VINEYARD: a sphere of activity, esp. on a high spiritual plane.

This morning I awoke on Martha's Vineyard, one of our favorite get-aways. It's only an hour and a half from our house, so it's not the chore getting here that you might imagine if you live at a distance. Having a daughter living here makes it possible to get here with some frequency. The ride on the ferry both ways is an experience in itself.

I suspect there are one or two actual grape-growing vineyards on this oddly-shaped island off the coast of Massachusetts. But the definition I chose for this word is much more appropriate. It is a frequent biblical reference, with people speaking about "toiling in the vineyard." It means that they are "about doing God's work." There was a time when Martha's Vineyard was dominated (to some extent) by a huge Methodist enclave in Oak Bluffs, one of the larger communities on the island. But today the Island is much more New Age and secular. There are lots of deeply religious people who are prominent here, but there are also lots of people who pride themselves on being agnostic or atheistic. That,too, is a topic of another posting at another time.

What makes "the Vineyard" appealing to me is the huge population of writers, artists, musicians, and interestingly-outspoken people. You can't enter a bookstore, gallery, or coffee shop without the possibility of rubbing elbows with them. There is an unwritten rule on the Vineyard that you don't smother famous people. They are here to live their lives normally or to spend a few days relaxing. Good hospitality requires respect for privacy...and people on the Vineyard do that really well.

For someone like me it is a treat to take advantage of the writing resources on the Vineyard. I participated in the Chilmark Writing Workshop last summer. I'm in regular contact with a blogging expert, Julie Roads, whose blog, Writing Roads, is a must for me on a daily basis. (She is assisting me in upgrading this blog, so stay tuned in...in a short period of time you'll see a new face on The Penultimate Word.) One evening I was the guest of a famous author and her writing group as they sorted through the five soon-to-be-famous novels they were writing. Talk about being in Heaven!

But this morning, as I look out the window and see the ocean I'm not wallowing in working matters. I'm just awed by the beauty and the peacefulness of this island paradise. Probably there are people who would not be taken with Martha's Vineyard, but I haven't met them yet.

I have to run. Time for breakfast at the ArtCliff...one of the best breakfast places I have frequented...ever. See you tomorrow back home.

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Definition Credit: Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 16 Jan. 2010. .