From dance shows to staged readings and caroling, December is showtime. Plus: aromatherapy, board games, jewelry making, movies, and more.

Meredith Cairns, who was elected to a three-year term on the Amagansett School Board in May 2020, resigned from the post on Oct. 14. The rest of the board voted on Nov. 15 to accept her letter of resignation.

A windsurfer was reported in distress off Long Beach on a windy and rainy Saturday afternoon, but while a multiagency response including Southampton, Sag Harbor, and East Hampton police was being organized, the windsurfer got to shore and said there had never been a problem.

Annual fire district elections, in which voters select commissioners to oversee finances, personnel, and other administrative aspects of volunteer fire department services, will take place Tuesday in Bridgehampton, Montauk, Amagansett, and Springs.

After crashing a Mini Cooper into a Kia minivan, the driver of the Mini Cooper ran away, according to East Hampton Town police.

Richard Bender, an architect and professor of architecture and engineering who lived part time in Amagansett from 1961 to 1990, died on Oct. 8 of metastatic cancer at home in Oakland, Calif. He was 92.

Edward Kenneth Simons, who was known as Kenny, died of complications of Parkinson’s disease on Nov. 20 in Naples, Fla. Formerly of Springs, he was 80 and had been diagnosed two years ago.

We were excited to learn that adult education might return in the East Hampton School District — potentially offering choices among languages, the arts, and life and practical skills.

The expected forceful objections should not dissuade the town board from addressing a prickly issue and taking drastic steps to curtail parties in public places.

On Martha’s Vineyard, the way the towns deal with short-term rental properties could provide a valuable example.

Early December would usually be when we got the iceboats ready. A letter writer this week recalled a time, not really all that long ago, when Mecox Bay froze solid enough to race on. Not anymore.

One of the most stirring moments of my youth was the April evening in 1985 when, as part of a marching mass of college-student protesters, I danced up Amsterdam Avenue to the joyful rhythm of the song “Free Nelson Mandela” by the Specials.

Pot? Hey, kids, maybe not before your brain has fully developed.

“I don’t want to let him go,” our eldest daughter said of her elder son, who in the not-too-distant future is to go to college, a normal progression you’ll agree, but she can’t bear the thought of him leaving.

With its wide legs, its shapeless backside, its expanding waistline, the sweatpant is the official garment of the borderless, post-pandemic world.

Marijane Meaker
Springs
December 4, 2022

Dear David,

Santa Claus will make his rounds around the South Fork this weekend, bringing holiday cheer to kids and adults alike.

Industry watchers, look here for the latest moves in South Fork real estate.

Happenstances comical and contentious, ripped from the pages of Ye Olde Star.

To borrow a phrase from the game of baseball, the fishing season is now in the bottom of the ninth inning. Striped bass season concludes Dec. 15, blackfish season comes to an end seven days later, and Dec. 31 is the final day to retain black sea bass.