Heard on Main Street: It’s hard to make a comeback when you haven’t been anywhere.
The Wishing Tree at 124 William St. is waiting for you to tie your written wishes and prayers on the tree until New Year’s Eve. Bring your own tags or ribbons, but some may be there. Light a candle for someone loved or missing. Visit only when the lights are on.
My daughter arrived on Tuesday, asking what needed to be done. I said, ‘Buy a pumpkin pie.’ A good friend then arrived. She had one bag with our lunch, and another with a fresh-baked pumpkin pie (with the best pie crust you ever tasted).
Then Daughter went for a run on Wednesday to the opening at Tashmoo. It was 40° and windy. There she saw a truck with a kayak on top, and a guy wearing shorts and no shoes, walking on the sand. “Were you swimming?” she asked. “Yes,” he replied. Then he said, “Well, it is the holidays.”
She showed me her video of riding in a self-driving car in Phoenix, one of three cities in the U.S. doing trials for self-driving cars. Download an app and pick your destination. She called from the airport; they arranged pickup, gave car number. Car doors are locked, so use app to unlock door. Both front and back unlock. She chose the back seat. The car was a Jaguar.
A voice says to fasten seatbelt, and cites other rules. They record a video of inside. She’d not fastened seatbelt, and was scolded. In front of her was a start button. Press it and hear the car put on blinker. At the empty driver’s seat, the wheel begins to turn and car moves into traffic. The 30 minute drive cost $26; definitely slower than a taxi, because it would not exceed speed limit.
Once, with construction on left side, car tapped on brake as you would. There are two lanes going our way. In right lane is truck, left lane is car. We leave left lane and move into right lane behind car. Trucks slows down, puts on blinker, pulls into left lane behind the car. We do too.
The Wompas Co. has been doing this for 10 years, so we see some other driverless cars. The car uses AI to train itself to detect traffic patterns. Lights at intersections send signals to the car, it uses lidar to detect other cars, and uses AI to make decisions.
She took a video from inside; a sort of creepy music is playing on the radio the whole time. Later she rents a car to drive in Phoenix, and notices cars going by with no driver, but with passengers in the back seat.
Big bunches of birthday balloon wishes go out next week to Jesse Chandler and Doug Cabral.
Heard on Main Street: Why do you press harder on a remote control when you know the battery is dead?
If you have any Tisbury Town Column suggestions, email Kay Mayhew, tashmoorock@gmail.com.
