Essay

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 As an unpublished author, I've written hundreds of thousands of words that nobody, except for a...

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),...

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...

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”...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

“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...

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...

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...

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...

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,” 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...

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...

We all share that profoundly insightful skill of a Monday morning quarterback. However, we all also share a very unclear and often unreliable crystal ball.  I served for ten years in a leadership role of...

In previous essays, we described the aging phenomenon in the U.S., and reported on how it affects Martha’s Vineyard. Between 2010 and 2016 on the Vineyard, there was a 63 percent growth of the...

Vineyard residents and visitors today are whisked between the Vineyard and the mainland in as little as 12 minutes, thanks to more than a dozen smaller-size passenger electric and hybrid fast passenger ferries that...

I am thankful that the clam harvest is so good this year. The past 30 years have seen a decline and rebirth of clams for Island residents. I think it all started with the...