James Woods Has a Posse

The parking lot attendant at the New Bedford ferry to Martha’s Vineyard is a James Woods fan – and not just because the former Rhode Islander made his bones in Hollywood and still manages to get home every now and then. (Apologies for keeping my source anonymous, but when I spoke with her, I didn’t tell her I might be preserving her comments for posterity. Those determined to confirm that this conversation took place can find her at the ferry dock seven days a week.)

“I love all of his movies,” she told me, speaking of the one-time Warwick resident who, according to the blog site NNDB, has earned fame as an actor by playing “a long list of ruthless creeps and cold-blooded bastards.”

While I waited for the ferry to Oak Bluffs, she went on: “A few weeks ago he just drove up, with his wife or girlfriend or whatever, she looked about 20, and we chatted. He got out of the car and asked his wife or girlfriend or whatever to take a picture of us. He asked my e-mail and I told him but he didn’t write anything down so I figured, yeah, whatever. Two days later the picture came through. He remembered.”

In fact, most of the celebrities that come through New Bedford en route to the Vineyard, she said, are pretty down to earth.

“Bill Murray is just a regular guy,” she said. “He brought his family over to see the fireworks the other night. Just drove right up, dropped them off at the ferry, took the car to the Whale’s Tooth (parking lot) and got on the bus with everybody else.”

Last year, Jim Belushi stood next to her for half-an-hour, waiting for a ride.

“He kept saying what a beautiful place this was,” she said. “Real working-class, but beautiful. He loves it here. Of course, he’s not looking for a job around here. Might think differently then.”

Rise of the blue crabs
Rhode Island water temperatures are running three to five degrees higher than average this summer. While it’s irresponsible to cite a much-hotter-than-usual summer as a definite sign of global climate change, that caution will do little to assuage the fears of those who worry about the Baltimorification (or Delawarification) of the Ocean State. Where Rhode Island once represented the northern reach for many sea creatures, now it seems to be within easy reach of any southern swimmer. But what about the local marine life – lobster, cod, flounder – that prefer a colder bath?

The changing nature of species migrating to Rhody or establishing residence here might be a more reliable indicator that something’s different, weather-wise. Last week a 6-foot sea turtle was spotted in Rhode Island Sound. While certainly not foreign to these waters, large sea turtles – including leatherbacks and loggerheads – are being reported in unusually high numbers by Rhode Island boaters, who’ve seen them paddling in the waters between Block Island and Watch Hill.

Even stranger is the influx of blue crabs, some of them monsters in their own right, crawling around Narragansett Bay. The blue crab invasion, which was also reported on the Vineyard during my stay there, seems to have taken hold everywhere, including Waterplace Park just below the Providence Place Mall. Now, I’ve got nothing against blue crabs, especially on the boil with some cold Narragansetts on ice. But if gaining the blue crab means losing the lobster, Half Shell may have to migrate to Nova Scotia.

The crazy season
The November elections are just around the corner, which means it’s time for New England’s favorite biennial autumn activity – voter fraud. The Cranston Board of Canvassers recently received notarized voter registration cards for Elizabeth Taylor, Rudolph Valentino and Dracula. The astute reader may note that at least two of these voters are dead (well, one is undead), all of them wore (or wear) sunglasses and none of them are Rhode Islanders. But that didn’t stop somebody from notarizing their registration cards. If I were a betting man, I’d say we’re looking for a notary public named Renfield. Then again, here in bloggerland, it doesn’t get much better than the possibility that Dracula could cast the deciding vote for the next Rhode Island governor.

This week’s back-to-school question: What did you do on your summer vacation?