I have entered a whole new world in the last week. My boy, Riley, turned 16, and we all know what that means, don’t we? It seems like it was only a couple of days ago he was asking if he could practice driving, and I was telling him that was years away. Well, the years have caught up, and Riley now proudly possesses his motorcycle permit and passed his motorcycle safety course, which allows him to drive his bike on the streets. There’s always a new fear on the horizon out there for us parents, isn’t there? I have faith in him, but the other drivers and all the intricacies that can be involved with driving and riding a motorcycle are enough to give this mother many a sleepless night. Thank goodness he can’t ride after dark for six more months. I never thought that the idea of him driving a car would bring me peace, but if the options are car or motorcycle, a car grants me just a little bit more security.
David Crohan will be performing one of his magical piano concerts on Tuesday night, August 2, at the Old Whaling Church. This concert benefits the Island Elderly Housing Quality of Life Programs and includes a silent auction. Tickets range in price from $10 for children to $50 for the VIP section, and are available at Alley’s General Store, Edgartown Books, Bunch of Grapes, and ticketsmv.com. Doors open at 6:30 pm, and the concert begins at 7 pm.
The annual Federated Church House Tour will be held on Tuesday, August 9. This year, the houses on the tour are all located along beautiful Edgartown Bay Road in Katama, beginning at 77 Edgartown Bay Road. There will be a short lecture at 1:30 pm, repeated at 1:50 pm. The tour runs from 2 to 4:30 pm. Tickets are $40, and are available at 77 Edgartown Bay Road beginning at 1:30. Parking is available, and iced tea, lemonade, and cookies will be available. For more information, call 508-627-7077. This event benefits the Federated Church of Martha’s Vineyard.
Norma Bridwell of Edgartown attended the graduation of her son, Tim, from the master of fine arts in writing program at Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier. She was accompanied by her daughter-in-law and grandchildren, visiting from Paris for the summer. Tim Bridwell, author of the novel “Sophronia L.” (2014), completed the low-residency M.F.A. program primarily from Paris, with biannual residencies in Vermont. I’d like to offer my congratulations to Tim, and say that now that I’ve done a little research on the book, I’m excited to read it. It deals with murder, whaling, the Civil War, and vengeance, and the online reviews are great.
Don’t forget the All-Island Art Show on Monday, August 1 at the MVCMA Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs. Artist registration is on the morning of the show beginning at 8:30 am, while the show runs from 10 am to 3 pm. More information regarding the show may be found at allislandartshow.wordpress.com or at the MVCMA office.
Congratulations to Charlie Fenske, a Falmouth Academy student and the son of Caroline and Reiner Fenske. Charlie is a top-100 finalist at the Worldwide Google Science Fair 2016 for his rocket science project. Charlie has been building rockets for as long as I can remember, and his plan for this experiment was to design the optimal guidance system for use on suborbital sounding rockets. Details about his project can be found online at bit.ly/charlieexperiment.
On Wednesday, August 10, at 10:30 am, the folks at the Anchors are offering a one-hour computer lesson at the new Edgartown library to learn more about choosing and using a web browser, understanding “the cloud,” using hyperlinks, downloading, and setting up an email account. Do you have a CLAMS library card? You can also learn to set up your account on the CLAMS website. Kathy Lavieri, a technology trainer with over 20 years experience working with diverse groups of adults, will be leading the group at the library. Bring your own laptop, or use one of the library’s Chromebooks. Call the Edgartown Council on Aging at 508-627-4368 to sign up.
Happy birthday wishes go out to Caleb Enos, who celebrated on July 27, Vera Dello Russo on July 28, and Debbie Jernegan on July 29. I hope your days are fantastic!
I wish everyone a great week ahead. Please share any summer news or stories with me to share with readers. People really do enjoy reading about what’s happening out there.
Have fun, and take advantage of this beautiful Island this week and every week.
