This article was originally meant for post July 10.
There were days with overcast skies, silent and heavy, as we waited for rain that never came. Clear, blue-sky days followed, breathtakingly lovely, all we expect summer days to be. Still no rain, and none predicted for the week ahead.
The Fourth of July has come and gone. Parades. Fireworks. Family cookouts. Flag bunting and other displays of patriotism. Eileen Maley, my counterpart West Tisbury columnist at the Gazette, mirrored thoughts that many of us are struggling with this Independence Day, a challenge to feel patriotic as we look at our country having become unrecognizable. Yet it is still our country, too.
Eileen mentioned that her mother-in-law, Helen Maley, reminded her that the American flag is a symbol of all of us, liberals or MAGA, blue or red, native-born or newly arrived. We are all entitled to our place in this great experiment. Those memories of Helen and Tom made me smile.
It has been the history of America that we have angry opinions, and the right to speak them out loud. Our nation has frayed and come together. We have been governed by great presidents and terrible ones, Congresses and courts that protected and expanded our rights, as well as those who rejected what was once considered settled.
I really believe that the internet has made everything worse. Think of Lincoln and Douglas debating for three hours in front of audiences ranging from 12,000 to 15,000, except for sparsely populated Jonesboro, all standing out in the weather, with no seats or bleachers. Debates began at 2 pm. The language was formal and rather arcane, yet voters attended. They stood and listened.
In this modern day, many of us can’t be bothered to watch a one-hour debate, read a newspaper, or fact-check statements made on television, radio, or the computer. Candidates lie with impunity, and malign one another. No wonder no one knows what’s true from what isn’t. We live in our own worlds, untouched by fact, or reliable, mutually-agreed-upon information. Anyone can say anything online.
Vineyard Preservation Trust is celebrating its 50th birthday with a series of free concerts on Wednesday nights at the Grange. The series started on July 9.
Merry Farm Pottery will open on Saturday, July 12, with newly fired pieces right out of the kiln. Stop by between 4 and 7 pm to see this year’s pottery, sample oysters from Tisbury Oyster Co., and build your own bouquet with flowers by SlipAway Farm.
Special programs at the library include an embodied movement practice by the Yard, and “Know Your Rights,” presented by Massachusetts ACLU, both on Friday; a collage poetry class on Saturday, “Writers Read” on Monday (email gaia1muse@gmail.com), Mac pro Paul Levy and aerial yoga on Tuesday, tummy time for babies and Joshua Hammer showing maps, Victorian-era sketches, and photos relating to his newly published book, “The Mesopotamian Riddle: An Archaeologist, a Soldier, a Clergyman, and the Race to Decipher the World’s Oldest Writing.” Check with the library for times and other scheduled events.
Meanwhile, keep watering, and enjoy these summer days.