I’m having dinner with a group of friends in a dark, woodsy back yard in Wellfleet. After a few glasses of wine, I feel the urge to pee. Should I […]
Op-Eds
OP-ED
‘First, Do No Harm’
Cape Cod Healthcare waffles when asked about vaccinating its providers
Should health-care providers be required to be vaccinated against Covid-19? “First, do no harm” is taught to medical school students early in their education. That ethical principle is the bedrock […]
CLIMATE
Canaries on the Coastline
‘Think globally, act locally’ just got a lot more urgent
The ongoing pandemic has triggered all the so-called stages of grief in us (denial, anger, depression, bargaining, acceptance). Then came the United Nations climate change report on Aug. 9. Secretary-General […]
OP-ED
Jewelweed and Old Ways
On going back to the garden and other places of respite
A friend’s day off earlier this month provided an excuse for the two of us to wander Provincetown, stopping to eat at Bubala’s like we used to do, and watching […]
LITTLE THEATER
The Long Journey of Wellfleet’s Stages
How one small town has kept two theater companies alive
The passing of Carol Green earlier this month brought to mind the long journey we took together at the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater and the subsequent birth of the Harbor […]
OP-ED
Doreen Mathilde Crow: Origins
The birth of a found-object scarecrow in an Eastham garden
I was surprised — and delighted — to see my scarecrow on the front page of the Provincetown Independent’s July 22 issue. Readers might enjoy the story behind the creation […]
COUNTY LINE
The Covid Cluster: What We Must Do Now
We cannot be ‘back to normal,’ no matter how much we want to be
We had been so careful, keeping our distance, and doing all the right containment measures. Then came an explosive Delta-variant Covid outbreak in Provincetown. For a while, case counts doubled […]
REPRIEVE
Take Me Out
Rooting for the home team at Eldredge Park
Take me out to the ball game Last week, for my wife’s birthday, we went to an Orleans Firebirds baseball game. It was a beauteous evening, the skies clear, with […]
BACK SHORE JOURNAL
Tern on the Beach
An easy remedy for avoidable suffering and tragedy
We had just returned from voting in Wellfleet on the warmest day of the June heat wave. My wife and I voted for selectmen and for expensive new equipment for […]
OP-ED
There’s No Good Reason to Dredge Nauset Estuary
The goals of the project can be achieved more cheaply and easily
Climate change has intensified storms over the past decade, shifting coastal dynamics and accelerating erosion of the Outer Beach. This has driven more sediment into the Nauset Estuary, affecting access […]
INDEPENDENCE
What We See in the Flag
Is America’s brand tarnished?
I remember a time before the Vietnam War when the American flag evoked only positive feelings in me. When JFK was president, when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, I […]
COUNTY LINE
We’ve Learned to Collaborate. Let’s Keep Going.
What if the pandemic response were to be expanded and broadened?
The more stories I hear from friends and colleagues, the more I am convinced that the numerous changes in our lives resulting from the pandemic response have not been all […]
HISTORY OF SCIENCE
How Critical Race Theory Explains a Harvard Professor’s Error
Reflections of a retired English teacher
In June 1935, Wellfleet summer resident Carleton Coons, a Harvard University professor and archeologist, helped supervise the excavation of Native American remains, stone weapons, and shell fragments in the Hemenway’s […]
OP-ED
Alloparenting and Survival
An evolutionary perspective on cooperative caregiving
Surrounded by juveniles, that’s what we are. Whether it’s the ruffled chickadee balancing on the railing or the catbird that can’t stop singing. One of the thrilling things at this […]
COUNTY LINE
The Machine Guns on the Horizon
Voices opposing the National Guard’s plan were not heard
A well-worn definition of insanity is repeating the same mistake and expecting a different outcome. Seems like our Mass. Army National Guard never heard that one. They have lately resurrected […]
