Recently I spent time with a friend whose colorful language peppered the conversation. I commented, somewhat sarcastically, about her potty mouth. Another friend then piped up about her own recent language indiscretion. After a very bad, no good, frustrating day, she ended up at a big box store where she couldn’t get anyone to help her. She fired off a “Where are the %$#*x*@ gift cards!” to one of the employees, ...

Committee Seeks Grant Proposals Editor: The Chatham Community Preservation Committee is now soliciting applications for Community Preservation Act (CPA) grants for the next financial year. The committee may approve applications in four general areas: open space, historic resources, recreation land and facilities, and community/affordable housing. However applications can include, with some restrictions, a b...

We have to admit that we're not crazy about the Chatham Board of Selectmen's choice of land at 1610 Main St. as the site for a new senior center. But we also admit that it was the best option on a table strewn with poor choices. It's been almost five years since the Gerontology Institute at the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Police and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston conducted a ...

Changes Modernize Chatham Airport  Editor: Recent letters expressing concern about new “instrument approaches” pretend to be authoritative but actually demonstrate a lack of understanding of the topic. This is not surprising, as the subject is complex even for aviators. Here are just a few examples: Concern: Lack of a control tower makes these approaches unsafe. Fact: the proposed approaches are by...

A Delicious Way To Help Editor: We want to take a moment for a special thank you to all who purchased ice cream at Short 'n' Sweet on our last day, Oct. 14. Not only did you get some great ice cream but you helped support Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod with a donation of $1,350. Again, many thanks to all for a wonderful season. We look forward to seeing you in 2020. Jan and John Newton South Chatham...

If you’re a parent or grandparent in Harwich, there’s a reasonably good chance that you’ve got fond memories of time spent at the Castle in the Clouds. It was—we speak in the past tense because it may have been demolished by the time you read this—one of the most creatively designed playgrounds on the Lower Cape. It inspired children for 25 years, which means that some of the kids who played there now have kids o...

It's People Who Save Old Houses Editor: Our family has read with interest the stories this fall regarding efforts to save our former summer home on Champlain Road. We are pleased that Bob Mahoney, the current owner, has pledged to save it, either at its present location or elsewhere in Chatham. He would not have had that choice (or us, for that matter) were it not for the loving labors of the late Steve H...

Amazing grace [how sweet the sound] That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see. “Amazing Grace” is a beautiful hymn. In a way, it is the perfect hymn, expressing gratitude to the Lord for redemption. So it is not a great surprise that “Amazing Grace” is part of so many funerals. It seems I have reached the stage in life where attending funerals has become somet...

The findings of the shark mitigation analysis released last week were hardly a surprise. Of the 27 alternatives examined by the Woods Hole Group, most were found to be ineffective or unproven in deterring shark attacks. Some, the report found, bear further examination and might help provide more timely warnings of the presence of the predator. But the bottom line of the $50,000 study—commissioned by six Outer Cap...

Autumn is a season of color on Cape Cod, with vibrant pumpkins and falling leaves. But if you’re really into the color orange, you’ll find it in the traffic cones and detour signs at any of dozens of road construction projects. The sewer work in East Harwich is an inconvenience for sure, as was the work at Main Street and Route 28 in Orleans. Additional sewer work will be taking place around Chatham, Ha...

It was 97. That’s what my phone read. East Capitol Street started here, the Capitol at my back, with the Library of Congress across to my right and the Supreme Court to the left. There was a nice breeze off from the north, and it was remarkably dry. D.C. is known for its swampy humidity, so you could almost stand the temperature. First week of October in our nation/s capital and it was nearly 100 degrees. Four...

Advice To Chatham Selectmen Editor: My wife and I have just become residents of Chatham. We did so because Chatham is the quintessential quaint New England town and has been so for decades. We were aware when we moved that Chatham had a small, quaint, (we thought) daytime-use-only airport, which was consistent with the town’s beauty and character. We have recently learned that the Chatham Airport Commiss...