Sundays at Flanders Field in Chilmark is where it happens. On June 21, Father’s Day, the softball season begins again. The players come from all over — Oak Bluffs, California and Hawaii — you name it. Yes, they love the softball competition, but best of all they like each other. “This is my church on Sundays,” says Caleb Caldwell from Oak Bluffs. It is important to play your best but, more relevant, is catching up with the players exploits over the winter. Women and young children also join the fray. You better get there early — 8:15 a.m.. — or you may have to wait to play in the second game. There are usually no umpires. Close plays are decided by quiet consensus. When the bagpiper blows Take me Out to the Ball Game, I know the summer has really begun, says the self-appointed commissioner.

Bill Edison
Menemsha