Trash Cans Were Missed
To the editor:
Kudos to the town of Truro, which, on second thought, has put back the trash cans at Coast Guard and presumably other town beaches.
I think the trash cans were gone for only a few days, but they were sorely missed. Trash piled up at Coast Guard Beach parking lot immediately, placed there no doubt by beachcombers used to picking up fishing line, plastic bottles, soggy bags, broken pieces of lobster buoy, and other flotsam and jetsam and surprised to find no place to deposit it at the end of their walks.
The mid-November removal of all the trash and recycling bins was especially ironic, coming just after the Nov. 4 Indie reported that a concerted four-day beach cleanup in September had yielded almost a ton of debris from the Outer Cape beaches [“Citizen Scientists and Artists Report In After 4-Day Trash Tally,” page A9].
And then there’s the dog poop bags. It seems as if most people now have the habit of cleaning up after their dogs on the beach. We don’t want a lack of trash cans at the town parking lots to discourage volunteer beach cleaners or dog walkers from doing the right thing.
Nancy Kete
North Truro
What’s Next After Roe?
To the editor:
Based on reports of the arguments before the Supreme Court on the Mississippi anti-abortion law, it appears that the very right-wing faction of the Court is about to consign Roe v. Wade to the dustbin of history, in spite of the convincing legal arguments made in support of abortion rights, most recently by Professor Charles Fried in the New York Times on Nov. 30.
As Professor Fried said, overruling Roe is not conservative, it is reactionary. Fried is a leading conservative legal thinker who teaches at Harvard Law School. As solicitor general in the Reagan administration, he argued against Roe. He has since changed his mind.
Overruling the 1973 decision in Roe, which has been largely reaffirmed several times, will rip this country even further apart. The impact of this decision, once it is rendered, will be to convince many that the Court is dominated by political hacks, despite Justice Barrett’s protestations to the contrary. What is next on the Supreme Court’s hit list? Same-sex marriage? Meangingful separation of church and state?
With a Constitutional structure that, according to the Court, allows for the existence of gerrymandering and gives Wyoming the same representation in the Senate as California, along with the electoral college, which allows a man who lost the popular vote by nearly three million to be elected president, we are headed directly to minority government, which is the exact opposite of democracy.
At 80 years old, I very much fear for the future of the country.
Stephen J. Greenberg
Wellfleet
On Guns and Pickleball
To the editor:
My sincere gratitude to Steve Larsen for his honest, thoughtful article about gun ownership (Oct. 28, page A3). It is really a fine tribute to Larsen’s father. His dad taught him to be a responsible gun owner, but he also taught him decency and generosity of spirit. Mr. Larsen is willingly and selflessly putting the needs and welfare of others first. That’s a rare commodity in today’s world, and he should be commended.
Regarding “West End in a Pickle Over Popular Sport” (Oct. 28, page A8), the issue of pickleball noise is quite common. I live in a small lake community in northwest New Jersey, and a few years ago, after a pickleball court was installed near homes, the residents were beside themselves with the constant clunking noise. Our community found a solution that seems to meet everyone’s needs.
All players were required to modify their paddles with a “Quiet Pickle Pad.” The pad muffles the noise without affecting paddle performance and produces reasonably quiet pickleball that everyone can live with.
Finally, a word about the Provincetown Independent. As someone who loves P’town, I thought a subscription would be a good way to keep up with what’s happening in town when I’m here in New Jersey. The Independent does that and so much more. You cover the facts about local issues, but you also enable the reader to feel a genuine connectedness to the community. Your wide variety of articles and features and your crisp, insightful writing convey a real sense of the Provincetown spirit and the wonderful residents who make P’town so special.
Independent journalism is alive and well in your publication.
Lyle Timpson
Highland Lakes, N.J.
Comfort Her With Recipes
To the editor:
I got such a kick opening the Independent this week and seeing a reference to M.F.K. Fisher’s How to Cook a Wolf, which is currently on my nightstand. I first discovered my fondness for food writing through Ruth Reichl’s Tender at the Bone and Comfort Me With Apples, which share Fisher’s tartly humorous style and a deep appreciation for the simple decadence of a good meal.
I’ve lived on the Cape for about a year now and Food & Drink has quickly become one of my favorite sections of the Independent. Especially at this time of year, there’s something supremely comforting about reading about food, discovering a new recipe, or just curling up and taking vicarious enjoyment in a meal in a not-too-distant kitchen. Thanks to Edouard Fontenot, Katherine Alford, and the rest of the contributors.
Renee Leck
Wellfleet
