Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog: #79 - Stupid Driving, RIP Ozzy, Demon Ducks, etc.

1. Nothing says ‘protect and serve’ like a police SUV driving down a bike trail. Seriously, I was at a bike trail parking lot, and what do I see in my rearview mirror? It was a police vehicle driving slowly down a path for bicycles. It is an unreal level of stupidity. They could have easily injured a rider, a runner, or anyone on the trail. To top it off, the section of trail they felt the need to drive their vehicle on? Yeah, there was a road about 1,000 feet away that they could have driven down instead of the bike trail. What was so important that the cops felt the need to put people at risk like that? Ridiculous.


2. The words icon, legend, and pioneer are thrown around pretty loosely these days. However, they all apply when speaking of Ozzy Osbourne. The Prince of Darkness passed away this week at the age of 76. It is very sad, as it felt like he would live forever because of all of the wild and crazy things he went through in his heyday. He is the godfather of metal. He has dozens of instantly recognizable songs. He even gained legions of younger fans with his now-famous reality show in the 2000s. Ozzy influenced so many people, including ones who didn’t even have anything to do with music. He will be sorely missed, but true legends never die. RIP to the one and only Ozzman.


3. A fun little flashback story to piggyback on what I just wrote about Ozzy. I believe it was 20 years ago. I was in a bowling league. I played on a team that included my stepfather and my now-former brother-in-law. We named our team ‘Crazy Train’ after the Ozzy song. In a fun twist, another team, made up of a lot of friends, named themselves ‘Crazy Frame.’ We used to give them crap about being knock-offs of us. This team of ours also included a few people we didn’t know. There was a husband and wife, and I believe their nephew, who is probably 10 years younger than I. The nephew was a reality show in and of himself. We all had small towels to wipe our balls off, bowling balls that is. The nephew would bring an oversized beach towel, which looked ridiculous. He also would routinely pitch fits when he didn’t bowl well. His aunt and uncle would have to talk to him like he was 6 years old. I am surprised they didn’t offer him a cookie. Anyway, it was a fun year, but it all began with our team name after a classic Ozzy song.


4. The weather at the beginning of this week on Cape Cod was my definition of perfect. Mid-70s, low humidity, some clouds but not enough to hide the sun. It was hard to be inside at all, but once I got off work, I was out for a run or at least a walk. I had debated going to the gym for some weight training, but days like the ones we had don’t happen all the time. After my exercise, I thought about just finding a spot under a tree and soaking in the day. Hunger typically would cut that short. I also figure there will be plenty of days when it’s cloudy and in the 30s or 40s, where I’ll be more than happy to hang out inside the walls of an overcrowded, loud, dirty gym. Well, maybe not happy, more like accepting the lesser of two evils. Until those days though, you can find me on most sunny days carving myself out a slice of the bike trail.


5. I took a walk off the beaten path this week. It was off the bike path. In Brewster, there is a private dirt road that gives you a more scenic route from one part of the trail to a parking lot at a trailhead. I enjoy this route as it gives me a chance to soak in nature. I also have to make sure that I keep my head on a swivel, as there are vehicles every now and then that take this road since there are some houses on it. During this walk, I came face to face with a horrific sight. There, sitting perched on a rock, were 3 terrifying duck demons. They were not happy that I was on their property. I would have ended up as a part of their summer barbecue if I hadn’t thought fast and distracted them with a piece of bread I happened to have in my pocket. It was a terrifying ordeal, but I did manage to capture a photo of the evil creatures before escaping.

They were every bit as terrifying as they look

6. I have always considered myself a very sentimental person. I keep so many things that remind me of special times and special people. Sometimes years go by, and I come across something odd or out of place, and I know it has sentimental meaning, but I just can’t remember what it is. My forgetfulness created such a sentimental moment this week. I try to clear out the clutter on my smartphone to save as much memory as I can. Old voicemails are one thing that I rarely go into and delete. For me, this meant that when I did scroll all the way down to the bottom of my old voicemails, I found several from 2018-19 left by a lost loved one. Brenda was, for all intents and purposes, my aunt. She was a family friend whom I had known for as long as I had been alive. She was there at so many holiday gatherings and other family events. Years ago, when I worked as a cook at a local retirement home, I was pleasantly surprised to find her living there. It gave me a chance to reconnect with her. When she passed a few years ago, it made me even happier that I had those times. When people die, their voices and images can fade. Finding several voicemails from her made me smile with a happy tear. I am glad I never cleaned out those old voicemails.


