Cape Coddities-Roger Livingston Scaife

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Section one of Cape Codadies. This is a libribox recording.
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All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
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information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Read
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by Lore, Cape Codaities by Roger Livingston's Cafe Forward and
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A Message from the Past forward. These essays thumbnail sketches
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of Cape cod should not be taken as a serious
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attempt to describe the cape or to delineate its people.
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They merely express a perennial enthusiasm for this summer holiday
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land today, the playground of thousands of Americans three hundred
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years ago, the first land of the Free and home
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of the brave. Acknowledgements are here given to the Atlantic
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Monthly for permission to include a by product of conversation
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and scallops to the Outlook for the same courtesy for
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a blue streak, and to the House Beautiful for a
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casual dwelling place. The authors, January nineteen twenty A Message
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from the Past. It is not strange that people who
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dwell in the same city block from October to May,
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enjoying with mutual satisfaction, the life which touches them equally,
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should from May to October show such varying opinions that
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argument is futile. These people who have wintered so happily
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together may be placed in three classes, those who claim
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for the state of Maine the exclusive right to the
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title of God's own country, those who think of the
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North Shore and Paradise as synonymous, and those other fortunates
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who regard for Cape Cod places its second only to
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Heaven itself. Therefore, it is interesting to read the following
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passages and to find these same divergent views of the
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cape and earliest times. Captain John Smith, in his account
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of New England in sixteen fourteen, in a passing reference
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to Cape Cod, says, it is a headline of high
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hills of sand, overgrown with shrubby, pines, herts and such trash,
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but an excellent harbor for all weathers. This cape is
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made by the main sea on one side, and a
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great bay on the other, in the form of a sickle.
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On it doth inhabit the people of palmet and in
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the bottom of the bay the people of Chawam scant praise.
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Bartholomew Gosnald, writing to Raleigh in sixteen o two, through
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the medium of his associate John Burton said, we stood
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a while like men, ravished at the beauty and delicacy
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of this sweet soil, and later truly the wholesome neese
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and temperature of this climate. Doth not only argue this
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people Indian to be answerable to this description, but also
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of a perfect constitution of body, active, strong, healthful, and
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very witty. Here spoke the original summer visitor and the
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founder of that colony which dots the coast from Marion
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to Manomet. If Gosnolds could see the Cape on the
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present day, he would doubtless show profound disappointment, unless he
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had chance to invest in shore property, for the forests
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teeming with game have disappeared, and no trace of the
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wit he describes can be detected among the few Indians
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who still cling to the shores of the Mashpee Pond.
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But the broad waters, the sloping sands, and above all,
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the soft climate which mister Barrington tells us did so
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much for the Aborigine, and which now transforms our children
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into veritable little red men, remain. Despite the depredations which
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the cape has suffered at the hands of both natives
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and summer residents, its flavor has been maintained, and the
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very fact that it is largely inhabited serves well in
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these days of friendly intercourse and indulgent habits. For we,
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all of us must live happily in summer, and to
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do so means comfort, food and drink. And so we find.
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Each town, however diminutive, possesses its butcher, and baker and
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candlestick maker. The latter, to be sure, is employed by
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the local electric light plant, and often his trade includes
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a knowledge of simple plumbing. A baker more often is
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both postmaster and grosser, while the butcher may be found
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to be the chairman of the board of select men.
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But all are true to the type and that wit
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which godsneld so happily. Mentions may often be detected among
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these simple people, some of whom are sea captains, whose
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taciturnity has been transformed into a shrewd cynicism coupled not
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infrequently with a delightful optimism. Rarely will a native cape
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cotter get the worst of a repartee, and still more
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rarely will you find him the first to terminate a conversation.
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He is as tenacious and conversational competition as he is
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lax in business aggression. In fact, he would far rather
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stand on the corner and describe to you in detail
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the amount of work that he has been shouldered upon
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him by so and so and so and so's wife,
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than to make the slightest attempt to accomplish any of
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the sundry duties impost. And yet he knows, and so
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do you, if you are at all burst in the
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Cape ways, that he will receive ample financial return for
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his slightest service. There is no such word as hurry
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in the bright lexicon of Cape cod. But I confess
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it with some trepidation, for my many Cape friends will
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take violent exception to my statement, true as it is,
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and yet I do not blame them. I believe it
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is thoroughly accounted for by the climate. For when I
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first visit the Cape in the spring or early summer,
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I always experience a language which makes the slightest effort
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seem a task of large proportions. In short, I am
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lazy and prefer to see someone else do it. This
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feeling generally passes away with the sheer joy of vacation, days,
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days of freedom and fresh air. But I realize that
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the climate breeds a lack of ambition, to which I
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doubtless would succumb were I to live on without interruption
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amid the Cape cotters. And therefore I prefer to think
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of the Cape as a playground for the initiate, a
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wonderland for children, a haven for rest for the tired
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of all ages, a land where lines and wrinkles quickly
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disappear under the soothing softness of the tempered climate. Joseph
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Lincoln has told us of the people, Thoro has written
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of the place. But no one will really know the
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Cape unless he becomes a part of it. End of
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Section one, Section two of Cape Catodies by Roger Livingstone's Cafe.
