It is May and I have arrived on Martha’s Vineyard, where I will be for the summer, selling books at Edgartown Books. For the first time since I have been here, the sun is out, at least momentarily. The Vineyard is beautiful and especially so when the sun is shining.
Last night, I started a letter and then hit delete – I was frustrated with the way the words were coming out.
The last time I wrote a letter it was a paean to my friend, Bill, who passed away unexpectedly. Thank you for all the kind responses. Inside there is a bucket of tears waiting to fall down my face and they have not come. To be truthful, I am a little afraid of when they might come, hoping it is not sudden and unexpected, though it probably will be.
Another friend is having a heart valve replacement today, probably as I am typing. Another reminder of the tenuousness of life…
But it is morning. I am on the Vineyard and I am taking a moment to be grateful for this moment of living because I don’t know what is going to happen in the next moment. It may be filled with inexplicable joy or that proverbial truck may come around the bend.
We all live counting on tomorrow, mostly deflecting the knowledge that the number of tomorrows is limited. If we dwelt too much on that, we might all go collectively mad and it is too beautiful a day to go mad.
Letter from the Vineyard 
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