Is there a pile of rocks anywhere in this world as beloved as Provincetown’s West End breakwater? Generations of residents and visitors have clambered over it — it stretches more […]
The Year-Rounder
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
In the Storm’s Aftermath
Thoughts on the tossed-up fragments of Provincetown’s past lives
That bleak morning just before Christmas, Provincetown was set back on its haunches by a roaring winter wind and a surging southeast 11-foot-plus tide. The beach and abutting properties glistened […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Ugly Ornaments
An odd holiday ritual finds joy in the grotesque
OK, the holidays are over. We made it to the new year, Christmas is almost two weeks behind us, and we are all done with it: like a way-too-sweet piece […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Ebenezer Scrooge Revisited
There is a bit of this classic misanthrope in most of us
It is time to confess: you have never actually read Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. This work is so ingrained in our culture that it lives in the collective subconscious, […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Bulkheads: A Provincetown History
The growth of waterfront fortifications in a changing town
The other day a big wind came directly from the south, and the waves in the harbor were high and crazy. At high tide, spray broke over Route 6A by […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Giving Thanks Is the First Step
Sometimes you have to separate the hype from the essentials
Let’s face it: most of us are not walking around feeling thankful; it’s just not in our nature. We more often concentrate on what we don’t have than what we […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Beeches, Whales, and Salt Marshes
The natural world now depends on us
The funk of decomposing autumn leaves and the whiff of wood smoke are in the air. Fall colors are seeping through the woods — the scarlet leaves of the tupelo, […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
The Voice of Old Provincetown
Listening to six writers of a town’s living history
Last night I heard the voice of Provincetown. Old Provincetown. It was not one voice but six, each unique, yet they blended into a song of remembrance and regret. I […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Errands: A Cure for Ennui
The necessity of getting together
Seasons come and go, but it is the same day always. Whatever the vagaries of weather, it is the same morning, noon, and night. The toothbrush in the mug on […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Hilde Oleson: An Appreciation
She taught us that we need each other
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
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 […]
