Let Them Eat Cake Editor: Donald Trump being elected president has me thinking the 61 million who voted for him just love a reality show. Well then, those voters should be in a state of frenzied euphoria over the next four years with the Trumpdashians, oops – I mean the Trumps, calling the White House "home." Given their opulent lifestyle I imagine the Palace of Versailles would be more to their liking, bu...

The holidays are here. It's time to put the divisiveness of the recent campaign season and the disquietude that followed the election behind us, look outside of ourselves and help out our neighbors. This week The Chronicle launches our 13 th annual Helping Neighbors Fund. Throughout the holiday season, we'll be raising funds for The Family Pantry of Cape Cod, the Harwich-based nonprofit organization that prov...

When I get older losing my hair Many years from now Will you still be sending me a valentine Birthday greetings, bottle of wine? If I’d been out till quarter of three Would you lock the door? Will you still need me, will you still feed me When I’m sixty-four?   “When I’m Sixty-Four” was written by Paul McCartney when he was just 16 years old. How thoughts of aging entered his 16 year ol...

Clinton Candidacy Loss From Start Editor: I voted for HRC because I didn't have a choice. However, I'm very happy that she lost the election for a second time, but I'm not happy to whom she lost. Now that it's been decided, why doesn't she stop blaming other people when she, in fact, took no responsibility for the monies in the Foundation and went on as usual, entitled just like her husband. What was her p...

As of early this week, more than four million people had signed an online petition urging Electoral College delegates to vote for the winner of the popular vote in last week's presidential election – Hillary Clinton – rather than Donald Trump, who won a majority of state Electoral votes. This effort is not likely to go anywhere, given the entrenched nature of our presidential election process. But the outpouring ...

She’s 13 now. 13 and a half (and change). But who’s counting? Sofie stands now five foot four inches. That means the child I brought back to Chatham when she was 13 months and grew up amongst us, learning to swim, skate and sail, and earning her black belt, is now less than a foot shorter than me. That seems like a milestone of sorts. The summer population of Chatham was the margin of victory in the state of ...

Only Hire Registered Contractors Editor: Consumers spend millions each year on home improvements. As manager of the state’s Home Improvement Contractor Program, the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs sees hundreds of projects go wrong each year, costing homeowners thousands of dollars and leaving them with shoddy or unfinished work. There are four important elements your readers need to know about the...

The Disney film “The Finest Hours” helped raise the profile of the U.S. Coast Guard, and Station Chatham in particular. What the rescue of the crew of the Pendleton showed modern audiences was the Coast Guard's tradition of selfless service and perseverance, a tradition that continues today. Over the years, that tradition has been, at times, a challenge to live up to, often because of conditions out of anyone'...

Help Save Monarch Butterflies Editor: I am writing to bring attention to the plight of the monarch butterfly, and if you enjoy them, how you can help. Monarch butterfly caterpillars can only eat milkweed and with the the loss of so many wild fields, the use of genetically engineered crop seed that has "Round-Up" in it, the common use of herbicides by farmers and homeowners, the beautiful monarch need our...

The weather’s soon going south, along with a great number of our thinner skinned neighbors. Jack Frost is paving the way for January’s Ice Queen and her minions, treating us to an unwelcome diet of snow and ice, turning our roads into pot-holed skating rinks and our cars into sad victims of the ensuing crashes. What if you never had to worry about getting into an accident again? Some of us may have that chance...

Time To Help The Eldredges Editor: The Eldredge Garage has been a Chatham landmark forever.  It has served the town as a livery stable, a gas and service station, for 38 years it was Chatham’s fire house, it’s been used as a staging area for construction equipment and movie sets, it has allowed truck turnarounds, wedding parking, motor vehicle storage, taxi service, beach shuttle service and public parking...

Next Tuesday, Nov. 8, is Election Day, and as it is a presidential election a higher percentage of voters will participate than were it a local one choosing members of the board of selectmen. More voters make it to the polls to elect a President or Governor, and given the nature of this overly long and sometimes troubling electoral cycle, the turnout maybe greater than usual. Still it seems appropriate to ask, “W...