Daily Entries for the week of
Sunday, July 19, 2020
through
Saturday, July 25, 2020
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It’s Saturday, July 25, 2020
Welcome to the 835TH consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
San Gimignano Square
Mihael Grmek - Own work
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2.0 Commentary
While I’ve had to skip leg exercises these last couple of visits,
the rest of my Planet Fitness workouts have gone well.
Each visit shows strong gains over the last and
I can even see a bit of definition in my arms and chest.
Perhaps the four months of inactivity did not totally obliterate
the decades of religious attention to my lifting routine.
As to corona, the first week saw just two of three customers at Planet Fitness.
Feeling safe.
On my last visit, there was near a dozen.
We’ll have to see how I feel as the attendance increases.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
I have always held firmly to the thought that
each one of us can do a little to
bring some portion of misery to an end.
~Albert Schweitzer
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5.0 Mail
We love getting mail.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
This from Howard D responding to the recipe for eggplant posted a day or two ago:
On the eggplant roasting trick, it’s a good idea to line the pan with parchment paper. Whatever she says, the skin will adhere to the surface it was touching when you first put the pan in the oven. The parchment paper mitigates this, makes it a little easier to dislodge stubborn bits, when it comes time to turn them all, and for cleanup afterwards.
As for turning them, it’s best to have a very very thin edged turner (sometimes they’re called spatulas, and of course, they’re not). A very useful kind is the kind that seafood grilling mavens like for fish:
This one is particularly good and cheap. Made by Oxo. The edge is extra thin, because they chamfer it. This is also what makes it ideal for turning fish fillets in a pan or on the grill… like when you’re browning one side just prior to pan roasting the thing in a hot oven.
She says simply to flip them after 20 minutes. She doesn’t tell you that they must be flipped in small groups of five to eight eggplant cubes at a time.
Anyway, it’s (the eggplant isn’t) as quick and easy as she makes it out to be. You don’t mention it either, so maybe it’s me, or I’m missing something.
I may play around with her technique, to see if I can refine them to ensure more reliable results. I’m wondering if a light dredging in flour (or some very light starch: tapioca or arrowroot) somehow can be done…
xo
h
Blog Meister responds: Everything you write about is scholarly. A pleasure.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Last night I had baby back ribs.
Too down to make my own delicious barbecue sauce I used a bottled dressing.
So poor.
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7. “Conflicted” podcast
Conflicted, by Dom Capossela, is a spiritual/fantasy story about a sixteen-year-old mystic-warrior conflicted internally by her self-imposed alienation from God, her spiritual wellspring, and, externally, by the forces of darkness seeking her death or ruination.
https://soundcloud.com/user-449713331/sets/conflicted-dom-capossela
The podcasts are also available on Sound Cloud, iTunes, Stitcher, Pinterest, Pocket Cast, and Facebook.
Search: dom capossela or conflicted or both
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SAN GIMIGNANO
Is a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, north-central Italy. Known as the Town of Fine Towers,
The "Historic Centre of San Gimignano" is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The town of San Gimignano has many examples of Romanesque and Gothic architecture.
As well as churches and medieval fortifications, there are examples of Romanesque secular and domestic architecture which may be distinguished from each other by their round and pointed arches, respectively.
A particular feature which is typical of the region of Siena is that the arches of openings are depressed, with doorways often having a second low arch set beneath a semi-circular or pointed arch.
Both Romanesque and Gothic windows sometimes have a bifurcate form, with two openings divided by a stone mullion under a single arch.
The town has managed to conserve fourteen towers of varying heights, for which it is known internationally.
The Piazza della Cisterna, entered from Via San Giovanni, is the main square of the town.
It is triangular in shape and is surrounded by medieval houses of different dates,
among them some fine examples of Romanesque and Gothic palazzos.
At the center of the piazza stands a well which was the main source of water for the town's residents. The structure dates from 1346. Although much of it has been renewed in the late 20th century, parts of the paving date from the 13th century.
The Palazzo Comunale, the Collegiate Church and Church of Sant' Agostino contain frescos, including cycles dating from the 14th and 15th centuries.