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This libribox recording is in the public domain, read by
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Laura the casual dwelling Place. Is there a reader who
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has not, at one time or another gloated over the terrors,
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the thrills, and the mysteries which, in fiction invariably lie
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hidden in an unoccupied house when one stops to think
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of it. Nearly all the literature of roguery, as so
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clearly set forth in former Days by Wilkie Collins gab
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Down to Conan Doyle and Mary Roberts Reinhardt possesses as
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its most important stage setting and untenanted mansion. It may
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be one of the those familiar villas generally located somewhere
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near Hampstead Heath, a house set apart from its neighbors
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and surrounded by a hedge, a house with every appearance
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of having been closed for several years and now showing
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the first signs of decay. Or it may be one
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of those somber brownstone houses situated in one of the
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many New York residential streets, where every house so closely
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resembles its fellows as to court mischief to all who
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may return late at night. Or again, it may be
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one of those palatial country houses set among lawns and gardens,
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which are invariably described with broad, magnificent porticoes toward which
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spotless limousines are continually approaching at top speed. For no
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apparent reason, such a setting is perhaps the commonest, and
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the time is always just before the family arrive for
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the season, or just after they have left for a
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their equally expensive quarters. Now and then the novelists will
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modestly cast the fate of his story in the seclusion
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of a deserted cottage by the sea or a lonely
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hut among the hills. But rarely does this occur Nowadays.
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The mystery story is as dependent upon luxury of setting
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as is the modern bachelor upon his creature comforts. And therefore,
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if the devotee of fiction chose to apply himself to
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this theme, he would find that nearly all novelists great
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and small, from Dickens to Oppenheim, from Hawthorne to Anna
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Catharine Green, have utilized the empty house to bring about
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the clematic point in the weaving of some gruesome tale.
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So clear are these fictional features that, by the association
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of ideas, one's spears and apprehensions are invariably aroused whenever
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the occasion arises when an unoccupied house or even an
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untend apartment must be entered, with that unmistakable odor of
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mustiness comes afresh. This uncomfortable sense of trepidation, hardly fear, perhaps,
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and with it a conviction that rats and mice are
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hidden spectators, and that the darkness and gloom could well
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hide crime as well as the thieves themselves. This entire
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mental state is largely caused by the aforesaid novelists, who
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I doubt not would have the same hesitancy in opening
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the door of a darkened chamber, or in groping down
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the cellar stairs of a house long left to disintegration.
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In short, reading has trained us all to regard empty
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houses with suspicion, an absurd state of mind which should
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be quickly dispelled. Or in the case of nine out
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of every ten yes, or ninety nine out of every
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one hundred houses, there is no cause whatever for suspicion.
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There is a soul little house on the shores of
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Buzzard's Bay, which remains unoccupied except for ten weeks in
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the summer. Its shutters are closed and fastened, long before
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the oaks have turned to their gorgeous fall colorings, or
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the mirregolds and the flocks have lost the freshness of
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their bloom. The soft salty breeze rippling the waters, the
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dancing rays of the September sun through the swinging pines
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give a joyous setting to this cottage by the water
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courting as it were an occupant. The heartiest of that
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overworked class of readers who rely upon mystery stories would
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find it difficult to conjure up a tragedy for such
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a spot. The native cape cotters, knowing the owners always
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glance over toward the cottage as they pass by, in
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the hope of finding a blind open or a light
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through the trees, to show that some of their family
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be down for Sunday. For this is one of the
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important services which this particular cottage renders to its owners.
