Since the early ’70s I have ardently played in the purposely informal Chilmark summer softball pick-up games. From Toomey’s Field on State Road, then on to the West Tisbury Fire Station arena, and finally nesting in 2003 in a funky field off Pasture Road, our game has been through many incarnations and generations. Due to advancing age and bad knees, alas I am only a spectator now. But the tradition continues as people come and go. One of the last games of this summer took place last Sunday, amid an air of wistful nostalgia. Many old-timers still have some of their moves intact, while offspring bring new blood to the field. It’s an important cog in my playbook of Vineyard camaraderie.
