TIME OUT withBILL LEE
by Steve Sheppard Independent Sports Editor
      If you want to talk baseball, is there anyone better on the planet than Bill "Spaceman" Lee, the lefthanded Red Sox legend, guru and raconteur? Lee and other former Sox players will be at the high school baseball field tonight at 6 p.m. to take on a team of islanders in a softball game to benefit the Friends of the Nantucket Public Schools.
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Large turnout helps conservation in Race for Open Space
      The sixth annual Race for Open Space, to benefit the island's conservation organizations, attracted 242 entrants last Saturday morning, with Nantucket's Levi Barna finishing first overall with a time of 17:35, and Nantucket's Christina Barrett the first woman to cross the finish line with a time of 19:51.
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Wooden Bat League season gets underway
BY JOSH GALVIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
      It had the latest opening day game, but the Men's Wooden Bat League finally saw its first game played with Toscana Corporation topping the Barber Furniture Blacksheep, 5-3, in a seven inning affair held last Thursday at Tom Nevers.
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DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?
      There's a great story that came out of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority house at the University of Texas back in the '60s. There was a tradition at the time for the alumnae of the sorority to return to the house every year on Bid Day to meet the new pledges.
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FOG, THE GREAT STRESS RELIEVER
      This week, The Nantucket Independent continues a summer series entitled Night Hikes. This series will help you to discover the island's natural world as the light of day fades into nighttime.
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From the sidelines
      VOLLEYBALL TOURNEY BENEFITS PANTRY The 21st annual Beach Volleyball Day to benefit the Nantucket Food Pantry will take place Sunday, August 5, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (or until the end of the elimination rounds), and will be held rain or shine. The event is limited to the first 24 registered teams and is a co-ed format.
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BIRDS OF NANTUCKET
AREMOTE CONTROL RAIL
by Kenneth Turner Blackshaw
      Imagine you are overlooking one of Nantucket's salt marshes just after dark. The fireflies are dancing. You can smell the rich, musty salt marsh odor in the air. Try not to imagine the sound of a mosquito hovering near your ear. Suddenly all the fireflies snuff their lights. Total darkness prevails. Then just as suddenly they are illuminated!
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