Gentle Lapping 3 A.M. Waves! Wade into ten hours of uninterrupted lapping harbor waves, a few chatty birds, distant boat creaks, and sparse human-made noises. Whether you're studying, working, reading, sleeping, or unwinding after a long day, this immersive ambient soundscape provides the perfect background soundtrack. No talking, no interruptions—just pure early morning beach relaxation. Ignore the World. _______ Vineyard Haven has been a newer development for me. It's where we stay when we visit. The motel we like has its own beach on the harbor, so it's an easy place to put the kids when we're not on Circuit or in Menemsha. Vineyard Haven was not a favorite place growing up (outside of visiting Brickman’s toy department). When I was a kid, Vineyard Haven meant back to reality—the place that stuffed you into a steamship to deposit you back on the mainland. I wanted to be in Katama (right fork), it’s where my family had a place. I could bike to the fun beach or hitchhike into Edgartown for work. One of those summers I was a mechanic’s helper at Old Colony Service, basically the shop's "gofer." I ran around cleaning bathrooms, cars, and the showroom, shuttling customers, etc. And gawd, I was such a naive doofus back then. One day a Wrangler rolled into a bay with a broken window, and I asked the mechanic, "What happened?" He gestured to the Jeep. "What do you think happened?" I peered through the broken window and noticed the radio was missing. "Oh... the driver got mad at his car radio and threw it through out the window." There was an older gentleman named Doug, in my imagining the shop's Yoda (with some Danny DeVito energy). He was older and knew his ****. Example: one morning a mechanic was wrestling with an engine that would only produce a "NE-YAYAYAYAYA... CLICK." And the mechanic was getting audibly annoyed and swearing and such. Doug wandered over, fiddled with a few things, and a couple of minutes later the car was coaxed back to life. I think the mechanic wanted to get that turnover on his own, but was appreciative of the assist. "Thanks, Doug," he said. And Doug returned to his station with, "Yap!" Of all the words he shared with me, "Yap" was the most frequent. I liked him, I thought he was a cool dude. One Friday at closing he dropped a cooler of beers in the middle of the shop. I reached for a beer, and he laughed and pointed me toward the soft drinks. (Some might see that as square-*** parental behavior. I haven't imbibed in 10 years for a reason, so I see the wisdom.) Anyway, one morning he barked at me, "Kid—put this in the lot," and tossed me the keys. "It's Walter Cronkite's, so don't mess it up." I sat idling for a few seconds after parking, just taking it all in. Wait until I tell everyone at school (who, no doubt, had no clue who Walter Cronkite was) about this. Mr. Spaceship Earth—I was sitting in his car. I was 16 or 17 and way too shy to ask for an autograph— but felt like I must. Doug would've frowned on that **** for sure. So, I took his vehicle registration.
