I was shocked, upset, and disappointed when Mike came home from Alley’s the other evening with news that the SSA is planning to close our ticket office at the airport this fall. It was the talk of coffee hour. Everyone is upset at the possible loss of not only a convenience for us up-Islanders, but a treasured resource: people who are professional, kind, concerned, and available for face-to-face problem solving. Many of us grew up before cell phones and online everything, and still prefer going somewhere to speak with a real person to conduct our business or to get help when we need it.
Mike and I call them “the Steamship ladies.” They have become friends over the years. They know all our medical travails, and have been invaluable supporters, getting us over to the other side at a moment’s notice when a doctor announces we are being admitted or discharged that afternoon. They got me a boat reservation right away the day I found out my brother Mark had died in Connecticut. They suggested I travel on Sunday to New Haven to be with my brother Mike when he was diagnosed with cancer; a snowstorm was predicted for Monday morning. I arrived and was comfortably snowed in with my brother, rather than stewing here at home where the boats weren’t running. They got Mike and Nanuk off on the next boat the day she had to be rushed to Cape Cod Emergency Veterinary Services for surgery to repair a fractured pelvis. Then they got us off to pick her up when she was ready to come home. Over several years, there were other veterinary emergencies, other personal emergencies, other medical emergencies that “the Steamship ladies” have seen us through, sent us off with good wishes, and welcomed us back with hugs. They remind us when our profiles need to be updated, and take care of it right away. They always do their best to make it all work. I’m sure there are plenty of other things they do for plenty of other people. We are not the only ones.
I’m sure there are many of us who will protest the Steamship Authority’s proposal. After all, it is their mandate to serve us. We rely on them to get us safely on and off the Island when the need arises. I cannot imagine going online or driving into Vineyard Haven traffic when I am already in crisis mode. Wasn’t the point of opening the office at the airport all those years ago to divert traffic from Vineyard Haven, especially in the summer? Well, it has worked, and I hope that it will be allowed to continue to do so.
Mike and I took Talley and Nanuk for a lovely Mother’s Day walk along the beach. Two wet dogs later, we stopped into the library and were charmed watching Lynn Christoffers taking photographs of moms and children. Even some grandmothers came by. My favorite was a girl with red roses in her hair sitting on her mother’s lap, posing for the camera. Lynn did all this for free. It was a lovely gift to library patrons and visitors.
The library has received a guitar, now part of the musical instrument collection. It may be checked out with your CLAMS card for two weeks, just like borrowing a book. Jim Thorpe donated the guitar in honor of Asa French.
Several library events this week:
On Friday May 13, Judy Kranz will offer a free Pilates demonstration and class from 4 to 5 o’clock. Please bring your Pilates/yoga mat if you have one. There are some at the library.
At 7 Friday evening there will be a concert by the Brazilian instrumental group Choro das Três. Three sisters and their father began the band in 2003 with the mission to revive the Choro tradition in Brazil and spread Choro around the world. Choro is a form of urban jazz native to Brazil. Corina plays flute and piccolo; Lil plays a 7-string guitar; Elisa plays mandolin, banjo, clarinet, and piano; and their father, Eduardo, plays the pandeiro, a Brazilian tambourine. The concert is free and everyone is invited. Thanks to the Friends of the Library and the Library Foundation for their support of this concert.
Saturday, May 14, there will be a reception for artist Julia Russell, from 4 to 5 pm. Julia’s media are oils and acrylics. Many of her paintings are of familiar walks and sights around the Island, especially around West Tisbury. She visits often, as her parents are Ike and Trudy Russell. I looked at her website and liked a lot of what I saw.
The Martha’s Vineyard Community Seed Library is holding their first seedling swap at the library this Sunday, May 15, at 2 pm. Bring your own heirloom vegetable, flower, or fruit seedlings or cuttings to swap or share. Or just come and choose something to bring home for your garden. There will be information on planning a garden for seed saving and an opportunity to look at the seed library collection, and to learn from like-minded gardeners.
There will be a mindfulness practice at the library on Tuesday evening, May 17, from 6:30 to 7:30.
Tweed’s Reads reading group reconvenes on Wednesday, May 18, at 7 pm (note new time). This month’s topic is “How NOT to Run an Expedition to the Amazon.” Two books, “Brazilian Adventure” by Peter Fleming, and “White Waters and Black” by Gordon MacCreagh, are available at the circulation desk. Tweed’s Reads will meet the third Wednesday of every month.
Joanne Scott’s granddaughter, Bianca Stafford, turned 3 last Wednesday. Conveniently, Wednesday is Joanne’s day to pick Bianca up after school and spend the whole afternoon together. Joanne had plans: presents and treats, a new game to play, girl time — I’m sure they had fun.
Alzheimer’s research and care is a cause I am particularly committed to supporting. There is currently a Spring Matching Gift Challenge up to $600,000, effectively doubling your donation through the end of May. Here is the address: Alzheimer’s Association National Office, 225 N. Michigan Avenue, FL 17, Chicago, IL 60601. Or you can look at their website for information: alz.org.
There will be a benefit concert at the West Tisbury Church on Sunday, May 15, at 4 o’clock. David Rhoderick will perform Bach’s Partita No. 6 in E and Beethoven’s Waldstein Piano Sonata. David will be joined by pianist Adele Dreyer and violinist Cesar Atzic Marquez for a violin sonata by Dvorak. $15 is the suggested donation.
I made a mistake when naming the variety of the spectacular cherry tree now in bloom at the Polly Hill Arboretum. It is Accolade, not Abundance. Whatever its name, you can see it across the field when driving on State Road. And keep watching for Harriet Bernstein’s three Kwanzan cherry trees across the front of her yard on Edgartown–West Tisbury Road. Look up the driveway with the red hat on a post on the road. They are almost out. All we need is a good sunny day.