Aquinnah aren’t … Continue reading
A Saner Way to Shop
A Vineyard Haven retailer’s announcement that her store would open at 5 a.m. on “Black Friday” elicited some groans and eye-rolling on Facebook and elsewhere. Martha’s Vineyard is more like the world across the water than some people like to … Continue reading
Shirley Looks Back
I’m forever quoting Grace Paley — “If your feet aren’t in the mud of a place, you better watch where your mouth is.” Shirley Mayhew is in the mud of Martha’s Vineyard at least up to her waist, and has … Continue reading
More Than Meets the Eye
I love this photo. At first glance, it’s a great shot from a late-summer sail on Katama Bay. If you know the backstory — well, it’s a bit more than that. Remember the fight against the roundabout? It was, to … Continue reading
An Uncommon Memorial
I was, as usual, running a little late. I was caught, totally not as usual, in a bumper-to-bumper traffic jam on sleepy Scotchman’s Bridge Road. Leaning out the window, I saw cars backed up behind me as far as the … Continue reading
From the Seasonally Occupied Territories . . . 