The town also is known for saffron, the Golden Ham, and its white wine, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, produced from the ancient variety of Vernaccia grape which is grown on the sandstone hillsides of the area.
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It’s Friday, July 24, 2020
Welcome to the 834th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
Panorama of Assisi
Roberto Ferrari from Campogalliano (Modena), Italy - Assisi
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2.0 Commentary
Principles, vows, and religious beliefs have been the bane of human relationships.
Basing our actions on non-human, self-imposed criteria
it’s very easy to forget who we’re talking to is a person with
wants, desires, emotions, needs which we must address
to strengthen a relationship.
And elevating a partner is a principle of its own,
its own joy.
Has anyone heard that a masterplan
for the safe operation of the MBTA is forthcoming?
No?
Join the masses.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
Very little of the great cruelty shown by men can really be attributed to cruel instinct.
Most of it comes from thoughtlessness or inherited habit.
The roots of cruelty, therefore, are not so much strong as widespread.
But the time must come when inhumanity
protected by custom and thoughtlessness
will succumb before humanity championed by thought.
Let us work that this time may come.
~Albert Schweitzer
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5.0 Mail
We love getting mail.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
This from Sally C, a treasure trove of Americana:
Dear Dom,
Muscle cramps, huh?
Try increasing your intake of calcium.
Calcium helps to prevent that.
(This might be a good excuse to eat some ice cream!)
In my teens and twenties, I found it indispensable for
relief of monthly feminine discomfort
(and "discomfort" is a nice word for it).
Sally
Blog Meister responds: And we in New England love our ice cream. Might ice cream provide us with a natural protection against the corona virus?
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Do you like lentils?
I love them on the side, with pasta, in a soup, in a salad.
Here’s a delicious and so easy a way to prepare them.
1 cup of dried lentils
2 cups water (or broth)
To taste, thyme, garlic, bay leaf, celery (lots of celery) lemon.
Simmer for a few minutes until soft-with-a-bite-back,
that is, al dente.
Use them any way you want.
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Assisi is a town and commune of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio.
It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Propertius, born around 50–45 BC.
It is the birthplace of St. Francis, who founded the Franciscan religious order in the town in 1208, and
St. Clare (Chiara d'Offreducci), the founder of the Poor Sisters,
which later became the Order of Poor Clares after her death.
The 19th-century Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows was also born in Assisi.
Now the site of many a pilgrimage, Assisi is linked in legend with its native son, St. Francis.
The gentle saint founded the Franciscan order and
shares honors with St. Catherine of Siena as the patron saint of Italy.
He is remembered by many, even non-Christians, as
a lover of nature
(his preaching to an audience of birds is one of the legends of his life).
It’s main sight is the complex including the Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi (St. Francis):
The Franciscan monastery, il Sacro Convento, and
the lower and upper church (Italian: Basilica inferiore and Basilica superiore) of St Francis
were begun immediately after his canonization in 1228, and
completed in 1253.
The lower church has frescoes by the late-medieval artists Cimabue and Giotto;
the upper church houses frescoes of scenes in the life of St. Francis previously ascribed to Giotto, but
now thought to be by artists of the circle of Pietro Cavallini from Rome.
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It’s Thursday, July 23, 2020
Welcome to the 833rd consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
Arezzo
Piazza Grande
Arezzo, Tuscany
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2.0 Commentary
Feeling like a curmudgeon.
Wanting to withdraw from world.
Isolation.
After three days of waking to a hamstring ready to cramp up on me
I feel ready to continue on the machines.
I’ll lift today.
Perhaps the strain will purge some of the evil spirits from me.
Today is my last class on Female Relationships.
Giving me more time to wallow in self-pity.
Just what I needed.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
The result of the voyage does not depend on the speed of the ship, but
on whether or not it keeps a true course.
~Albert Schweitzer
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
This is a great eggplant recipe.
And simple.
ROASTED EGGPLANT
1.4 lb eggplant (2 medium)
2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp each salt and freshly-ground pepper
Preheat oven to 450°F
Line a tray with parchment/baking paper or tin foil
Cut eggplant into large cubes - 1.2".
Place in large bowl, drizzle with the oil, salt and pepper.
