I’m loving the hints of fall: the coolness in the mornings; the stillness of the green-leaf tapestry outside our windows, as if the leaves are holding their breath. On Labor Day weekend, Charley and I went to Philbin in the late afternoon and looked at all the contented vacationers, worn out from their day in the sun, many of them wrapped up in towels and sweaters with their hats shading their eyes, some quietly reading, others strolling the waterline hand in hand, and lots of them napping. How wonderful it is to share this beauty, to watch them resting their bodies, safe and content. I thought a silent prayer for them, hoping that they would take this peace back to wherever they are from. Heaven knows that we are all in dire need of peace.
As I write this, my grandchildren are gearing up for the beginning of school. There is the scurry of catching up on the work they were meant to do throughout the summer. There is anticipation as they learn what their classes will hold. There is sadness that the summer is over. It’s been a great summer for them. Tillie spent so much of it in the water, surfing, playing, tubing, surrounded by friends and family, and extending her wonderful welcoming spirit to visitors. Emmett worked a few worthy jobs, bracketing his time spent hiking for a whole month in the Alaskan wilderness with a 45-pound pack on his back, device-free and away from his family and home. Both of these wondrous people have grown so much. I love watching them finding their base, morphing into the first real pieces of adult maturity and vision. They are both now taller than me, of course, and I find that I have as much to learn from them as they have to learn from me. Pictures of my younger grandchildren, who live in Portugal and Switzerland, and time spent with my big and handsome teenage California grandchildren, just make the passage of time seem astonishingly quick. So welcome to the fall; get ready to embrace it, because winter will likely come before we know it.
The Aquinnah library book group had to postpone the discussion of Joseph Lee’s book “Nothing More of This Land.” It will happen, however, this time, on Saturday, Sept. 6, at 2:30 pm. Come and join the discussion.
The biggest event I have on the docket for this week is, of course, the annual Aquinnah Wampanoag Powwow, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 6, and Sunday, Sept. 7, at the Aquinnah Circle. Gates open at 11 am, with the Grand Entry at noon. Admission for tribal members is free with tribal ID. Admission for other adults is $10 for one day, $15 for both days, with seniors and veterans paying $5 for one day and $7.50 for two. Children 13 and under are admitted free.
Happiest days ahead for those on the birthday train this week: Noah Kausch and Emerson Mahoney on Sept. 4, and Cully Vanderhoop on Sept. 9.
The truest condolences go to the extended family of Barbara Perry Francis, who died on August 16. She was 99 years old, and the second eldest female tribal member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). There will be a memorial service on Monday, Sept. 22, at the Chapman Funeral Home from 10 am to noon, followed by a repast at the Wampanoag Community Center from 12:30 to 3:30 pm. If you wish, make a tribute donation in her memory to the Aquinnah Cultural Center, or to the charity of your choice.