As the days get shorter and the nights colder, many of our summer visitors leave. As fall progresses into deep winter, even more abandon us. What is left is a […]
The Year-Rounder
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Living in Play Land
The importance of time spent with no purpose
A couple of weeks ago, I stood on an East End beach looking out at the harbor and the bay beyond. I saw, all at the same time, the Dolphin […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Reflections on Carnival 2022
Provincetown witnesses the exuberance of emancipation
One day a few years ago, I sat in the office of Provincetown’s director of public works. I saw on the wall what can only be termed a flow chart: […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Just My Opinion
How to comprehend the incomprehensible
A column is a supporting structure. It can be made of wood, brick, stone, or marble. Columns support grand temples and meeting places, like the Parthenon. But a column can […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
T-Shirts: Express Yourself!
A brief history of the easiest way to make a statement
I am going to tell you exactly how old I am: old enough to remember when T-shirts were white. I remember when they were essentially undergarments, worn with other shirts, […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Reflections on the Fourth
Taking exception to American ‘exceptionalism’
The Fourth of July has come and gone. I enjoyed the parade, the street lined with bunting, the widespread cheer — but I felt like a fraud. I am a […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Enough Is Enough
The confessions of a tree-hugger
I admit it: I am a tree-hugger. I have hugged a tree or two in my life — usually when no one was looking. I confess: I love trees, not […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
We Might as Well Be Kind
Thoughts on visiting an emergency room for wild animals
A woman carries her old dog down to the beach in her arms. He can no longer make the trip on his own. She places him gently on the sand, […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Reasons to Be Positive
This is a good time to think deeply about why we are here
By my reckoning, this is my 73rd column for this paper. My first, in the inaugural issue, was printed under the heading “The Year-Rounder,” as has every column since then. […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Sal Del Deo’s 75 Provincetown Years
The Red Inn will host a Sunday afternoon with a town treasure
According to Salvatore Del Deo, the first shellfish warden hired in Provincetown, back in the 1950s, was a retired Portuguese fisherman named Joe Ventura. Before that, Joe had worked intermittently […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Where Does Courage Come From?
Shocked out of normalcy, our true selves are revealed
This morning I awoke after a good night’s sleep. After a hot shower, I had a hearty breakfast and a couple of cups of coffee, while I perused a magazine […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Finding the Exquisitely Small, Pick by Pick
Under the microscope ‘is where the magic happens’
Standing on the beach the other night, I gazed up at the ink-black sky pierced with stars and found myself thinking about infinity — endless space going on and up […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Lost in Town
After 50 years of navigation, still geographically challenged
I might as well confess it: I am geographically challenged. If you spent any time with me, you would know. Without a map, I have a hard time remembering where […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Town Hall Love Affair
A letter to Provincetown’s grand and yet modest matriarch
I have never written a love letter to a building before, but the spirit moves me now. Provincetown Town Hall is doubly beautiful, first for her physical attributes but even […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
On the Edge
What is legal in our society is not always ethical
Sometimes the truth of a story is found between the lines, between the words, even. Not that the words are not true, but that there is a larger truth behind […]
