Celebrate Juneteenth? I don’t get it
This week President Biden made Juneteenth an official national holiday. That means you get the day off from work, the Post Offices are closed, and so are the schools.
It means that it is a...
Cape Air adds new wings
There’s a new commuter airplane on the horizon for Vineyarders. I’ve seen it a couple of times at Martha’s Vineyard Airport, but haven’t been in it yet.
Cape Air has purchased 20 Tecnam P2012 Travellers,...
White privilege and me
I am of the belief the majority of white people in this country — who care, that is — believe they understand what white privilege is. The majority of us do not.
There are many...
Civics lessons can save our republic
One of the crazy juxtapositions about the attack on the Capitol was the sight of insurrectionists slowly wandering through National Statuary Hall like fifth graders on a field trip, wide-eyed, taking photos and videos...
Sign of the times
It was a matter of being in the right place at the right time — with the right message.
As an unpublished author, I've written hundreds of thousands of words that nobody, except for a...
RIP, City Upon a Hill
Going back to Puritan New England, Americans have considered themselves the rightful beneficiaries of God’s grace. We entered into a contract with God — we do the right thing (maintain a just, democratic republic),...
Not for nothin’, but you heard it here first
President Trump saved his worst for last — hopefully — as he careens out the door in the next seven days.
As White House staffers and administration bigwigs beeline for the exits and Trump’s social...
Lost at sea … on a Sunfish
OK, you’re off Cape Cod, in your mid-40s, way out in the Atlantic, circa 1989, clinging to a little 13-foot, 9-inch “recreational, personal” Sunfish sailing vessel. Sleeps none — just a dugout “sitting spot”...
Traveling at home
My life has been full of journeys. As a child I lived in Latvia, Norway, Russia, Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Portugal, and even occasionally in the U.S. Later in life, my wanderlust led me to...
A boy and his dog
I get to wake Frankie up each morning, pulling back the cover on her crate. As she climbs up off her bed (yes, Frankie is a girl), her eyes blink, she twitches her head...
Don’t become complacent
I live part-time in NYC, in the heart of midtown Manhattan. The past few months have been very challenging. The city was dealt a severe blow at the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in...
The mask maven of Vineyard Haven
Updated, Sunday, 4:30 pm*
“Move along and keep your head down. Don't touch any of the masks, just take the mask she gives you, and if she's in a good mood, she'll let you buy...
Mixed messages
Signage has always been confusing on Martha’s Vineyard. I live in Vineyard Haven, and pick up my mail at the Vineyard Haven Post Office. The neighboring elementary school is the Tisbury School, and my...
Time to speak up
“We can’t recover from this history until we deal with it.”
–Bryan Stevenson, Equal Justice Initiative
I don’t think it was until I stood under a lynching tree in Selma, Ala., that I really stepped into...
Remembering Kent State
May 5, 1970, I was walking from my dorm down a causeway to the campus at Rochester Institute of Technology. A friend coming the other way put up the alarm: “Have you heard! They...
Connecting the dots: The pandemic and climate change
This week, on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, Jane Goodall, the famous and compassionate scientist/environmentalist, commented wistfully during an appearance on the PBS NewsHour: “We are all interconnected, and if we don’t get...
School lunch during a pandemic
Furnishing lunch for kids stuck at home during the pandemic may sound simple, but for remotely working parents it isn’t always. Time to prepare meals for kids, let alone providing activities for them, can...
Working toward a future resilient MV
I would like to take a moment to share some of my reflections over the past few weeks as I have watched COVID-19 rip through the world and begin to descend on our beloved...
Girl on the Run
“Girl on the Run,” is inspired by and commemorates the 100 years of suffrage and International Women's Day, March 8. The 100 years since suffrage have spawned amazing changes in America for women. As with...
Going to New York
Coronavirus, COVID-19, is causing travel to come to a halt across the world. Schools around the globe are canceling trips domestically and internationally in fear of students contracting the virus. After Martha’s Vineyard Regional...