NANCY GARDELLA

508-693-3308

(vhavenvgazette@yahoo.com)

There’s a new star in the Vineyard Haven heavens. Marc and Robin O’Donnell are proud to announce the birth of their first grandchild, Beau Eric Linderson, born on Feb. 1 to their daughter, Michelle O’Donnell, and her fiancé, Paul Linderson. Beau weighed 4 pounds 14 ounces and is now 9 pounds 16 ounces. Everyone is doing just fine. He is a sweet little boy and is expected to play basketball or football for one of the major leagues, eventually. Michelle was one of my very best students at the high school; I haven’t met Paul yet but I’ll bet he’s in the same league. Welcome to the world, Beau!

There is a community stamp making project tomorrow with a treasure hunt in Edgartown at the museum for ages six and up. Call 627-4441 to preregister.

How about the UConn women’s team? And the Mets? And the Red Sox? I may have been born in New York, but you will find no Yankee fan here.

And how about this weather? I never, never wanted to admit my two brothers might be right, but they now live in Florida for the winter, and here in New England, I sit. No, I don’t sit, actually. I’m too cold and it’s too windy for me to walk outside. Last week when I went to pick up some medicine I almost couldn’t open my truck door at Vineyard Scripts. Ditto for when I went to substitute at the high school. Whatever happened to global warming?

In the wind, cold and rain I delivered myself to my oral surgeon in Falmouth on Monday. Okay, I thought, I can sleep late (we New Yorkers don’t say sleep in) on Tuesday. Of course, the dogs get me up by 6:30 a.m. no matter what. I let them out, went back to bed, and heard my telephone ringing four times. I gave up, got up, and heard four messages from friends of mine off-Island who had just read in the Boston Globe that I was quoted as saying Barack Obama’s planned vacation in August to the Vineyard at the same time as Bill Clinton’s would help revive the economy. Only it wasn’t me. Here and now, I challenge the usurper to my name, the other Nancy Gardella of the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce, who washed ashore three years ago while I have been here 30 years, to a duel over copyright to the name. When she arrived and I first challenged her, she was quoted in the newspapers as saying the only other name she ever had was her father called her Princess. Well, my father also called me princess. So the Island is stuck with two Nancy Princess Gardellas.

There are a few early dismissals next week at the Tisbury School: on Tuesday, April 14 kids aged four and up may enjoy a movie and popcorn at 1 p.m. On Thursday, April 16, ages 10 and up may compete in gaming, you know, the Wii thing we dinosaurs don’t understand. Meanwhile, for grown ups, there’s a free lecture on Monday, April 13 titled Whaling: the Vineyard Goes Global by the effervescent Ann Allen, starting at 7 p.m.

I was chastised for not attending special town meetin g last Tuesday night. I was sick. If the EMTs have to take me in on a stretcher I will be at the annual town meeting on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Tisbury School. See you there.

The film society screens Mike Leigh’s Happy Go Lucky tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Katharine Cornell Theatre, to benefit the Vineyard Nursing Association.

The birthday bandwagon pulls along Jason Murphy today. Tomorrow honors Suzanne Cory-Warren, Jennifer Kiehne and Zachary Atumick. Easter Sunday is for Siobhan Francis, Elmer Sivla, David Cook and Danielle Ewart. April 13 is claimed by Barbara Kunzelman and Taylor Gramkowski. April 14 belongs to Rita McKenna Kean, Emily Brown and William Diamond. April 15, pay your taxes and say happy birthday to Wendy Francis, Shirley Kennedy and Joe Ojile. And on April 16 Jenny Painter Seward and Evan Rogers take the cake. Many happy returns.