Toss well, then immediately spread the eggplant cubes on tray and roast 20 minutes.
Flip, then roast for a further 10 minutes .
Edges should be caramelized, soft inside, but not shriveled up.
Serve as is or use creatively.
I puree it into a Nigerian tomato sauce.
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7. “Conflicted” podcast
Conflicted, by Dom Capossela, is a spiritual/fantasy story about a sixteen-year-old mystic-warrior conflicted internally by her self-imposed alienation from God, her spiritual wellspring, and, externally, by the forces of darkness seeking her death or ruination.
https://soundcloud.com/user-449713331/sets/conflicted-dom-capossela
The podcasts are also available on Sound Cloud, iTunes, Stitcher, Pinterest, Pocket Cast, and Facebook.
Search: dom capossela or conflicted or both
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Arezzo is a city and commune in Italy and
the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany.
Arezzo is about 50 miles southeast of Florence.
In 2013 the population was about 99,000.
Arezzo is set on a steep hill rising from the floodplain of the River Arno.
In the upper part of the town are the cathedral, the town hall and the Medici Fortress from which
the main streets branch off towards the lower part as far as the gates.
The upper part of the town maintains its medieval appearance despite the addition of later structures.
Arezzo yielded to Florentine domination in 1384;
its individual history became subsumed in that of Florence and of the Medicean Grand Duchy of Tuscany. During this period Piero della Francesca (c. 1415–1492) worked in the church of San Francesco di Arezzo producing the splendid frescoes, recently restored, which are Arezzo's and Piero’s most famous works,
The History of the True Cross in the church of San Francisco.
Afterwards the city began an economical and cultural decay,
which ensured the preservation of its medieval center.
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13.0 Travel
I had a breakthrough in my planning for my Tuscany trip,
gaining an understanding of which small Tuscan towns to visit and
in what order.
For example, landing in Rome,
picking up the rental, and
driving first to Arezzo.
Immediately, I’ll work on completing the sketching out of the trip to be followed by
a greater detail of each stop and then,
when our laggard friends in other states grasp the steps necessary to defeat the pandemic and
the gates of Tuscany open to visitors from the US,
I’ll buy the plane ticket and museum passes.
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It’s Wednesday, July 22, 2020
Welcome to the 832nd consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
Portrait of Aaron Burr (1756-1836)
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2.0 Commentary
Feel like my leg muscles are sending out a warning sign.
After Sunday’s session, I’ve been getting small knots in my left hamstring.
Inconvenient because I’m getting back into my lifting routine.
Prudence dictates I give myself an extra day of not lifting.
Having a torn knee tendon I will likely skip my scheduled Tuesday lift.
Bummer.
Since Saturday and the onset of hot weather
very few people have patronized the Newbury St. Thinking Cup outdoor café.
Delighted.
For me, not the store.
The result, I sit literally for hours
indulging in my newest past time: planning a trip to Tuscany.
How I relish being outdoors, scantily dressed, and warm.
Our summer class on female relationships is drawing to a close.
We’ve had a lot of fun and learned a lot.
Francesca, the leader/organizer, (my granddaughter) does a terrific job in extracting comments from each participant.
And a great job in finding the good in every comment.
Wednesday is our last class and we are encouraged to bring a libation to toast the adventure.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
Constant kindness can accomplish much.
As the sun makes ice melt,
kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.
~Albert Schweitzer
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5.0 Mail
We love getting mail.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
Joanna and Ana and their son Milo joined me at Fig’s on Thursday night and then again
on a trip to P 'town on Friday.
Joanna reports that “Make way for ducklings” which
I brought for him,
has become his favorite.
They read it to him every night.
They also report that he loved the bit of the story I told him on the car ride home.
The start of the Lord of the Rings cycle.
He wants more.
Blog Meister responds: Delighted. He wonderfully responsive. Makes the storyteller feel good.
Thinking to watch the excellent cartoon version of “The Hobbit’ on his next visit.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Monday night I braised a lobster in a Nigerian tomato sauce.
Delicious.
Thinking that adding roasted eggplant might make that sauce even more interesting.
I have a dinner party on Wednesday night and I think I’ll try it then.
