Heard on Main Street: If at first you don’t succeed, do it the way your mother told you to.
The Red Cross blood drive is Tuesday, July 2, from 11:30 to 4:30 at the P.A. Club, with future plans to come monthly through December as long as they meet the quota. You can drop in or make an appointment to donate blood at redcross.org/give-blood.html.
Sorry I misled you — the Martha’s Vineyard Museum open house is Sunday, June 30. Free for all, from 10 to 2, absolutely no parking on site. Shuttle bus from the high school is free.
You are all invited to attend the annual reading of the Frederick Douglass 1852 speech on “The Meaning of the Fourth of July for the Negro” at the Federated Church in Edgartown on Tuesday, July 2, at noon. This remarkable speech still resonates today, 167 years later. Free. All welcome.
You do know that the Vineyard Haven library offers paperback “beach books.” You can return that paperback or replace it with a new one. If these paperback books are damaged by sand or water, they are easily replaced.
I am so old that when I was a kid, I had to take an adult to the library to take out a book. Now all kids are invited to go to the children’s room at the library to sign up for the Summer Reading Program. They can earn prizes, including a T shirt. The Teen Summer Reading Challenge is for ages 12 to 18. They can get a scratch-off ticket when they check out books, and even take part in a reading for fine-forgiveness program.
Adults 18 and up can fill out a raffle card at the library when you check out books; then you can enter in drawings for weekly prizes.
I saw the reading list for the Feminist Book Group, and wished I’d had a couple of those books when my daughter was a teenager. I just love the title of Anthony E. Wolf’s “Get Out of My Life but First Could You Drive Me and Cheryl to the Mall?” And I cringed to see the book on how mothers and daughters miscommunicate. It’s by Deborah Tannen, and called “You’re Wearing That?”
The Vineyard Haven library is even offering you some help with pain. Wellness expert Fae Kontje-Gibbs will guide you with easy self-care, finding pressure points for relieving back pain, headaches, nausea, and anxiety, using easily applied magnets. “Pressure Points for Relief” with Fae Kontje-Gibbs is at 7 pm on Tuesday, July 2. No charge.
For years the Tisbury businesspeople have gone the extra step, ringing bells to remind you what the Fourth of July is all about. A century ago, everyone knew the church bells would be ringing to remind you that we are celebrating our freedom and Independence. This is the ninth annual veterans fundraiser and bell ringing on Main Street. Shopkeepers will mark the Fourth of July with bell ringing of freedom bells at 2 pm all along Main Street.
Big bunches of birthday balloon wishes go out today to Leslie Craven. I expect that she will start the day swimming at the YMCA. Wish the best tomorrow to Emma Kristal. Lynne Benson parties on Sunday. Best wishes for a happy birthday to Marina Lent and Sioux Eagle on Tuesday. Wednesday belongs to Larry Gomez.
Heard on Main Street: Life is better at the beach.