The Dooryard

Do New England Republicans have a leg to stand on?

A good observation by AP writer Michelle Smith (even if the article itself is highly editorialized and slanted) that the New England Republicans, with so much history, seemed to be rejected by the Northeast electorate this time around, and that the GOP faces an uphill battle there, even with moderate candidates.

Still, her conclusions are a bit overstated. It's typical for people to overreact to loss and change. "Losing the House and Senate" feels like you lost everything. But in losses, Republican soon-to-be-former Congressman Charles Bass (N.H.) got 45% of the vote. Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) got 47% of the vote. Election by election, many of these Republicans lost close races. Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine (above) won 74% of the vote. And the Republicans retained three of the six New England governor's seats. There is still plenty of support for the GOP, even in New England.

With that said, Smith's observation that that support is eroding does have merit. The Republicans had held the Massachusetts governor's seat for 16 years; their candidate this time around, Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey, mustered only 35% of the vote in the general election. While New England Republicans remain socially moderate or liberal, when the election becomes a "national election," as this last midterm election did, then the image of the Confederate-flag-waving Southern Republicans that the media constantly pushes can dominate elections even 1,000 miles away.

But there's another way of looking at the New England electorate that isn't just red and blue. One race I haven't heard talked about too much was the Maine governor's race. It was won by Democrat incumbent John Baldacci with only 38% of the vote because there were four candidates that got at least 10% of the vote. New England will be sending two independents - Bernie Sanders (Vt.) and Joe Lieberman (Conn.) - to the U.S. Senate. To me, these results speak more about the independent thinking of many New Englanders than the wins or losses by Republicans and Democrats.

The future of the party in New England, where I spent all my three weeks of my first 18 years, is certainly up in the air. If the national party does continue to become more socially conservative, it will be in dire straits in the Northeast in four years. However, from the way most people are talking, I'm pretty confident the GOP will find more common ground with the social liberals and the party will start gaining back ground in New England in 2008.

Views of Maine

We spent five days in Maine visiting my parents about two weeks ago. We stayed for part of the trip in Bryant Pond, which is very near New Hampshire, and part of it in Washington, which is between Camden and Augusta. I love visiting Maine in the autumn; it provides an incredible sense of warmth and comfort, despite the often cold, blistering wind and weather.

If you haven't been to Maine in the autumn, I strongly encourage you to go. It's very different from the beauty of the West. Colorado and California and Utah are beautiful because of the size and majesty of everything there, from the rivers to the mountains. Maine is beautiful because of its quaintness. Just riding through towns like Buckfield, Paris and Bethel, I wanted to stop at the general store, find and apartment to rent, and spend the next month there.

I hope someday to spend a few months there, just writing and photographing the state. It's a special place and has a special place in my heart.

30 PHOTOS AFTER THE JUMP>>

Small-town politics douse fireworks

The Harwich Cranberry Harvest Festival is the highlight of the year for my hometown on Cape Cod. When I was a kid, it was the biggest week of the year. It had everything from a beach party to a huge parade to fireworks to a giant fair, complete with ferris wheel and more arts and crafts than Martha Stewart's Connecticut estate.

The festival revolves around, you guessed it, the harvesting of cranberries. About this time every year, cranberry growers across Southeastern New England flood their cranberry bogs and harvest the tart red berries. Harwich has many bogs, some of which supply Ocean Spray.

This year, though, the festival will be void of fireworks. That's because the town water department sent a threatening letter to the town board of selectmen saying that the fireworks contain a water comanimant, perchlorate, and that, IF it's detected in the ground water, it could cost millions. What the water department (of which my old cross-country coach, Don Bates, is the commissioner) didn't ask beforehand was whether the fireworks company could make fireworks without perchlorate, which they can. Now, the company refuses to make the fireworks, saying they don't want to get sued.

And I wonder why my parents wanted to leave that town so badly.

The beauty of Provincetown II

While I looked at a lot of buildings in Provincetown, I also focused on the elements of what makes the place so beautiful, from the oily water lying in the marsh to the flowers to the trim on the buildings, basking in the light of the sunset.

Painter John Dowd years ago began capturing the way the light dances in Provincetown. I don't know what it is about the place, but the light of the waning sun changes the look of the place more than anywhere else I've been. I could have taken hundreds of pictures of the edges of the buildings at sunset. Unfortunately, the golden hour lasts only an hour, and I had my camera out only one afternoon.

Photos after the jump>>

The beauty of Provincetown I

The beauty of Provincetown, to me, is the quaintness of the place. Actually, it's what makes all of New England so beautiful. While California has its majestic coastline and Colorado has its towering mountains, everything about New England is smaller, quieter, more charming.

I took my brand-spanking new camera to Provincetown and spent a couple hours strolling the West End on Monday evening looking for some of that beauty. I think I found it.

More photos after the jump>>

Some great Cape food

One of the best parts of our last trip to Cape Cod was the food. It seems like every time I opened my mouth, something wonderful was going into it.