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Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician and lawyer.
A Founding Father, he served as the third vice president of the United States during President Thomas Jefferson's first term from 1801 to 1805.
His role in helping form the nation, however, would be overshadowed when he killed fellow Founding Father Alexander Hamilton in an 1804 duel.
The duel led to the collapse of Burr's political career and tarnished his legacy in American history.
Burr was born to a prominent family in New Jersey,
where he attended the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University.
Amid Burr's law studies,
he served as a Continental Army officer in the American Revolutionary War from 1775 until his resignation in 1779.
After leaving the military,
Burr returned to his law career in New York City.
He was elected twice to the New York State Assembly (1784–1785 and 1798–1799),
was appointed Attorney General of New York (1789–1791),
was chosen as a U.S. senator (1791–1797) from the State of New York.
Burr was Jefferson's vice-presidential candidate on the 1800 Jeffersonian Republican ticket.
An electoral college tie between Jefferson and Burr resulted in
the House of Representatives deciding in Jefferson's favor.
Although he maintained that he supported Jefferson, the president was highly suspicious of Burr. Consequently, Burr was essentially sidelined by Jefferson.
Burr fatally shot his political rival Hamilton in an 1804 duel,
during the last full year of his single term as vice president.
Though the duel was illegal, he was never tried, and
all charges against him eventually were dropped. Nevertheless, Hamilton's death ended Burr's political career.
Burr left Washington, D.C., and traveled west, seeking new opportunities, both economic and political; further, he left behind the controversy surrounding him in more cosmopolitan parts of the country.
His activities eventually led to his arrest on charges of treason in 1807.
He was tried multiple times, but acquitted;
nevertheless, the fallout left him with large debts and few influential friends.
To avoid vigilante execution, and
further charges by the state,
he left the United States for Europe.
He remained overseas until 1812 when he returned to the United States to practice law in New York City. He spent the remainder of his life there, dying in relative obscurity.
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It’s Tuesday, July 21, 2020
Welcome to the 831st consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
Alexander Hamilton
portrait by John Trumbull 1806
John Trumbull - dwEqB1Eg2s_kpw at Google Cultural Institute maximum zoom level
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2.0 Commentary
At Planet Fitness on Sunday, mid-morning.
Four others at the facility.
Safe.
The staff-sanitizing ongoing.
The members’ dutifully wiping down the machines.
The mask police doing their duty: I needed reminding.
I’ve established a baseline.
Including machines I didn’t use on my first two forays into my weight-lifting program.
So now every time I lift I can measure my progress.
Can religiously inscribe my gains.
And, having started so far removed from the levels I had attained before the pandemic,
I will be gaining with every visit.
I am about 25% of where I’d like to be.
Doubtless, I will achieve 50% in the next month.
After that, will reassess.
Integral to lifting is a change in routine.
Fit an hour on the given morning.
Prefer to preserve the early morning production at the apartment so
I will leave the apartment at the same time, whether I’m lifting or not.
On lifting days I will arrive home in the early afternoon an hour later when
compared to non-lifting days.
I don’t think that affects my schedule much.
Am enjoying the unequivocally hot days.
Have had too many predicted hot days dissipate
in the face of an ocean breeze along the coast.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
A good example has twice the value of good advice.
~Albert Schweitzer
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5.0 Mail
We love getting mail.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
Got a mail from a southern state delineating efforts to obtain justice for the LBGT community.
The assessment there: it will take another generation before justice is served.
Blog Meister responds: An excruciating wait. But we cannot cede the field. We must stay for the duration. ittle choice have we.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Sunday night at Morton’s we were served the poorest looking steak I’ve ever seen from a Boston steakhouse.
And, in the tradition of all hamburgers I’ve ordered in a steakhouse, the one we received was also served on a roll that literally fell apart after a couple of bites.
At the Bristol Lounge one can order a ciabatta roll with the burger, a roll that maintains its integrity throughout the meal.
