I just stepped into a very weird world... Getting off the ferry from Cape Cod to Martha's Vineyard I walked into the small village center & stopped at the first shop that promised a hot cup of coffee. Entering I was greeted by the customers, but the shopkeeper was no where to be seen. I quietly asked the lady chewing her sandwich if there was WiFi in the shop. She responded by yelling, "Katie (I think that was her name), you have internet here?" Suddenly a young & chic girl with a small stud pierced through her nose appeared. She welcomed me to her shop & reassured me that I could "borrow" the signal from the cafe across the street. I sat down & put my good-sized backpack down next to me & the table I had to share with the customer still chewing her sandwich. With me, the lady chewing her sandwich, & my pack the shop was full.
Katie recommended the meatloaf sandwich with her strong Massachusetts accent, & Donna (by now I was on a first name basis with my table-mate) nodded her head in agreement explaining that it wasn't at all like meatloaf. With two recommendations I ordered the meatloaf sandwich & sat down. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a sign that always haunts me when I travel, "Cash & Local Checks Only." Damn I thought, as I nervously thumbed through the $1's in my wallet. "I think I have enough" I thought to myself. I wonder how much sales tax is? Well, worst case scenario I will be stuck washing dishes for Katie... ...that didn't seem too bad.
Just before Donna finished her sandwich & left she commented on Haiti, the Red Cross text message fund-raising, & how she kept trying to text "HAITI" to donate but couldn't figure it out. (this is the third time I have had someone tell me this). As with the other two, I explained that HAITI should be in the body of the message, but the phone number was 90999. She left & a half dozen high-schoolers piled in. They started talking about their new bearings, trucks, & sick decks. I slowly realize that they are talking about skateboards. "Really?" I thought to myself? They bought sodas and left. I asked Katie if people really skateboarded on the island? She quickly explained that all the kids are into surfing, skateboarding, & snowboarding. I assumed all kids on Martha's Vineyard were into sailing around in khaki shorts & polos.
Katie dressed like she was in NYC, talked like she was from Boston, but made it clear to me that she was Californian. She proceeded to tell me about her full sleeves of tattoos (currently covered by a well fitted black top). Katie skated too. She explained that she was into snowboarding, but it was a real pain to go all the way to Vermont to get on a decent slope. Instead, she improvises & goofs off on the hill she lives on.
"What else do people do for fun around here?" I asked. "Mainly abuse drugs & alcohol." she retorted. "Oh... ...well where is a good place for a guy to go to abuse alcohol?" I replied. "Nowhere around here," she said. "This is a dry town!"
I was confused, but likely not the most confused person on the island.
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