I can’t believe that we are already in the third week of May. I’m thinking that the gray, windy weather is playing games with me, but it still feels more like March to me. Thankfully this weekend brought us some much-needed sunshine and warm temperatures. It was wonderful to relax my shoulders a bit, instead of hunching them up to my ears to brace against the chilly wind.
Don and I took the dogs to the beach on Saturday, and we were shocked by the amount of trash everywhere. Full water bottles and full Red Bull cans were everywhere, along with plastic cups, the top of a five-gallon bucket, ribbons, balloons, and pieces of plastic. We only had a few small bags with us to collect it all, but between those small bags and the top to the bucket and some really big pockets, we were able to clean up everything we found. On Sunday, we returned to gather more, but were more prepared this time, and brought a full-size trash bag with us. We found some more trash and water bottles, but not as much as Saturday, because we were walking the same part of the beach to avoid people. Our dogs love people. People don’t always love dogs. We did, however, find a gallon of milk, still sealed with the factory seal. It was only about half-full, though, and what was in there was pretty disgusting. Ewww. Our thoughts were that someone had lost the Red Bull and water off a boat. But a gallon of milk? People don’t usually bring that on a boat, do they? At any rate, I will continue to arm myself with trash bags when I wander the beaches, to do my part for the environment.
I want to wish my baby girl, Amelia, a very magical and happy golden birthday. She turns 20 on the 20th. How can that be? She’s been living her life being an adult since October, but I still can’t believe that we don’t have any babies or teenagers anymore. No wonder I feel so old. I am old. It’s a little up in the air still, but I think this little island hopper of mine will be hopping back to this Island very soon, and this is one mama bear who can’t wait.
Other birthday wishes go out this week to Jamie Murphy and Gary Baldino on May 17, Phil Brandon on May 19, and Janice Donaroma on May 22.
There will be a celebration of life for Johnny (“Duzza”) McCarron at the Ag Hall on June 4, from 2 until 5 pm. I have no doubts that the place will be packed, as Duzza seemed to be loved by everyone who had the good fortune to know him. Mark your calendars and spread the word.
Holy cow! I just read the news as I sat down to finish this week’s column. Congratulations to Jonathan Searle, the new chief of police in Oak Bluffs. I don’t know if I missed that he was in contention for the job or if it wasn’t very public, but I’m very, very happy for him. I’ve known Jonathan for pretty much my whole life. People even mistook us for brother and sister on occasion. I guess he got the height. Ha! It’s nice to see him succeed. His dad would be proud.
The Edgartown School eighth grade heads to D.C. in two weeks. Hooray. After several years of no D.C. trip because of COVID, we are making our first foray into bringing the trip back. We successfully raised enough money to plan a great trip, including trolley tours, a dinner dance cruise on the Potomac, museums, and lots of fun. Thank you, thank you, thank you to our community for supporting our efforts to get these kids to our nation’s capital. We had many generous donors who helped us reach our goal, and I am completely floored by the generosity of people on this Island. Thank-you notes are coming. We need something to do on a 10-hour bus ride, right?
That’s all she wrote, as the saying goes. Have a great week. Be careful out there. Consider masking up again, as COVID numbers go up again. Remember, we can’t stop the waves from coming, but we can learn how to surf.