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7. “Conflicted” podcast
Conflicted, by Dom Capossela, is a spiritual/fantasy story about a sixteen-year-old mystic-warrior conflicted internally by her self-imposed alienation from God, her spiritual wellspring, and, externally, by the forces of darkness seeking her death or ruination.
https://soundcloud.com/user-449713331/sets/conflicted-dom-capossela
The podcasts are also available on Sound Cloud, iTunes, Stitcher, Pinterest, Pocket Cast, and Facebook.
Search: dom capossela or conflicted or both
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Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757 – July 12, 1804) was an American statesman, politician, legal scholar, military commander, lawyer, banker, and economist.
He was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.
He was an influential interpreter and promoter of the U.S. Constitution, as well as
the founder of the nation's financial system,
the Federalist Party,
the United States Coast Guard, and
the New York Post newspaper.
As the first Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton was the main author of the economic policies of George Washington's administration.
He took the lead in the Federal government's funding of the states' debts, as well as
establishing the nation's first two de facto central banks, the Bank of North America and the First Bank of the United States,
a system of tariffs, and
friendly trade relations with Britain.
His vision included a strong central government led by a vigorous executive branch,
a strong commercial economy,
government-controlled banks,
support for manufacturing, and
a strong military.
Hamilton was born out of wedlock in Charlestown, Nevis.
He was orphaned as a child and taken in by a prosperous merchant.
When he reached his teens, he was sent to New York to pursue his education.
He took an early role in the militia as the American Revolutionary War began.
In 1777, he became a senior aide to General Washington in running the new Continental Army.
After the war, he was elected as a representative from New York to the Congress of the Confederation. He designed to practice law and founded the Bank of New York before entering politics.
Hamilton was a leader in seeking to replace the weak confederal government under the Articles of Confederation;
he led the Annapolis Convention of 1786, which
spurred Congress to call a Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.
He helped ratify the Constitution by writing 51 of the 85 installments of The Federalist Papers, which
are still used as one of the most important references for Constitutional interpretation.
Hamilton led the Treasury Department as a trusted member of President Washington's first Cabinet. Hamilton successfully argued that the implied powers of the Constitution provided the legal authority to fund the national debt,
to assume states' debts,
and to create the government-backed Bank of the United States (the First Bank of the United States).
These programs were funded primarily by a tariff on imports, and later
by a controversial whiskey tax.
He opposed friendly relations with the French revolutionaries.
Hamilton's views became the basis for the Federalist Party, which
was opposed to the Democratic-Republican Party led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.
In 1795, he returned to the practice of law in New York.
He called for mobilization against the French First Republic in 1798–99 under President John Adams, and became Commanding General of the U.S. Army, which
he reconstituted, modernized, and readied for war.
The army did not see combat in the Quasi-War, and
Hamilton was outraged by Adams' diplomatic approach to the crisis with France.
His opposition to Adams' re-election helped cause the Federalist party defeat in 1800.
Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied for the presidency in the electoral college, and
Hamilton helped to defeat Burr, whom
he found unprincipled, and
to elect Jefferson despite philosophical differences.
Hamilton continued his legal and business activities in New York City, and
was active in ending the legality of the international slave trade.
Vice President Burr ran for governor of New York State in 1804, and
Hamilton campaigned against him as unworthy.
Taking offense, Burr challenged him to a duel on July 11, 1804, in which
Burr shot and mortally wounded Hamilton, who
died the following day.
Hamilton is generally regarded as an astute and intellectually brilliant politician and financier, if often impetuous.
His ideas are credited with laying the foundation for American government and finance.
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It’s Monday, July 20, 2020
Welcome to the 830th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
The Stonewall Inn
in the gay village of Greenwich Village, Manhattan, site of the June 1969 Stonewall riots, the cradle of the modern LGBT rights movement and an icon of LGBT culture, is adorned with rainbow pride flags.
Rhododendrites - Own work
Outside of the official business district, the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar on Christopher Street in Manhattan's Greenwich Village.
A 1969 police raid here led to the Stonewall riots, one of the most important events in the history of LGBT rights (and the history of the United States).
This picture was taken on pride weekend in 2016, the day after President Obama announced the Stonewall National Monument, and less than two weeks after the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando.
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2.0 Commentary
Growing up, we were taught that gay, queer, lesbian and other non-heterosexuals were deviant and
should be stamped out.
