Walkers and Bikers
To the editor:
I am both an avid walker and bike rider and sympathize with the concern for walkers on the proposed multi-use path in Provincetown expressed in the March 21 Independent.
I live very near the Cape Cod Rail Trail and use it almost daily for either walking or bicycling. A former neighbor gave me the idea to carry a large walking stick on the traffic side of me, somewhat away from my body. This very effectively deters bicyclists from riding too close to me. It’s a peaceful and safe solution for coexistence.
Please don’t agree to put “recreational” bike paths along Route 6. There’s nothing recreational about dodging cars and trucks.
Wendy Walsh
Eastham
The Hopkins Legacy
To the editor:
That was a very interesting letter from Sharon Dunn about Steven Hopkins in your March 14 issue [page A3].
It is true that there are many descendants of Hopkins here in Wellfleet — 30 that I know of, including myself. As Kevin Gallagher’s poem [“Hopkins’ Tempests,” Feb. 29, page C4] suggests, Hopkins was stranded in Bermuda and was almost put to death. He said he had a family in England, so they let him go. Had they proceeded to hang him, I wouldn’t be here.
Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth doesn’t know where he is buried, but if his daughter Constance and son Giles are in the ancient cemetery in Eastham, I’m sure he is, too. They didn’t mark graves in those days.
Barbara Kennedy
Wellfleet
Gondolier Candidate
To the editor:
Re “Bound Brook Island Is Cut Off Again” [March 21, front page]:
In your terrific article, Penelope Jencks, a resident who needed a rescue in recent flooding, is quoted as having suggested, tongue in cheek, that a “little ferry, with a little pole to push it across and a gondolier, would be great.”
When I retire in a few years, I would like to apply for the position of gondolier. Jencks suggests a “little pole.” I’m tall, however, and will require an extra long pole. I’m a pretty good amateur singer, so in true Venetian fashion I can sing while navigating the flood.
David Freeman
Truro and Chevy Chase, Md.