We made a return trip to Chillingsworth in Brewster. For my money, it's the best restaurant on the Cape. With alcohol, it comes in around $90/person. For a delicious seven-course meal, exceptional service, in a beautiful 300-year-old house, you can't beat it. Having worked there for three summers, the owners, Pat and Nitzi, along with a couple staff members who are still there, are all incredibly warm and generous. It's a permanent part of our summers, and I love it.

We made a wonderful discovery in Provincetown Monday night: Martin House (above). Again, an incredible meal. We both settled on the lobster in orange butter on a slice of polenta and baby white asparagus. One of the best meals I've ever had! Again, tucked in a little corner of Commercial Street, it's in a house of 250+ years. The service was incredible, as was the atmosphere.

Of course, no trip to Provincetown would be complete for me without some ice cream from Lewis Brothers. It's the most popular ice cream stop in Provincetown, but I've heard more and more people complain about it in recent years. Still, their black raspberry with chocolate jimmies is a fave.

My trip also wouldn't be complete without a sausage or meatball sub from George's Pizza. I've been going to George's for as long as I can remember. There's one in Harwichport, and for my father's taste, it's the best pizza around. I'm not a big fan of the pizza, but the subs - to die for! I do love the pizza at Spiritus, though - which we dove into post-bar on Saturday and Sunday nights. The scene there is a bit much - but, it was also where I first told Dan, five years ago yesterday, that I had a strange, wonderful feeling about him. More on that later.

For brunch, Dan's favorite spot is Cafe Heaven, right on Commercial Street. It's a quaint spot with some pretty good food. Though, the Portuguese Sweet Breat french toast I tasted there this time around wasn't so hot.

Mallory Dock

This was the first time I'd been back to Cape Cod and didn't make a stop at 80 Queen Ann Road in Harwich, where I grew up; my parents left a couple months ago for Maine. I did, however, make another sort of pilgrimmage this past weekend - to the Mallory Dock in Hyannis. Outside of Provincetown, the Mallory Dock is the only gay bar on the Cape. When I was a kid, jokes about "fags" centered as much around the Mallory Dock as they did around Provincetown.

Arriving on the Cape around 10:30pm last Friday, I convinced Dan to head with me to the bar to see what it was like, as I had never been. It was about what I had expected. While all of the patrons we talked to said it was uncharacteristically slow that night, 10 people were all I was expecting to see. We had a drink (a steal at $7 for a vodka/soda, and double the size of any cocktail served in Chelsea), played some pool, met a couple guys (one of whom lived in my hometown), and then headed off.

It felt oddly warm to be there. Nice to stop by. Everyone seemed to know everyone else (except for Dan and me, which is probably why we got plenty of glances, being the fresh meat in the bar), which is nice - to visit.

BTW, how much do I love that on Fridays they give AARP discounts. Perfect!

Back from Provincetown

I always come back from trips with lots to say. Away from the city for just a few days, my mind feels freer, wandering around an array of topics and diving deep into some of my most trusted beliefs. We spent the last few days in Provincetown, at the tip of Cape Cod. And I have lots to say.

I wonder why that is. Believe it or not, I actually had the chance to exercise my mind with some in-depth discussions about relationships and politics this past weekend. So, it's not that my mind is underworked. It may be because of the new surroundings for those few days (well, in this case, familiar but different from my norm) - they give me things to think about.

Whatever the reason, I have a bunch of things to say, so the entries will be faster this week.

Whole Foods bans lobsters

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Whole Foods has decided not to sell anymore live lobsters or crabs because, according to AP, "they could not ensure the creatures are treated with respect and compassion."

I've cooked live lobsters before. And you know, I've certainily thought for a moment about how the animal feels. But it's a lobster. And besides, that's not why they're banning the sale of it. They're banning the sale because they think that shipping them in boxes of water and putting them in a tank where kids can tap on the glass is disrespectful. So, instead, they'll just kill the lobster, freeze its meat, and ship that around the country. Much more respectful

Where do we stop with this? Should we stop selling inseticides because it's not "respectful" to ants and aphids? Should we ban hunting because it stresses out the deer? I'm all for animal rights, but banning the sale of lobsters because the way they are transported is not compassionate is just ludicrous.

When it's time to move on

I came across an article in the Harwich Oracle online today about my dad leaving his hometown of Harwich. Aside from a couple months spent at Doane College in Nebraska right after high school, he had lived in the town all his life.

While it is sad that the family has now pulled up all of its roots in my hometown, I do understand it. My brother, sister and I all left five, 10, 15 years ago. We have had our adventures moving to an exciting new place. My parents have lived within the same 10 square miles virtually all their lives (my mom moved to the Cape when she was 10).
They deserve to be where they want to be. While the people in memories they leave behind are sadder for their departure, it was time for them to go, and I'm so happy they are now where they want to be.