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As the scion of the family, aged ten, once sagely remarked,
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we use the cottage more when it's closed than when
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it's open. And to each and every member of this house,
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it's welcome is always the same. The family reached the
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house after dark on a Saturday night, the lock readily
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responds to familiar fingers. The door creaks a friendly welcome,
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as the family grope their way through the hall in
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good humored rivalry to see which shall be the first
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to secure the box of matches, always kept on the
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right hand corner of the mantelpiece in the living room
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for this emergency. Then, as the lamps are lighted, the
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old familiar objects appear precisely as they had been left,
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perhaps six months before, with a coating of dust, to
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be sure, but nothing which a few moments and a
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dust cloth could not remove, For dust in this region
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is little known true. The chairs, or at least such
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of them, as possessed cushions are shrouded in covers. The
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sofa is a bulging conglomeration of cushions gathered from all
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hammocks and piazza furniture. But a few depth passes by
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the fairy godmother of this establishment, and presto, the cushions
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are distributed, and the sofa offers a cozy retreat for
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the entire party. Otherwise the living room is livable. A
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fire ready laid is only waiting for a match and
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a turn of the hand to open the flu Such
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is a cottage by the sea, if it has been
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planned and built as it should be, not alone for
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summer use, but also for spring in autumn holidays. The
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little cottage in question is a very ancient affair. A
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long line of sturdy cape cotters dwelt in it uncomfortably
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for generations. It was not until a few years ago
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that it was entirely renovated, enlarged, and equipped for summer use.
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Much care and thought were given to its convenience, and
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it stands today as a model for perennial use as
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a casual habitation. But it has certain drawbacks, as for instance, plaster.
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Such a cottage, to secure the maximum comfort with the
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minimum of expense, should be unplastered and without a cellar,
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so that the circulation of air will keep the house
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free from dampness. There should be a kerosene cooking stove
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in the kitchen so that the cooking can be done
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without jeopardizing the water coil or boiler. Furthermore, unless one's
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family and friends are experts in the culinary art, the
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usual stove fire is built regardless of the cost of
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coal or kindlings, and the fire itself is apt to
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take a good deal of time in the making, several trials,
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often being necessary before the coal's kindle into a respectable glow.
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The problem of water is perhaps the most troublesome. No house,
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of course, can be left with the water on during
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the winter season. These cape cottages are no exception to
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the rule, and every pipe is carefully drained and the
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faucets greased to prevent rust. To go to the trouble
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of turning on the water system for an occasional Sunday
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or holiday was manifestly out of the question, and so
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the owner of this particular cottage solved the difficulty. In
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true backwoods fashion, a small stone tank placed in the
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closet behind the stove, holding not over five gallons of water,
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was always religiously filled. This served as lubricant for a
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hand pump at the kitchen sink. One of the first
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duties in starting in housekeeping was to heat a pail
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of this water, thaw out the pump, and thus secure
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the supply which adequately filled the family needs for the
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day or two of camp life to be enjoyed. You
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alas what of bedding and blankets? They are there at hand.
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As a matter of fact, the less one puts away,
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the better for each and every article. All blankets, hung
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upon ropes stretched across the attic are dry and ready
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for use. Upon such occasions as the one noted, the
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family do without sheets and sleep fully as soundly. The
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00:16:32.080 --> 00:16:34.840
blazing of the fire logs and the warmth of the
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living room have given to all a drowsy feeling which
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00:16:38.399 --> 00:16:43.360
defies wakefulness when once the head touches the pillow. If
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any one should contemplate making use of his summer house
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in this fashion, there are certain suggestions which it would
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be well to follow, points which any yachtsmen or camper
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would never overlook. First of all, there should be a
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00:16:58.039 --> 00:17:01.080
place for everything, and every thing should be in place.
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You can never tell when you will return. Perhaps you
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00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:08.720
may be delayed and not arrive until after dark, chilled
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and hungry from a long motor ride. At such times,
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a fire ready laid with a good store of dried
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wood is essential to happiness and comfort. There should always
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00:17:20.279 --> 00:17:23.000
be a list of provisions left at the house, so
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that you may avoid duplication in purchasing supplies. Besides food,
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there should also be such necessities as soap, matches and candles.
