Heard on Main Street: Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, or the smallest act of caring — but not in these days of COVID.
I have just finished with the book “The Last Queen.” I quit about a third of the way through. I thought there would be some interesting historical notes in this purported history of the current reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Instead, the book is the author’s ego trip, focused on his career as a newspaperman as well as gossipy stories about several well known people whom he says he knew. Even those stories were not much worth reading.
It took me many years to give myself permission to give up on a book. I am happy not to waste any more time on this one.
More years ago than I care to count, I was a teenager in a boarding school. A girl in our class had grown up in a school for the deaf run by her parents. As a result she was very experienced in ASL, American Sign Language. Our school required afternoon and evening study hall, with no talking. However, many of us became quite adept at ASL, until the school made us stop, at least in study hall.
I mention this because the Oak Bluffs library is offering this online in March. You can register for ASL Basics for Beginners and even a Poetry Workshop for Beginners, not to mention cooking and salsa dance classes. They also offered a limited number of Take ’n’ Make Stress Relief Kits for adults, featuring a jar of bubbles, wisely noting you must first take a slow deep breath, relax, and prepare to enjoy it. That sounds easy and like fun. You can make your own kit simply by gathering some chocolate, tea, and a coloring page, and of course a jar of bubbles.
It is nice to have our weather beginning to go up from freezing. This time of year our winds make a nice day too cool to enjoy. But when the wind dies down, the sun now at least promises some warmth. March has always meant wind and mud to me. If you live on a dirt road, you are reminded how unpleasant mud can be. It also helps the trucks tear up the road and makes permanent ruts. Fortunately, most of our Island dirt roads have lots of stones and small rocks to help keep them navigable. I do love how that word sounds when applied to dry land.
During school vacation in April, the VTA buses will offer free transportation to kids and their caregivers to go to fun activities throughout the Island.
I was sorry to hear about Ned Orleans but pleased his family offered friends the chance to share good memories last Sunday on Zoom. That seems a good way for us to express our sympathies as well.
The Martha’s Vineyard Playhouse is offering a live online performance of “The Niceties” on Monday, March 15, at 7 pm. This show stars Amy Brenneman with Tsilila Brock. A recording of this will be streaming March 16 through 28. Go to mvplayhouse.org for tickets and more.
You know that you’d better go to bed early on Saturday night because you spring ahead to Daylight Saving Time (DST) at 2 am on Sunday. I’d forgotten that the 14th is the second Sunday in March. This is also a good time to change batteries in your smoke alarms and such.
Big bunches of birthday balloon wishes go out today to Dorothy Gould. Tomorrow, wish the best to Mark Daniels and James Taylor. On Saturday Kevin Voyer will celebrate. Happy birthday to Kelsey Ivory on Sunday. Monday belongs to Jay Segel and Jib Ellis. On Tuesday, Austin Chandler and Bow Van Riper blow out the candles, perhaps on cakes with green icing to mark St. Patrick’s Day.
Heard on Main Street: Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.
If you have any Tisbury Town Column suggestions, email Kay Mayhew, [email protected].
