HOLLY NADLER

508-274-2329

(hollynadler@gmail.com)

I’ve double-checked: This is my seventh week back at writing the off-season edition of the Oak Bluffs town column (Bettye Baker having recently completed her exemplary third gig as the summer contributor), and I’ve prevailed all this time without writing a word about my dog, Huxley. This may constitute a record.

Listen, this four-year-old Boston terrier looms larger in many Oak Bluffers’ imaginations than does his owner. Back in the days when he was the principal greeter (some might have said “over-greeter”) at Sun Porch Books, I could stand behind the counter dressed in a gold lamé lounge-singer’s gown, arm in a sling, and seven lengths of bandages wrapped around an ulcerating bullet wound in my forehead, and best friends would saunter through the open door to exclaim, “Where’s Huxley?”

You know you did that.

Now, when I make a solo trip into town, I still get the same “Where’s Huxley?” hello, so I try to bring him with me. Trouble is, once the weather chills down to a number three on a refrigerator setting, these short-haired breeds start to seriously shiver; they’re cold-weather wimps, plain and simple.

Last Sunday morning Jack and I and Hux had breakfast at Linda Jean’s, which is to say, the human duo ate raisin-and-pumpkin pancakes at a booth by the window, and the canine part of the trio got tied to the green-enameled lamppost outside. At first Mr. Black and White was warmed by the repeated pats and hellos from well-wishers. Then when we rejoined him, we slipped two big bites of pancake into his red and white mouth, and he dispatched them with a single chomp. Food reward rendered, he started to shake and shimmy in the 50-degree-ish November morning.

Once a nearly bald pooch begins to quake, it’s a longtime coming inside the back of a warm bus, or bundled next to a steaming radiator, before perfect body temp is restored. Thank God for the half-off sale at Good Dog Goods (no, this is not a paid commercial; we don’t do that in town columns). Inside the shop, Hux, bombarded with every genus of dog smell — real dogs, dog toys, dog biscuits — was too excited to let us fit his right leg through a sweater opening. That’s all it takes, we learned, to dress a dog. The belly straps are attached by velcro, and the remaining leg gets velcro-ed at the neckline. Nonetheless, even with the furry customer squiggling like a bumblebee on steroids, 15 minutes later, Huxley departed the store smartly packed into a black-and-white checked fleece jacket with a red collar. That last part, the red collar, should come in handy, we calculated, when we considered that fairly soon the hunters will be out in the woods baited for bear, but just as happy to pop any creature decked out in skunk colors. (To be honest, the choice of jacket was mine alone; Jack thinks his adoptive dog looks like Robin Williams in The Birdcage.)

So that’s it, for now, for Huxley updates, but if you send me your own doggie stories, I’ll wag my own tail to write ’em up.

Lynda from Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard would like all of you to know that the annual Handmade from the Heart fundraiser will be happening this year at the Daniel Fisher House during Christmas in Edgartown weekend on Saturday, Dec. 12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Hospice is seeking unique handmade gifts, including jewelry, needlepoint, knitted items, paintings, photographs, cards, toys, cakes, candies, cookies, Christmas ornaments and more. Someone will pick them up for you or you may drop them off at the office. Please call 508-693-0189.

The Oak Bluffs Public Library’s school book club has organized the following books and dates: Saturday, Nov. 7, 11 a.m. to noon, the middle school club (grades five to eight) will read and discuss Paint the Wind by Pam Munoz Ryan; Saturday, Nov. 14, 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. the children’s book club (grades two to four) will read and discuss Billy the Fish by Charlie James; and Saturday, Nov. 21, 1:30 to 3:45 p.m., the library will host the Twilight New Moon Teen Party during which you will watch Twilight, wear a costume from the movie books, eat goodies and discuss Twilight/New Moon trivia.

In the meeting room at the O.B. library on Saturday, Nov. 14 from 1 to 3 p.m., players of all ages will enjoy Wii and board games. You can also come earlier in the day, between 10 a.m. and noon, to play Scrabble and chess.

Good news from the O.B. School: Fourth graders Jeri Brownis and Sheila Muldauris earned the second highest scores in the state in the recent publication of Student Growth Profiles (SGP) on last spring’s ELA MCAS tests. Oak Bluffs, with an SGP score of 88 (meaning their growth was equal to or greater than 88 per cent of their peers with similar histories), tied with Tisbury for the number two spot, just behind Sturbridge, which scored at 91. We knew our kids were extra smart!

On a more poetic note, on Thursday, Nov. 12 from 6 to 7 p.m. in the meeting room of the O.B. library, West Tisbury poet Dan Waters will read selections from several of his published books, recent work and unpublished poems.