Up Island Bus Tour

House on Vineyard Sound

Aquinnah and Gay Head

Beach at Aquinnah

Fishing boat in Menemsha


Frozen pond in Chilmark

I was getting cabin fever the last few days, so today I decided to just ride the bus to get out for a change of scenery. It took about 2 1/2 hours to do the loop that starts in Vineyard Haven, goes through West Tisbury, Chilmark (including Menemsha), Aquinnah, and back. I enjoyed it thoroughly and for 90% of the ride, I was the only one on the bus. At one point I passed a farm with a couple of horses standing in the snow near the barn. One of the horses was basically a beautiful chestnut color but had several large splotches of white. I found myself wishing I could turn to Dad and ask him if that was what was called piebald.

Besides taking some photos, I had some time to think about how to achieve more quality in my writing. A few days ago I read a foreword to a section of the Childcraft Volume 1 Section called Children's Own Verse. The foreword was written in 1934 by an NYC professor who believed even then that children have a natural ability to speak in what we adults would call poetry or literature. I enjoyed reading the selections by children in elementary schools all over the U.S., and it made me realize that I don't need to be more sophisticated to write...I need to be less sophisticated and more elemental. So much of what we write is influenced by others, or by our fears of what others will think of us. Children are honest (although in 2009 they are more quickly "corrupted" than they were in 1934), and I hope to peel away the layers of protection we build up around our hearts as we grow up in order to get to the core of my writing style - that essential and innocent self.

Touring the Vineyard

Laurie and I have spent the past 2 1/2 days touring towns, beaches, and lighthouses on the Vineyard. We've ventured down many roads that start as pavement, then become maintained dirt, then deteriorate to two barely-visible tracks carpeted with leaves and
obviously not traveled for weeks. Although the clay cliffs at Aquinnah are beautiful, the portion of the Vineyard referred to as "up island" (because it's higher in elevation than the north or east portion) is certainly more sparsely populated and more desolate. I'm happy with my town of Vineyard Haven, though Oak Bluffs (OB) is charming, and having finally made it down to South Beach and Katama Beach, I see where the truly striking and gorgeous beaches are!