Town Column : Aquinnah
By Molly Purves
Published: April 2, 2009
Looking over my notes for the past week, I kept thinking, why don't I have more information? Why didn't I get out more? Why wasn't I at the library for the Spindrift Marionette show? Why haven't I seen anyone? And then I realized my son turned two, two weeks ago, and I now live at the mercy of a tiny, insane person. Seriously. The one time I made it to the library this week, it took two trips to convince him that it was a good idea and to get him to stop crying. Saturday, after morning errands I thought I would stop by the library, but he cried for an hour and a half straight (40 minutes of it in the car) and by the time he got home and settled down, I didn't have the energy to go anywhere but the sofa.
I went to Joanie and Richard's on Sunday for gossip and pie, my son asleep by the time I got there. "Yes!" I thought, "A respite." And I was able to catch up with Richard and Joanie a little bit. The Spindrift show went great, about 40 people attended (including adults). Joanie wasn't sure if that was more than they got at the Che's Lounge shows but it is definitely more than could've fit in the old library. Just as more people started to arrive and the conversation started to really get going, my son woke up, crying, and after calming down, demanded a treat and to be taken home immediately.
I did find out that Ken Wentworth and Liz Witham have finished up a couple of films, one of them about Kate Taylor and one that they have been working on for six years. I couldn't get all the details, as I was walking out the door treat in hand, but I made Ken promise to keep me posted about screenings and fundraisers. Clearly, what are needed is some Aquinnah play dates so that the kids can be insane together and the moms and dads can gossip or just keep each other awake. So, if you also live at the mercy of a tiny insane person and live in Aquinnah, call me. I need to have a conversation where I don't repeat myself a hundred times to no avail.
For all of you who are tired of your cell phone being an expensive clock, and who live in fear of breaking down on North Road in the dead of night because there is no cell phone service, or if you like being unreachable and love your landline, this meeting is for you. On Monday, April 6 at 7 pm at the Chilmark Community Center, there will be a joint public hearing where there will be a presentation by the American Tower Corp. about installing a distributed antenna system that provides broad cell phone coverage for Aquinnah, West Tisbury, and Chilmark.
Easter is a little over a week away and Elise will once again host an Easter egg hunt at the Duck Inn on Easter Sunday at 1 pm. Come by the Friday and Saturday before between 2 and 6 pm to paint eggs and gab.
The library's potluck movie night is this Saturday at 6 pm and there will be another kid's afternoon movie the first Saturday of the April vacation, the 18th, at 2 pm.
Lastly, I would like to extend gratitude and admiration for fellow town columnist Jackie Sexton (Chilmark) who retired two weeks ago after 25 years. I found her columns informative, funny, and real. She made it look so easy and kept it fresh week after week. Thank you Jackie. You will be missed. And welcome to the new Chilmark columnist, Katie Carroll. May you never have writer's block and may you always be in the middle of things.
