This week’s column is coming to you live from the Hilton at Logan Airport. Well, by the time you read it, I’ll be back home. But tonight, I’m hanging out at the airport hotel with my girl Mel, and our cousins Jennifer, Samantha, and Joanna Van Gelder, because Mel and Sam are venturing to Oahu tomorrow for the foreseeable future. As always, I’m happy that my girl is making her dreams come true, but I sure am going to miss her, especially since it has only been three days since my boy left to go back to base. Sigh. Empty nesting again.
I’ve got to tell you, I don’t know how these kids grew up so fast. It seems like it was just the other day that they were littles running around State Beach, climbing trees in the backyard, and eating candy and ice cream downtown. Honestly, it seems like Jen and I and our siblings were just doing it all the other day too. In fact, I was just reminiscing about the Corwin and Gardner kids, and sometimes the Goodwin kids mixed in, running around the yard where Granite now sits. We’d sleep out in the shed at night, walk down to Al’s, which at the time sat closer to the road and faced the other direction on Upper Main Street. We’d go down there for snacks and soft drinks — Fanta, Nestea Iced Tea, Tab, Fresca. Or we’d walk to the Dairy Queen, where Mr. and Mrs. Brown would smile and serve us up Mister Mistys, Buster Bars, and Dilly Bars.
The four Corwin kids (sorry, Nan — you weren’t around yet), my Aunt Bev, my mom, and the three of us Gardner kids would venture to the beach with an umbrella and a cooler in a VW Bug. Seatbelts? What were those? We’d spend all day there, eating sandy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and drinking Kool-Aid. Root beer was always my favorite. Was there anything better than the built-in friendships of cousins who lived in the same town, went to the same school, and were all within a year or so of each other? It was, or at least seemed like, a pretty idyllic life, and I still remember it that way. As the Chris Gaines song, “That’s the Way I Remember It,” says, “Some of our stories fade as we get older. Some get sweeter every time they’re told.” These memories definitely get sweeter. I love that our girls are carrying on, creating memories of their own.
Happy birthday to Kevin Gundersen on Jan. 18, Pamela Alwardt on Jan. 21, Marnely Murray on Jan. 22, and Shannon Donovan on Jan. 23.
So tell me, folks out there in Reader-Land. What can I do to get you guys to share your stories and news with me to share here in my column? I’m happy to continue sharing news of what’s happening in town or on the Island in terms of things that you can take part in. But the column has lost that small-town feel that I’d rather have here. You know the stories I’m talking about. They are the ones that make us say, “Aww, I’m happy for them,” or, “That’s why we live here,” or, “That reminds me of my childhood.” Anything that warms our hearts and makes us feel a part of the community, instead of just happenings. I’d love to hear from you.
That said — here’s what is happening this week.
The FARM Institute is offering “Knife Skills” with Cathy Walthers on Saturday, Jan. 21, at 10 am. The cost is $34 to $40 to learn different cutting techniques such as julienne, chiffonade, and others. As part of this course, Cathy will give a brief demonstration of knife sharpening and care. Preregistration is required at this link: thetrustees.org/event/82519.
Chef Look is teaching all things dumplings on Saturday, Jan. 21, at 2 pm at the Edgartown library. Learn how to make a dough and how to fill and seal it, and take home a recipe for a dipping sauce. Go to bit.ly/DumplingsBaby to register.
The Edgartown library is also offering the very important movie “Selma,” on Jan. 23 at 3 pm. In 1965, Selma, Ala., became a centerpoint for the civil rights movement when Martin Luther King and others marched from Selma to Montgomery and changed the world. Registration is not required for this event.
At the Edgartown Council on Aging, Cindy Trish of Healthy Aging M.V. will explain the Home Share pilot program on Tuesday, Jan. 24, during lunch. Cindy will explain this exciting new concept in housing, and the ways it could be mutually beneficial to interested Island residents.
Also, if you are an Edgartown senior having trouble making ends meet, the ECOA is a partner with the Greater Boston Food Bank, and income-eligible people may pick up food at the Anchors. They have dry, canned, frozen, and some fresh items, as well as toiletries. Call Donna at 508-627-4368 to inquire about the program.
That’s about it. I wish you all a wonderful week full of peace and kindness. It makes the world go round.
If you have any Edgartown Town Column suggestions, email Gail Gardner, ggardnermv@gmail.com.
