I’m wearing shorts as I sit here writing this week’s column. The temperature is in the 70s. Hot. We still have our windows and doors open. I don’t think we have had more than two or three fires in the woodstove; it’s been in the 60s inside in the mornings before the sun comes in to warm up the house. It seems unseasonable to be wearing shorts in November. It used to be unseasonable to wear shorts in November. It used to snow sometimes in November.
We remembered to set our clocks back before going to bed Saturday night, so Sunday morning we awoke an hour earlier than it would have been a week ago. Mike and I disagree about changing the time. He likes it because he prefers the longer daylight in the afternoon. I hate waking up in the dark, and wish we just left the clocks alone to be one way all year. It’s supposed to be bad for our health having to readjust our body clocks every six months.
We signed up for the early Thanksgiving/Friendsgiving luncheon at the Up-Island Council on Aging. It’s next Thursday, Nov. 17, at noon, at the Howes House. It should be fun, with good friends and good food. All are welcome. If you are interested, call Jennie Gadowski at 508-693-2896 to sign up.
I just read somewhere that November is National Family Caregivers Month. I send my gratitude to everyone who has shouldered that responsibility. It is a daily, lifelong commitment, a combination of joyous and difficult minutes, hours, days, years. Thank you with all of my heart.
Martha’s Vineyard Democrats next meeting will take place on Zoom this Saturday, Nov. 12, at 9:30 am. On the agenda is a discussion of Tuesday’s election results, and a Zoom visit with Rob Galibois at 10:30. He is running to become district attorney for the Cape and Islands, so their hope is that he will be DA-elect by the time of his phone call. Contact democratsmv@gmail.com for information and/or the Zoom link.
There will certainly be lots to talk about regarding the midterm election that will have just passed and been decided. Everyone seems to think this is the most consequential election in our lifetime, and whether Democrats or Republicans win, it will be the ruination of our country, according to the losing side. My husband frequently reminds me of history, that there have always been divisions in our country, some more serious, some less. Thank you, Mike, and to the unparalleled Robert Hubbell, Jon Meacham, and Heather Cox Richardson, who put our current politics into a historical perspective that allows me to keep my blood pressure within a safe range.
Election Day was always a big event in my family. I remember my father bringing me along when he voted, pulling the curtain closed, flipping levers, the curtain opening when he completed his selections.
One of my best memories was staying up all night with my father on Election Night the year John Kennedy was elected president. Daddy died the spring after President Kennedy was assassinated, but I feel his presence every Election Night as I repeat our ritual. I plan to stay up Tuesday night. I will have voted that day, and can only wait to find out as the results come in.
