Turning the Clock Back
To the editor:
The Truro Part-Time Resident Taxpayers’ Association is trying to turn the clock back 200 years, to a time when owning property automatically conferred the right to vote. This may be what they intended with the “Take Back Truro” tag line, which suggests that something has been stolen. It hasn’t.
The rules are simple: if you live here, you can vote here. This is a good thing, because it enables the people who actually send their kids to school here, who depend on plowed roads here, who use the public library and the council on aging, who need year-round police and fire department services, and who expect first responders to show up in minutes even during the grimness of February to have their rightful say in this beautiful, well-run town.
There should also be no worries about “keeping Truro rural,” that other tag line aimed at instilling the fear of an interstate replacing Route 6 and skyscrapers rising at Pamet Harbor. More than two-thirds of Truro is protected by law as conservation or national park land, to remain undeveloped and wild forever.
Truro is not a resort. It is a town. Even in the ultraconservative tax haven of Florida, where real estate is king, people must show proof that they live in the state for at least six months and a day to be considered Florida residents.
We offer a warm welcome to those Truro part-timers who choose to spend more of their time in this wonderful place.
Stan Bratskeir
Truro
Spirit of Christmas
To the editor:
“’Tis the season to be jolly!”
Apparently not for some people, judging from a sign that was posted the other day at the checkout counter at Cumberland Farms in Wellfleet: “The lottery machine is down. Please don’t yell at the employees. They are not lottery technicians.”
Yelling at the employees. By golly, that’s the spirit!
But on Monday morning I noticed that the sign was down, and the lottery machine was up and running. So once again all is calm, all is bright.
Well, sort of. Merry Christmas.
Mike Rice
Wellfleet
Hopeful
To the editor:
What an amazing newspaper you published on Dec. 14.
The letter from the editor, “Lights in the Darkness,” written from the heart, beautifully expressed my own feelings of Jewishness.
The article by Aden Choate about Ngina Lythcott and Byllye Avery was not a “puff piece” but rather a beautifully written exploration of the work of two inspirational Black women.
I am filled with hope.
Marian Roth
Provincetown
How to submit a letter to the editor
The Provincetown Independent welcomes letters from readers on all subjects. They must be signed with the writer’s name, home address, and telephone number (for verification). Letters will be published only if they have been sent exclusively to the Independent. They should be no more than 300 words and may be edited for clarity, accuracy, conciseness, and good taste. Longer pieces (up to 600 words) may be submitted for consideration as op-ed commentary. Send letters to [email protected] or by mail to P.O. Box 1034, Provincetown, MA 02657. The deadline for letters is Monday at noon for each week’s edition.
