Writing from the Heart: ‘An Iliad’
Last week, my husband and I went to a one-man show at Circus Arts at the Grange. These days we have become almost hermit-like, but I received five different emails and texts from people,...
Writing from the Heart: Thank your mentors
The other night, my friend Rick and I were talking about how many teachers had influenced our lives. He had five. I had four. My first great one was my mother. She had learned...
The journey to Precious
NSHUPU, Tanzania – The KLM flight out of Logan Airport is beginning its descent, over the snow-covered peaks of mountains and then down over a lush African canopy of trees, before coming in for...
A popular Brazilian show host visits the Island
Aluísio Ferreira de Sousa, the host and reporter of a popular online show among the Brazilian community, had heard a lot about Martha’s Vineyard over the past few years — the stories of life...
Writing from the Heart: ‘You don’t look Jewish’
“Is it time to leave?” I started asking my husband when the white supremacists in Charlottesville chanted, “Jews will not replace us.” He didn't say “Nance, you’re being paranoid,” but I heard it in...
A Mother’s Day memory: Angel tea
Kindergarten. And I couldn’t wait for the end of each day. If my friend and waking companion, Allyson, dawdled, I’d leave her in the dust. Darting out of Johanna Perrin School in Fairport, N.Y.,...
Writing from the Heart: A new religion based solely on love
One of my closest friends died last Wednesday night, and I hadn’t had any time to process or participate in any ritual to grieve her death. Then I remembered, by coincidence (although I don’t...
Writing from the Heart: A letter to my grandchild
Many, many years ago my sister called me on the phone, animated and breathless. She had signed up for a workshop with an organization called “The Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers.”
She explained that they...
Sometimes we need a little humor: The Hope Diamond
Yesterday I was attempting to open a new bag of espresso beans. It was a massacre. This wasn’t my first rodeo, though. I’ve been battling bullheaded packages for years. Last summer I saw an...
Memories from Bring a Kid to Work Day
I’m not sure if there was an official “Bring a Kid to Work Day” in 1973, but when I was 8 years old, my dad, Richard Roberts, brought me to the art department of...
Writing from the Heart: Universal catchall
The other night I was at a friend's house when she was looking for a corkscrew. A bunch of us were in the kitchen watching the charade, while she was opening cabinets and drawers...
Writing from the Heart: Not cooked yet
You’ve probably heard the expression that doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. So now I’m wondering if learning the same lesson over and...
Writing from the Heart: Fandom
There are three levels of fandom: an enthusiastic devotee, an ardent admirer, and a fanatic. Okay, so at first I was No. 1, an enthusiastic devotee. Then I became No. 2, an ardent admirer....
Writing from the Heart: A pretty face will fade
I swim down at the Mansion House almost every day, and in order to get out of the pool, I have to climb up three metal steps on a metal ladder. It’s very hard...
The next generation, passing the torch
As the Island marches forward into 2025, a new set of challenges and unknowns follow closely behind.
Post-election emotions are still running at an all-time high, with many Islanders still not quite ready to speak...
Writing from the Heart: ‘Middlemarch’ redux
Dear everyone who read my last column about the classic book “Middlemarch” –– for those of you who didn’t read it (my column, not “Middlemarch”), thank God. Don’t. It’s one of those “I was...
Sometimes we need a little humor: Good enough
The messaging we receive from advertisers, the entertainment industry, and sometimes even family members about what success looks like can be intense. If we aren’t amazing athletes, awe-inspiring chefs, or hotshot CEOs, we aren’t...
Writing from the Heart: Have you read ‘Middlemarch’?
You know in that book review section of the New York Times, the interview with a best-selling author? I always read them. When they ask what books are on their nightstand, I love it...
Writing from the Heart: Just yell, ‘Chicken!’
Joel and I were walking along State Road right near our house. We only have to be on the main road for about a tenth of a mile before we get to turn onto...
Writing from the Heart: Whatja get, whatja get?
It’s Christmas Envy time again. I know over the years I’ve complained about how left out I felt as a kid, how on Christmas morning everyone in the neighborhood would rush outside and practically...