Friday I reveled in a trip to P 'town with my girlfriends and their child.
In the presence of hundreds of the LGBT community there, the shared joy was palpable and quite lovely.
And the presence of a soft-spoken corps of police added to the charm, even when
one of them reminded me,
“Sir, please pull up your mask to cover your nose.”
Sweet.
A world that recognizes that differences of sexual preference, race, religion, and so many other descriptors
count for zero when weighing the worth of others,
is a good world.
A world with love for all is a better world.
We have so far to go.
But we’ve come a long way.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
We must fight against the spirit of unconscious cruelty with which
we treat the animals.
Animals suffer as much as we do.
True humanity does not allow us to impose such sufferings on them.
It is our duty to make the whole world recognize it.
Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things,
humanity will not find peace.
~Albert Schweitzer
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5.0 Mail
We love getting mail.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
This from a friend with a question re: my recent trip to Ogunquit.
Namely, how did I quarantine?
Maine requires Mass. Residents to quarantine.
Blog Meister responds: Courtesy of the Ogunquit police. That is, I called the station and asked them how I could resolve the quarantine for a day visit,
which certainly local merchants want to encourage.
The lovely officer stated point blank that if we followed the laws,
wore masks, especially
on Marginal Way,
no one was going to bother us; rather,
we would be welcome.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Last night I worked on my braised artichoke method.
Getting close.
Along with it, I had a perfectly slow-roasted chicken,
finished carefully for color under the broiler,
with a delicious Nigerian tomato sauce accompaniment,
recipe to be announced.
What a nice meal.
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LGBT (or GLBT) is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender.
In use since the 1990s, the term is an adaptation of the initialism LGB, which
was used to replace the term gay in reference to the LGBT community beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s.
Activists believed that the term gay community did not accurately represent all those to whom it referred.
The initialism, as well as some of its common variants, have been adopted into the mainstream as an umbrella term for use when labeling topics pertaining to sexuality and gender identity.
For example, in a comprehensive study of community centers around the United States which
offer specific services to members of the LGBT community, the LGBT Movement Advancement Project used the term "LGBT community centers".
The initialism LGBT is intended to emphasize a diversity of sexuality and gender identity-based cultures.
It may refer to anyone who is non-heterosexual or non-cisgender, instead of exclusively to people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.
To recognize this inclusion, a popular variant adds the letter Q for those who identify as queer or are questioning their sexual identity;
LGBTQ has been recorded since 1996.
Those who add intersex people to LGBT groups or organizing may use the extended initialism LGBTI.
These two initialism are sometimes combined to form the terms LGBTIQ [12] or LGBT+ to encompass spectrums of sexuality and gender.
Other, less common variants also exist, with some being an extreme in length; this can result in initialism over twice as long, which has prompted criticism.
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It’s Sunday, July 19, 2020
Welcome to the 829th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
Commercial Street in an 1890s postcard
Unknown author - postcard
Commercial Street in en: Provincetown, Massachusetts,
at what is now the junction with Standish Street, looking east.
Photo from the 1890s is in the public domain.
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2.0 Commentary
Friday morning, chill.
We, Joanna, Ana, Milo, (he’s 6) and myself, started out on our Cape Cod day trip intending to get to the Wellfleet Wildlife sanctuary and
a walk on First Encounter beach.
A funny thing happened.
The drive itself was fine with the slightest of sprinkles, lots of clouds.
We stopped once to procure a Mary Lou’s coffee in Quincy.
Traffic was considerably heavier than we expected.
Just before we reached the sanctuary.
the Visitors’ Center for the National Seashore popped up.
We made the unscheduled stop.
The agent dispensing information from within a clear plastic tent
pointed out that one beach, just 25 minutes from where we were,
was open to the public free of charge.
Looking at the map, realizing we’re only 30 min from Provincetown.
The girls had never been.
We chucked all plans and chose P’town as our new destination.
And a fortuitous choice it was.
Now we didn’t mind the chill.
Before we left the visitor center, we took advantage of an easy walk around
an attractive salt marsh.