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These should always be left in the boxes to prevent
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the mice and squirrels from robbing one. A good scheme
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00:17:40.240 --> 00:17:43.480
is to build a zinc lined cupboard in the pantry
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in which to keep such perishables. Kerosene is dangerous to
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00:17:47.680 --> 00:17:50.279
leave about, and it is well to bring this with
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you for the cooked stove. Furthermore, it is hard to
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remember whether enough has been left at the house for
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twenty four hours. Use care should always be taken, and
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to leave the small water tank filled unless you plan
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00:18:03.519 --> 00:18:07.799
to secure your supply from a friend or neighbor. Your
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00:18:07.839 --> 00:18:13.039
pots and pans cutlery, dishes, and glasses should always be
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washed and put away in order before leaving, ready for
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instant use. A little system will make all the difference
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in the world in the comfort and enjoyment of such
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an outing, and will save labor so that your actual
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work will be done in much less time, and the
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daylight hours can be given over to the outdoor life
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which endears the place to each and every member of
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your family. Whether it be a canoe, a knockabout, a gun,
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or a fishing line, the life outside the cottage will
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00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:48.400
be a reflection of that within, and your enjoyment will
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come from the facility which you manage the essentials of
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simple living. And so after you have enjoyed your day
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in the open, you will return to the cottage and
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discover that the simple comforts which it offers, while perhaps
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lacking the luxury of your daily routine at home, will
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be enjoyed with a relish far beyond that existence. In
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00:19:09.720 --> 00:19:12.920
a brick block, amid a mass of brick a brac
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and surrounded by servants in its place, you will devour
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an unusual amount of food, which tastes the better because
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you have cooked it, and later you will fall asleep,
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with the wind singing in the trees and the waves
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lapping the shores. The occasional barking of a dog will
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arouse no apprehension, and the dread of haunted houses, of
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00:19:36.119 --> 00:19:40.920
mysterious deeds accomplished behind clothes shutters will have vanished until
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you are safe home again with a thriller to pass
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away the time before it is seasonable to retire. End
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of chapter two, section three of Cape Cottades by Roger
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Livingsten's scathe. This libribox recording is in the public domain.
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Read by lore. The ubiquitous clam they scattered up and
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down by waterside. They could bind ground nuts and clams.
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William Bradford, History of Plymouth Plantation, number two, one thirty.
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Surprising as it may seem, the clam, at least under
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his own name, does not appear in the Encyclopedia Britannica.
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And yet the clam is proverbial, metaphorical, and substantial, So
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substantial in fact, that individuals of uncertain digestion have been
305
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rendered distinctly unhappy after a hearty encounter. But what is
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more surprising to the average person, and especially to the
307
00:20:48.319 --> 00:20:51.960
novice in clamming, is where all the clams come from,
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00:20:52.079 --> 00:20:56.359
for the unending clam bakes, clam chatters, and the various
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00:20:56.400 --> 00:21:02.039
concoctions necessitating a generous supply of these violent shellfish. A
310
00:21:02.160 --> 00:21:05.240
journey to the beach at low tide for all climbers
311
00:21:05.319 --> 00:21:08.480
know from the reference to the animal's joyous spirit at
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00:21:08.599 --> 00:21:12.880
high water that clambing is useless at that period, generally
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00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:17.000
fails to accomplish more than a very lame back, muddy
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feet and a paltry dozen or more specimens of the
315
00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:26.079
clam family, generally of immature age. The profusion of empty
316
00:21:26.119 --> 00:21:30.640
shells scattered about encourage the clamor into the belief that here,
317
00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:34.759
at least is a favorable locality for his first efforts,
318
00:21:35.160 --> 00:21:39.119
and he grasps his fork and bends low, thrusting the
319
00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:43.119
implement into the black ooze with keen anticipation that the
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00:21:43.200 --> 00:21:46.880
mud will disclose a whole family of clams ready at
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00:21:46.920 --> 00:21:51.079
hand for capture. But instead he is rewarded by finding
322
00:21:51.119 --> 00:21:56.359
a number of white shells, seemingly clams in reality merely
323
00:21:56.440 --> 00:22:00.480
their shells held closely together by mud and sand, the
324
00:22:00.519 --> 00:22:05.319
skeletons of former bivalves whose souls have fled to other worlds,
325
00:22:05.640 --> 00:22:08.839
and whose bodies have long since disappeared the way of
326
00:22:08.920 --> 00:22:12.960
all flesh. And so he seeks another spot, and the
327
00:22:13.000 --> 00:22:17.240
same process is repeated. Each time he is conscious of
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00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:22.759
an increasing stiffening of the back, recalling former twinges of lumbago,
329
00:22:23.279 --> 00:22:25.880
and after an hour or so, the tide forces him
330
00:22:25.920 --> 00:22:30.079
to retreat, and he returns dejectedly to partake of a
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00:22:30.119 --> 00:22:34.720
thin clambro upon the top of which, as a consolation prize,
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00:22:34.759 --> 00:22:38.519
his wife has tactfully placed a little whipped cream. And
333
00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:42.480
yet the clam is ubiquitous once you know him, and
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00:22:42.559 --> 00:22:47.000
the clamor himself has been immortalized by mister William J.
