I aspire to be a writer. My two young granddaughters, though, ages four and seven, would not care if I never wrote another word. They are staying with us now, […]
The Year-Rounder
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
The Summer of Our Discontent
Whose heart does not ache in these fearful times?
PROVINCETOWN — Nothing in life is perfect. I woke up this morning unrefreshed. The weather has been too damn hot, even at night. I ran out of full-strength coffee and […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
The American Dream
Recognizing a broken system for what it is
PROVINCETOWN — The American Dream rides high out on the gray waters of Provincetown Harbor this morning in the form of an immense yacht. Actually, I can see five yachts […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
What Makes a Story Important?
Just one of the hard questions local journalists must ask
Look at what you are holding in your hands (or reading online). It is the creation of a group of people dedicated to bringing you the stories of the Outer […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
A Higher-Stakes July 4th
Confronting instead of celebrating American history
The Fourth of July has come and gone and I am not quite sure what to make of it. There was celebration and merriment — always a good thing, I […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
What Work Is
The existential costs of being unemployed
The first time I really focused on the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, I was about eight years old. The rabbi explained that the two […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
A Dead Seal
The evidence of danger just beyond the beach
The immense corpse lay on its back on the upper beach, eyes heavenward, although unseeing. Its full abdomen, up-thrust chin, bristly whiskers, and jowly throat suggested a human quality; if […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Beech Forest Drama
How birders prepare their minds for beauty
They were feathered jewels moving through the trees, gifts from the Southern Hemisphere and our Southern states, most on their way north, here on the Cape for a few days […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
What I Will Miss
The pleasures and relentless energy of Commercial Street
I will miss the throngs on Commercial Street in the center of town: the hubbub, the chatter, the flow of people, the animated wave of humanity — young and old, […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Devastation Must Inform Action
What have we learned from the coronavirus?
The howling wind against my window reminds me of the coronavirus. Ruthless and breathtaking, neither storm nor plague has a master. Mindless and amoral, they go about their business with […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
We Need a New Compact
The Pilgrims had the right idea; it’s time to update it
Exactly 400 years ago this coming November, the good ship Mayflower sailed into Provincetown Harbor and anchored (a fact infuriatingly underreported in our national media). There were 102 souls on […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Confronted by Caring
Reminders of how Provincetown responded to earlier crises
“A man who carries a cat by the tail,” wrote Mark Twain, “learns something he can learn in no other way.” I have shelves and piles of books in our […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
This, Too, Shall Pass
After the pandemic, what will we have left?
I drove to the Evergreen Cemetery in Eastham the other day to try to see the rare clay-colored sparrow that has been reported there. I didn’t find it, but it […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Deep Time and This Day
What do we owe to the distant future?
I have been invited to participate in a (virtual) panel discussion at Ian Edwards’s Art-Science-Climate Broto conference scheduled for May 16-17 in Provincetown. The topic is “Deep Time and Climate […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Story Time for ‘Locals’
Gather round for a genuine feeling of connection
You are three years old. You’ve just had a good dinner and some milk and cookies, brushed your teeth, been tucked into bed, and now Mom or Dad pulls up […]
