1. For the 2nd time in a month a pink flamingo was photographed at a Cape Cod beach. First, it was Chapin in Dennis and then Bass Hole in Yarmouth. These are neighboring beaches so it seems this bird is sticking to a small area. Despite knowing that, I could go and patrol Chapin and Bass for hours, days, and weeks and never see the flamingo. I’d just end up losing what’s left of my mind. It’s much different from the snowy owls at West Dennis Beach. In winter those things practically have signs and autograph tables they’re so easy to find.
2. I now own a separate special beard shampoo. Exciting, right? For the last few years during winter, I have grown a full-on beard for months. It’s mostly white as I am now staring down 50 but I decided against coloring the hair as I did it once in my 20s and it looked so obvious because my beard was 3 shades darker than the hair on my head. Anyway, I now have a long mainly-white goatee and decided to go back to specialty beard shampoo. This means that not only is my beard all nice and clean, but I also can’t shave it until the shampoo runs out to justify spending $10 on it.
3. On Cape Cod in late July there’s a cool relatively new tradition. Big Nick’s Ride For the Fallen is essentially a motorcycle parade in honor of local war hero Nicholas Xiarhos who was killed in Afghanistan in 2009. The ride began that same year and has steadily grown to be a major event in the summer. The ride encompasses much of the Cape beginning at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne. Interestingly where I live in Yarmouth is directly on the ride route, so each year the riders pass by. I was curious how big the event was. There are definitely over 1,000 motorcycles that participate. However to give you a better idea I set my timer on my phone. It began as soon as I saw the lead bike coming down the street. From that moment until the final bike passed by it was just a shade under 20 straight minutes of riders. You’re not wrong, that is in fact a lot of motorcycles.
4. During an afternoon walk through my favorite neighborhood near me I started noticing something. On one particular street, there were probably half a dozen porta potties in different people’s yards. It took me a minute to process as momentarily I thought it was some sort of new yard decorating craze. No, it was just everyone on that street having work done at the same time.
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| That might be too many porta potties |
5. While standing in line at the supermarket I was behind a mother and father with their adorable little girl in the seat of the shopping cart. She was about 2 and just stared at me so I began flipping my sunglasses down from the top of my head over my eyes repeatedly. She in turn started playing peek-a-boo. It was so cute and so much fun that I apologized to her when I had to leave and go pay for my things at another self-checkout register.
6. The youngest client I have ever trained is 13. He plays a whole bunch of sports but is still learning the basics of exercise. His aunt signed him up for hour-long sessions with me. He really doesn’t need hours but that’s what was paid for so I’ll do it. Anyway, these sessions while a lot of fun pretty much always devolve into him asking me how to do (insert exercise) and me having to demonstrate it. I think I come out of these sessions having done more work than he does. I’m always sweaty and tired from doing nonstop deadlifts, pull-ups, push-ups, etc. Who’s training who?
7. Boston advertising legend and giant of philanthropy for decades Jack Connors died this week. In 2007 Jack purchased the Marshside Restaurant in Dennis on Cape Cod where I had been working for years. Out of respect for the job we did in the kitchen, he paid several of us full-time for 9 months while the building was completely rebuilt and opened into what people see today. He kept the restaurant going after my boss Marylou passed suddenly in 2010. He gave so much to us there and I stayed much longer than I ever intended due to the tremendous amount of loyalty I felt toward him. Jack was so much more than the owner of the Marshside. He was a good man that made you feel important whenever he spoke to you. I am very sad he is gone but so grateful for what he gave me and so many others that crossed paths with him. RIP sir, you lived a great life.
8. I saw the king of all parking lot jerks this week. I’ve seen people park halfway into a spot. I’ve seen people park inches away from the car next to them. Hell, I’ve even seen people take up 2 parking spots just because they’re entitled d-bags. Never have I seen a single vehicle take up 4 parking spots. I’m not talking about being at the very far end of a large empty lot. No, I’m talking about in the middle of a busy parking lot. Bow down to the king of entitled pricks.
9. I’m sure many of you have watched and laughed at the Planet Fitness fail videos. The ones where people do incredibly stupid things at the gym thinking they know fitness. Being a member of Planet Fitness I am here to tell you that they are all totally true. I see some of the most foolish things I could imagine by people with less than zero idea of how to exercise. Sadly at least at the locations I’ve been to they don’t hire real trainers to help these people before they get hurt, or at least go viral for a few days.
10. I took a detour on a run this week. I ended up venturing down to my former middle school. 35 years ago this fall I started 6th grade at Mattacheese Middle School. 35 years, yikes. Anyway, it’s closed now and likely will be torn down in the coming years. There are still occasional town sports held in the gym. That was the case on this day. I was brave enough to enter and go a little way down a hall. I figured peeking into the gym might not be received well, and also taking a walk around the empty school (which has security cameras) might also not be wise. Maybe next time I’ll have more courage to fully trespass in my old school.
Just visiting
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