Must be Election Season

Very recent history, as well as ancient history, informs the present. At least that's the view of one Vineyard Haven merchant whose huge multi-colored sign screams the welcome "Hello, Bill -- We REALLY Miss you Now." Yes, like the swallows returning to Capistrano in the spring, you know it's August on Martha's Vineyard when the ferry lands and former president Bill Clinton disembarks. He proceeded to sign 900 copies of his best-selling autobiography My Life at the island's leading bookstore. The next day, History Wire had lunch at the renowned Black Dog and nearly bumped into a taller man on the way out, clad in a light blue sportshirt and jeans, and stepped back to see an outstretched hand and a warm smile. To which one could only say, "Hello, Mr. President!" Unlike the heavily-guarded cavalcades in which Clinton traveled during his presidential years, in his political retirement he was accompanied only by two Secret Service agents.