Managing the Marina
To the editor:
The appointment of Michael Cavanaugh is hopeful news and progress toward guiding the Wellfleet harbormaster office to a model of competency and trust [Currents: “New Harbor Staff,” Nov. 21, page A13].
The interim harbormaster, Stuart Smith, has done a great job holding down the fort. Hopefully, he stays on for a transition period to help Mr. Cavanaugh get up to speed.
From staff retention to slip waiting list management, there is work to do. Mr. Smith has uncovered numerous issues that will not be fixed by incremental steps. As someone who has been on the slip waiting list for 20 years (and is still #23), I agree with marina advisory committee chair Joe Aberdale that “so many of these management procedures are nonexistent.”
The Independent’s reporting has exposed the challenges facing Mr. Cavanaugh. I would add that there is a need for better communication and transparency with the public.
Ideally, Mr. Cavanaugh will borrow from his corporate experience and start his tenure with an independent audit, making the results available to the public. Is that wishful thinking? At a minimum, Mr. Cavanaugh and Mr. Aberdale should explain their plans to make communication and transparency a pillar of the new administration.
David Longfritz
Eastham and New Hartford, Conn.
Alice Brock’s Wisdom
To the editor:
Thanks for summing up Alice Brock so beautifully. I thought I had read everything about her and would not be informed by an obituary [“Artist and Cook Alice Brock, Made Famous by a Song, Dies at 83,” Nov. 28, page A21].
But I was wrong. You found so much of her wisdom in all the places she left it — in the many interviews she granted over the decades.
Though she felt misunderstood and typecast because of an old song, she truly earned her fame post-“Alice’s Restaurant.” She used it to spread her philosophy of self-acceptance. Her message in those interviews arrived at the perfect time of year — Thanksgiving — when many of us are returning to old wounds stuffed inside family traditions.
I love how she always described finding freedom from a man and her parents. And how she celebrated Provincetown as the kingdom of the oddball — where you can be anything you want.
I can’t remember if she believed in an afterlife, though we probably talked about it during an interview or two.
Alice Brock, you were a true original. I’m so happy that you got to live out your dream among us in Provincetown.
K.C. Myers
Wellfleet
The writer profiled Alice Brock in the Nov. 26, 2020 issue of the Independent.
Staying Present
To the editor:
Many thanks to Jim Gilbert (“Searching for Solace on Gull Pond,” Nov. 28, page B7) for sharing his experience in those first hours and days after the election. Mr. Gilbert captured the profound heartache, emotional vertigo, and disorientation of the “looming unknown” and reminds us that nature endures (climate change notwithstanding).
By staying present in connection with nature — and each other — we can be fortified for the journey ahead. Thank you for giving voice to an experience I didn’t quite know how to name.
Lisa Goldberg
Wellfleet
Letters 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.
