Here we are again four days before Labor Day 2019 and the start of school the next day. There do seem to be fewer people and cars here than a few weeks ago, but those numbers might swell as the weekend nears. Most of us have prepared ourselves to avoid the long lines of traffic and lines in grocery stores but it always happens that there is that one very important item you forget and there you are again trapped in the gridlock of Labor Day crowds. 

The first day of school brings back memories going way back when you had to prepare for this important day by first of all getting used to wearing shoes again, as most of us went barefoot all summer long. Students lined up by grade and were escorted into the building by their teachers. The smell of the freshly sanded and varnished floors and desktops hovered throughout the hallways, and new pencils, paper, clean blackboards and unfamiliar books were par for the course. A bit apprehensively, we sat in our new classrooms, but soon everyone settled in so the learning began once more. This year the Tisbury School class of 1953 lost five students out of the 20-member graduation class. To the best of my knowledge, there are still nine of us remaining so that means 14 members of this class lived into their 80s. Does that mean we were a healthy group or was it just the luck of the draw? Enjoy each day because life is short, whether you are 3 or 83. 

News reached us this week of the death of Jerry Maciel, a Tisbury 1953 classmate. We send sympathy to his family and friends. 

September is Oak Bluffs Public Library’s Maritime Month and will honor local mariner, Gordon Goodwin. Gordon’s family donated a memorial fund to the Library Friends of Oak Bluffs with the request to add maritime collections and programming in the library. In his memory the library plans to host Maritime Month each September to celebrate our Island’s maritime culture. On Wednesdays throughout the month, there will be maritime storytime and craft at 10:30 am on Saturdays. On 

September 7 at 9:30 am there will be a kayak safety program and then a pirate story walk at 10:30 am. Sounds like a lot of fun for all ages.

Relax and stay safe everyone this last summer holiday weekend.

We send birthday smiles to Pam Melrose on August 30th, Nancy Giordano and Sean Flynn on the 31st, Tony Ferreira and Anne Davey on Sept. 1, Ed BenDavid Sr., Evelyn Christopher, and Valarie O’Donnell on the 2nd, the very “Reliable” Bob Pacheco on Sept. 3, and Judy Cunniffe on the 5th.

Enjoy your week. Peace.