Tag Archives: politics
Writing Postcards to Voters
Back in mid-December 2017, in “Neighbors,” I mentioned writing postcards to Alabama Democrats to help get out the vote for Doug Jones. Doug Jones beat the odds and persistent attempts at voter suppression and is now a U.S. senator. Last … Continue reading
January 2018 License Plate Report
In the license plate game the turn of the year brings a shot of adrenaline. The waning months of the old year are, in a word, boring. Dispiriting even. Island traffic is way down from its summer peak, though not … Continue reading
Ice Disk Votes Blue
Sorry, couldn’t resist. What a wild ride it was last night! I bitch about social media at least as much as the next guy, but sometimes it functions as a virtual town square that gives us a sense of our … Continue reading
Neighbors
For more than 40 years I’ve made virtually all my own bread. For the last almost 10, I’ve used sourdough almost exclusively. Today Alabama voters go to the polls to elect a new U.S. senator. There’s a connection between these … Continue reading
Late October on the Line
My #1 technique for surviving reasonably sane in these bizarre, bewildering, and outrageous times is to relish as much as possible the small satisfactions of daily life, like walking with my dog, working on my novel, baking bread (and occasionally … Continue reading
Statues
I’m more than half Southern on my mother’s side, but I grew up (and have lived most of my life) in Massachusetts, so until pretty recently I was able to think of Confederate statues as mostly a matter of heritage … Continue reading
Insider, Outsider
When Senator Elizabeth Warren came to the Vineyard for a town hall last month (see “The Line, the Hall, and the Senator” for details), an estimated 1,000 people filled a hall whose official capacity is about 800. When my four … 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
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
From the Seasonally Occupied Territories . . . 