7. The week definitely ended on a far busier note. I was thrilled to get to go see my old high school classmate, Patrick Hinds, doing his one-man show for his book tour, up in Provincetown. I have seen his show before, but it is still a unique feeling paying money to go see someone you used to see in the hallways at school. He has worked so hard to get to where he is now as a celebrity. There were lots of rough times and bumps in the road before he hit his stride. I have told him that I use him as an inspiration in my own quest to be a self-sustaining content creator. For those who don’t know who he is, among other things, he is the host of two award-winning podcasts. One is all about true crime, True Crime Obsessed. The other is a deep dive into the beloved 80s sitcom The Golden Girls, appropriately called The Golden Girls Deep Dive Podcast.


8. On the subject of Patrick and his show. I mentioned to him that I’d be there, and yes, he was happy, but he was more interested in my bringing my mother to the show. Why? Back in high school, when he worked at Stop & Shop, my mother was his supervisor. He had a rough time, and My mother was very understanding and sympathetic. The fact that he really wanted her to be at the show told me all I needed to know about the positive impact my mother made on him all of those years ago. When we arrived at the venue for the show, it was fitting that Patrick was standing outside, and the first person he saw was my mother. I could tell how much it meant to him that she was there. The fact that she really enjoyed his show was just the icing on the cake.

A D-Y High School reunion after the show

9. By the way, on a side note, I need to remember that Provincetown on the weekends in the summer is a busy place. Parking is at a premium. My idea was to park in this lot, which was a very short walk to the venue. The only problem was that even though we got there way ahead of time, the spots closest to the venue were full. We ended up having to park way in the back and walk nearly the entire length of the parking lot to get out. On the bright side, it made the trip out afterward much easier, but on a muggy Friday evening, every extra step you need to take adds up.


10. Anytime I am in the Provincetown area, I stop at St. Peter’s Cemetery to pay a visit to the grave of Ruth Marie Terry, aka The Lady of the Dunes. As some of you might know, I have a connection to her due to my work on the book that accompanied Frank Durant’s 2022 documentary about the infamous Cape Cod murder mystery. This week also happens to be the anniversary of the day that Ruth’s body was discovered in the remote dunes of Provincetown in 1974. I brought a single pink rose for her grave, and also a single yellow rose for the grave of Susan Perry. She was one of the victims of serial killer Tony Costa. Frank and I found her grave a few years ago, and it was mostly overgrown by grass. We literally tore the grass and dirt up to expose her rectangular stone. After that, I made it a point to leave something on her grave each time I visit Ruth’s grave, as Susan feels like she is a forgotten victim. Also, Tony Costa is buried in an unmarked grave only a few hundred feet away, which is just a shame.
 


11. Speaking of Frank, in a funny twist, I was starting a morning walk when suddenly my music cut out. I immediately thought my headphones had finally died. When I looked at my phone, I saw Frank was calling. We chatted a lot about a project we are going to be working on in the fall. The funny part was that I was still doing my walk while we talked. This meant that I was now that annoying person having a loud conversation in public. Luckily, I was walking through some quiet streets, so I didn’t get too many looks. Also, it meant that I was breathing heavily as I walked. At one point, I had to apologize to Frank for gasping and sounding like I was on death’s door. Finally, I found a spot near a river to pause my walk and just chat. I honestly can’t remember the last time I got a phone call while out for a walk or a run.


12. A motel proudly proclaiming on their sign that they have internet in 2025 is the equivalent of motels in the 1980s saying they have color TVs. It’s like, duh, the internet has been widely available for 30 years, I’d hope your little rinky-dink motel has it. It’s one step above the places that brag about having hair dryers in each room. I guess if a place doesn’t have internet in this day and age, I’d be more worried. Those are the places with the screen door hanging off the office and a guy wearing cut-off denim overalls sitting on a porch whittling a spear out of an old chair leg.