PROVINCETOWN — What a gorgeous monster! First, its size: over nine feet long and over 700 pounds. Then, its unreal color: dark steel blue with green reflections, merging into gun-metal […]
The Year-Rounder
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
My Hoary, Helmeted Head
Happy to live in a town where everyone rides a bike
When I was in my early teens, in Pennsylvania, I worked: I had a paper route, was a stable boy, did door-to-door sales, and I saved my money. Finally, I […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Clamming: Opening Day
Our collective tension vaporizes on the flats
PROVINCETOWN — Friday morning, Nov. 6, 2020. Under a serene and cloudless wide blue sky, with a temperature in the high 50s, a scene reminiscent of the work of Breughel: […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Broken Wing
The ways of nature can be difficult to witness
Three days in a row, in late September, I went out to Race Point Beach in search of a couple of rare gulls. Three days in a row I failed […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
A Reckoning With Evil
The real story is not Trump but his supporters
I meant to write this in time for last week’s paper, but I missed the deadline. That means you will be reading these words on Nov. 5. Between this day […]
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Alleyway
The place without a name, perfect for random excess
In every soul there is an alleyway. And every town has one: at least one place like this. Even in beautiful Provincetown, full of narrow winding lanes, lovely gardens, charming […]
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Almost Cut My Hair
What is a haircut for, anyway?
PROVINCETOWN — I have not had a haircut in at least seven months. My hair is almost as long as it was 50 years ago. It doesn’t really matter; I […]
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Hope Is the Thing With Flowers
A blossom survives in the corner of a playground
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, […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
