Monday Morning Doings

Leroy and I headed out early for our walk - on a plu-perfect Vineyard September morning - to see what we could see. Leroy's interests are quite simple: trucks! Dump trucks, garbage trucks, bulldozers - the louder the better - with extra points for trucks hauling trailers loaded with lawn mowers; my main interest today was to head over to Chappy to grab some shots of the Memorial Wharf reconstruction project from a water's-eye view. We were rewarded with not only a fun ride on the ferry (Leroy's first) and a great view of the wharf project, but the first thing we came upon, right out of the chute, across the street from Grandma's, was John Anderson prepping the monument for the new flag pole. The orginal flag pole was removed a while back due to the fact that the flag, while being raised and lowered in certain wind conditions, was precariously close to nearby high-voltage wires. The new flag pole, scheduled to be installed next week, is reportedly shorter, eliminating the possibility of the flag or rope coming into contact with the electrical wires (which have also been insulated).

Street Troubador

I left the house yesterday afternoon - camera on shoulder, just in case. Not much happening downtown, except for running into Mike - guitar on back - who was headed down to Memorial Wharf to do a little strumming and singing. The irony of course, is that Mike lives at my house, so I didn't really need to go anywhere to photograph him playing his guitar. Oh well, it was great seeing Mike in his element. The only things missing were an audience and a little warm sun. Oh, I get it - methinks the two are directly related. Mike is now Edgartown's un-official street troubador, taking up the slack where Dave Corcoran left off.

It was a fine concert, though hampered somewhat by the cold. Mike definitely has his own inimitable style - his gravely voice being reminiscent of Tom Waits - and I loved the song he wrote about giving the rooster the day off. Word has it, Mike has quite a following in Costa Rica, his home for the past ten years, and for whose climate he is beginning to yearn.