At P’Town we paid $20.00 to park right in the center and made our way to an excellent bistro
where we enjoyed cappuccino and gelato, and imbibed the hum.
And it was humming.
Compared to Boston, P’town was a hive of activity.
Much fun to be part of.
Note that virtually everybody wore a mask and
was courteous.
At a clothing store, I bought two inexpensive dresses that I thought would be appreciated
when I returned home.
At the end of the visit, we walked the beach for a bit.
We left late in the afternoon and drove an hour back to Brewster where
we fulfilled our reservation at Chillingsworth.
A perfect day off.
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4.0 Chuckles/Thoughts
Should my administration prove to be a very wicked one...
or a very foolish one,
if you, the people, are true to yourselves and the Constitution,
there is little harm I can do,
thank God.
~Abraham Lincoln
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
On Friday evening we had dinner at Chillingsworth.
We shared a truffle mac and cheese, rock shrimp, and a Caesar salad.
Then a roasted halibut.
Then a quail and a shortrib.
And a bottle of wine, although just Ana and I drank, given that Joanna was driving.
The food was terrific.
We drove off with smiles.
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7. “Conflicted” podcast
Conflicted, by Dom Capossela, is a spiritual/fantasy/political story about a sixteen-year-old mystic-warrior conflicted internally by her self-imposed alienation from God, her spiritual wellspring, and, externally, by the forces of darkness seeking her death or ruination.
Today we post Chapter 22 in which Dee presents to the world her personal take on Christian mysticism.
The podcasts are also available on Sound Cloud, iTunes, Twitter, and Facebook.
Search: dom capossela or conflicted or both
Here’s the link:
https://soundcloud.com/user-449713331/sets/conflicted-dom-capossela
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11.0 Thumbnails
Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States.
A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of just under 3,000, Provincetown has a summer population of as high as 60,000.
Often called "P-town" or "P'town", the town is known for its beaches, harbor, artists, tourist industry, and its status as a vacation destination for the LGBT+ community.
Provincetown is located at the very tip of Cape Cod, encompassing a total area of 17.5 square miles (45 km2) − 55% of that, or 9.7 sq mi (25 km2), is land area, and the remaining 7.8 sq mi (20 km2) water area.
Surrounded by water in every direction except due east,
the town has 21.3 miles (34.3 km) of coastal shoreline.
Provincetown is bordered to the east by its only neighbor, the town of Truro, and by Provincetown Harbor to the southeast, Cape Cod Bay to the south and west, Massachusetts Bay to the northwest and north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the northeast.
The town is 45 miles north (by road) from Barnstable, Hyannis, Massachusetts and
62 miles by road to the Sagamore Bridge,
which spans the Cape Cod Canal and connects Cape Cod to the mainland.
Provincetown is 45 miles east by southeast from Boston by air or sea, and 115 miles by road.
About 4,500 acres, or about 73% of the town's land area, is owned by the National Park Service, which operates the Cape Cod National Seashore, leaving about 2.7 sq mi of land under the town's jurisdiction.
To the north lie the "Province Lands",
the area of dunes and small ponds extending from Mount Ararat in the east
to Race Point in the west, along the Massachusetts Bay shore.
The Cape Cod Bay shoreline extends from Race Point to the far west, to Wood End in the south, eastward to Long Point,
which in turn points inward towards the town, and
provides a natural barrier for Provincetown Harbor.
All three points are marked by lighthouses.
The town's population center extends along the harbor, south of the Seashore's lands.
Mount Ararat was named after Noah's landing place,[18] while Mount Gilboa, and another dune, was named for the mountain described in the book of Samuel.
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12.0 Diary of the Surrender of a Private Car
In the half year I’ve been carless,
Friday was the first day I used a rental car,
a big, luxurious one.
After saving $9,000 in car ownership, I could afford the indulgence.
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13.0 Travel
I’m continuing to plan on a trip to Italy, Tuscany,
although we Americans are still prohibited from travelling there.
Every time I think of the situation my anger at the cavalier attitude
of our southern states and leaders towards the science of the corona
surges to the top front.
It’s hateful being grouped with people
showing no more intelligence re: the pandemic
than the most backwards countries of the entire world.
What a cartoon!