1. Growing up on Cape Cod in the 1980s, I can remember a tradition we had on Labor Day. People would walk from their homes to a nearby overpass, if they lived close enough, and they would wave to the throng of vehicles exiting the Cape. It was a fun tradition, I know I partook in a few times. It was a celebration of the end of tourist season, but more gratefully and thankfully. We appreciated the crowds that chose to come and spend their time and money on our little peninsula. I don’t know if anyone still does that on the Cape in the 2020s. I haven’t heard of it in any great way since the 90s. I feel as though some people who visit now are rude and entitled. They treat locals like we’re their servants and we should kiss their feet because they grace us with their presence. Like I said, this is ‘some,’ and probably a small percentage, but those people make Labor Day feel more like a celebration of getting rid of tourists rather than a celebration of a wonderful summer.
2. I would like to think that I have a pretty strong stomach. I mean, after all, I grew up in the 1980s, where we could rent disgusting horror movies as kids. That strong stomach got put to the test at work this week. There was a woman who came in to use our PEMF (Pulsed Electromagnetic Field) machine to help speed the healing of an injury. She needed to lie down on a padded table with her leg elevated on a thick green bolster to feel more comfortable. I was training a client in the gym next door, but once I was done and had a free moment, I went back into the therapy room to get the PEMF machine set up for the next patient. That is when I noticed that the bolster had a pretty sizable wet patch on it. Now I know what you’re thinking. No, it was not pee. Oh no, it was actually more gross than that. What I haven’t mentioned is that the woman had a bandaged wound on her leg, which is what she was trying to heal. Yup, you’ve got it right, the giant wet patch on the bolster was weeping fluid from her wound. It looked as though someone had poured a full bottle of water on the bolster and table. It was just disgusting and a bit disrespectful and careless of this person to use our facilities with a severely leaking wound, and wearing shorts to boot. Unreal. Needless to say, that bolster was quickly carried out to the dumpster.
3. Not far from where I live, they are in the beginning stages of building a new bike path extension. It is located on a walking route through a golf course that I like to go on a few times a month. It is fun to see the progress. This week I really got a show. I was walking when I noticed three large trucks coming down the bike path toward me. Needless to say, that’s something you don’t see very often on a bike/walking path. After seeing the trucks driving to get to where the extension is set to begin, I thought I was done with vehicles on the trail. Nope, right after I also had to dodge what had to be a golf course maintenance vehicle. I saw more motorized vehicles on the bike trail in one walk than I have in every other bike trail walk I’ve ever done combined. I also saw this wild traffic cone stalking those trucks. Nature at its best.
4. You have to respect people who try to pull a fast one despite fully knowing they’re going to fail. This example comes from visiting a Subway to get lunch one day. I order ahead through the app so I am in and out in a flash. However, I was in there long enough to watch a guy try to use a paper coupon on his meal at the register. Not only had this coupon expired, but the woman working the register remarked that it had expired by more than a year. You could see the expiration date on the coupon. Either this guy was ultra stupid and didn’t know how to use a calendar (shout out to people who think the last day of summer is Labor Day). Or this guy thought he was way smarter than he actually was. Honestly, I think both can be true, as most stupid people have disproportionately high levels of confidence.
5. To try to get some more donations for the When Henry Met Henry short film I am directing in October, I decided to take a location field trip. I went to Coast Guard Beach in Eastham to get some video and photos from the southern end near where Henry Beston’s Outermost House used to be. I figured a little narrated video from that spot might entice a few more people to donate to the fundraiser. Of course, I couldn’t just do the easy route and drive to the beach. I decided to park at the Cape Cod National Seashore visitor’s center and walk the bike trail to the beach and back. It was a perfect afternoon. I ended up doing about 6 miles, with more than 2 of those being a beach walk. I loved every second of the walk, but was wiped out afterward. I was so tired that I was sitting on the ground at the amphitheater behind the visitor’s center. I would have stayed there longer, but about a dozen ants started circling me, and I didn’t want any trouble, so I left.
6. On a curvy road not far from me, there is a speed detector. You know, one of those contraptions that shows the speed limit on that road and then your speed, typically in a large digital font. Usually, these detectors flash your speed, and then if you go over the limit, your speed either flashes or changes color, or something like that. This particular detector does neither. Once you go above the speed limit, your speed disappears and is replaced with a ‘slow down.’ If you keep going, it is then replaced by a pair of eyes with angry eyebrows. Seriously? If you got caught speeding on this road, what are they going to tell you as far as how fast you were going? ‘Sorry sir you were going ‘angry eyebrows’ in a 25 zone.’ So stupid.
7. Back in 1982, a singer named Jeffrey Osborne released a song called ‘On the Wings of Love.’ It peaked at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100. I definitely remember it as a kid. What does this have to do with this past week? My sister Ashley was insisting that she recalled a comedy sketch where Osborne had opened a restaurant appropriately named ‘Wings of Love.’ It was a chicken wing joint. Despite searching the internet, she couldn’t find any such sketch. Well, I took the bet and decided to create my own advertisement for Jeffrey Osborne’s chicken wing establishment, ‘Wings of Love.’ So here you go. Yes, my insanity and humor blend seamlessly.
8. It’s pretty sad that you can have a pair of flashing lights at a bike trail crossing and drivers will still just blow through and not stop if you’re standing there. It happens more than it should. Luckily, I stop and wait, rather than just walking across and assuming that people know that the crazy flashing lights mean to stop. During one walk this week, there was one car that stopped for me and another that just flew through. It’s like you’re either not paying attention when you drive, or you’re just a piece of garbage who doesn’t care about anyone but yourself. It’s just simple common courtesy and respect. I need to start carrying a rock in my pocket to throw at someone if they don’t stop.
9. As some of you know, back in March, I filmed a small role in a campy indie horror film, Cape Cod Cthulhu. It was my first acting gig, and I was told it was pretty good, which is always nice to hear. I have lots of footage I’ve been waiting to share to coincide with the film being released. There is an interview with one of the stars, and then a bigger interview with several of the cast and crew. It was such a fun experience, and I have been waiting for some news on the film’s release. Well, I can share the trailer for the film here. I don’t know the firm release date for streaming and DVD’s but it seems to be late October. I’ll keep you posted but until then, enjoy the first trailer for Cape Cod Cthulhu.
10. I am typically very easy to please. I would like to do amazing things and achieve huge amounts of success, but in reality, I am about as low-maintenance as they come. For example, this week I went out driving in the rain. I was listening to a podcast and I had an idea of where I wanted to go. I went to a beach that was deserted. There I parked in a far corner of the lot, turned off the car, and listened to the podcast while the rain poured all around me. It was so bland and mundane and perfectly soothing. I would love to travel the world and see everything there is to see, but honestly, I feel like I get the same amount of satisfaction from sitting in an empty beach parking lot in the rain listening to a podcast.
