Thursday, March 28, 2024
Home Islander Essays Minding Your MV P's & Q's

Minding Your MV P's & Q's

Five Corners

Dear Nicole, Can we please have a moment, an hour, a day, without politics? I voted for Warren/Markey/Keating, who are ROCKING IT in D.C. That is their job. It’s not my job. My job is...

Thank-you gifts

Dear Nicole: 
I have a question about gift giving … for thank-you gifts, not Christmas. During a recent severe illness, I was helped out by multiple friends and neighbors who between them brought me food,...

Should I protest?

Dear Nicole, For us it's personal. Hillary Clinton is a Vineyard person, after all. It's not much of a consolation prize, but let's at least name her as an honorary Islander. Beyond that, it's hard...

Did my neighbors plant poison ivy?

Dear Nicole, The neighborly thing to do is not to plant poison ivy across a walking trail that encroaches on your property, right? I get that homeowners don’t want people walking on their property and...

I am not your server

Before we get to this week’s questions, last week’s column (Seasonal Shutdown) received an overwhelming response from readers on social media, via comments, and through letters to the editor. I’d like to go on...

Seasonal Shutdown

Dear Nicole, I am a seasonal resident who has had it with the entitled attitudes of the ever so holy year-rounders who tend to treat us like an invasion of fruit flies when, in fact,...

Facebook Fracas

Dear Nicole, I am a member of a large Vineyard-based Facebook group, which by default means there are a lot of people expressing a lot of opinions.  Someone posted seeking a service provider. (To keep...

The birthday gift

Dear Nicole, We’re invited to an acquaintance’s Significant-Age Birthday Party next week, catered dinner and drinks … and the invitation expressly told us not to bring any gifts. When I saw the party thrower at...

Brexit

Dear Nicole, Will you field a question on local politics from an opinionated foreigner? I’m from England, and upset that the U.K. just voted to leave the European Union. A lot of pro-Brexit types are...

Is Barking OK?

Dear Nicole: I know that my dogs’ voices carry over the pond, and I try to curb their barking, but if a neighbor is playing music and partying loudly enough to trigger said barking, should...

Trash talk

Dear Nicole, A few days ago, I was walking on the beach, and there was a ton of plastic jetsam trashing up the place. I crossed paths with another beachgoer (with a dog) who was...

My houseguests’ houseguests

Dear Nicole, What do you do when your houseguests ask if they can bring houseguests? Let me explain. We have houseguests, a couple, scheduled to come in July for three days. I just got an...

Tipping the Plumber

Dear Nicole, Getting a plumber to your house sometimes feels like a bloodsport here. I've heard rumors that if you "tip" the plumber, you will have better service. (No, I'm not talking about that type...

Badmouthing a 3-year-old

Dear Nicole, I have a feisty 3-year-old daughter, and a friend recently confided in me — although I know she felt terrible about telling me this — that a mutual friend of ours has been...

Mother’s Day confession

Dear Nicole, Mother's Day brings up all sorts of unexpected surprises. On this Mother's Day, my father confessed to me that he had a relationship with one of my mother's friends during the time they...

Renting to friends

Bemused readers ask novelist Nicole Galland for her take on navigating the precarious social landscape that comes with living on the Vineyard. Nicole, who grew up in West Tisbury, is known locally as the...

Mindfulness and Your Shopping Cart

Bemused readers ask novelist Nicole Galland for her take on navigating the precarious social landscape that comes with living on the Vineyard. Nicole, who grew up in West Tisbury, is known locally as the...

Ferry Greeting

Bemused readers ask novelist Nicole Galland for her take on navigating the precarious social landscape that comes with living on the Vineyard. Nicole, who grew up in West Tisbury, is known locally as the...

Movie seat scuffle

Bemused readers ask novelist Nicole Galland for her take on navigating the precarious social landscape that comes with living on the Vineyard. Nicole, who grew up in West Tisbury, is known locally as the...

A fan’s dilemma

Bemused readers ask novelist Nicole Galland for her take on navigating the precarious social landscape that comes with living on the Vineyard. Nicole, who grew up in West Tisbury, is known locally as the...