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00:22:47.240 --> 00:22:52.319
Hopkins and several delightful stories with which certain readers are familiar.
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The enthusiastic soon learns their favorite haunts and unfavorable tides.
337
00:22:58.400 --> 00:23:03.000
He gathers these bivalves by the pailful, for chowders and
338
00:23:03.079 --> 00:23:06.960
for bay alike. He digs constructs a wire cage in
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00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:09.880
which to keep his precious clams from day to day
340
00:23:10.119 --> 00:23:13.839
and week to week, and thus they become, as it were,
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almost a part of his summer entourage. The clam is
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00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:22.880
a numerous family. Mayra or Ranaria were one to become scientific.
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00:23:23.359 --> 00:23:27.240
The ordinary mud clam which inhabits the tide water harbors
344
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of our coast, the quah hog, whose young termed little
345
00:23:31.279 --> 00:23:35.759
necks are served uncooked as appetizers, and the sea clam
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are very familiar in appearance and habits. But all varieties
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00:23:39.960 --> 00:23:43.640
are secured in different ways and in varying localities, and
348
00:23:43.720 --> 00:23:47.839
therein lies an added charm to the pastime of clam digging.
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There is a certain portion of the coastline, in a
350
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very attractive section of Cape cod, which shall be nameless,
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where all varieties of these molloks abounds, and it is
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00:23:59.240 --> 00:24:03.519
difficult at times to decide which variety to pursue. The
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00:24:03.720 --> 00:24:07.680
ordinary mud clam is generally saw on the especially low
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00:24:07.799 --> 00:24:11.880
tides so calmly afforded by the moon at stated intervals.
355
00:24:12.359 --> 00:24:15.839
It is then that the tide line resembles miniature trenches
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00:24:16.359 --> 00:24:19.880
first line defenses, if you will. So many and so
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00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:23.559
persistent are the pursuers, who look for all the world
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as if they were digging themselves in in anticipation of
359
00:24:27.240 --> 00:24:30.839
a machine gun attack. The quohog is more secure, for
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00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:34.279
he lives in no man's land, beyond the trenches and
361
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just under the surface. Of the mud. If one is
362
00:24:37.160 --> 00:24:40.960
walking up a salty, muddy creek, and surprisingly, as the
363
00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:44.519
fact may seem, one does often follow this watery bypath,
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00:24:44.839 --> 00:24:48.680
the foot will continue to disclose these big fellows. In
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00:24:48.759 --> 00:24:51.400
the course of an hour of this method of locomotion,
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00:24:51.920 --> 00:24:55.839
a full pail of couhogs may be secured without further
367
00:24:55.960 --> 00:24:59.359
discomfort than a pair of wet legs and two very
368
00:24:59.440 --> 00:25:04.359
muddy feet. The fishermen, however, regard such efforts as time lost.
369
00:25:04.839 --> 00:25:09.240
They manipulate two long handled rakes bound together at the bottom,
370
00:25:09.400 --> 00:25:12.920
and with this implement a sort of hand dredging process
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is performed, which apparently yields better results. It is only
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00:25:17.880 --> 00:25:22.039
the native fishermen, with his knowledge of tides and currents,
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of sandy or muddy bottoms of channels and shoals, who
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00:25:26.359 --> 00:25:30.440
can successfully locate the choice spots where these quahogs lie
375
00:25:30.559 --> 00:25:34.960
hidden beneath water, seaweed and mud. The sea clam is
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00:25:35.119 --> 00:25:39.359
as immaculately clean as his harbor cousin is muddy. He
377
00:25:39.480 --> 00:25:42.519
is likewise found just beneath the surface of the water,
378
00:25:43.079 --> 00:25:46.920
buried in firm white sand over which the white crusted
379
00:25:46.920 --> 00:25:50.759
breakers foam on the beach. These clams are not greatly
380
00:25:50.880 --> 00:25:54.880
valued as food. They are gamy and tough in comparison
381
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to their brethren, and a sharp contrast in appearance with
382
00:25:59.359 --> 00:26:03.880
their delicate, smooth shell of an exquisite cathe ole color.
383
00:26:04.319 --> 00:26:07.599
It is for this reason, perhaps, that only the most
384
00:26:07.759 --> 00:26:12.039
enthusiastic of clamors or fishermen after bait, know of their
385
00:26:12.079 --> 00:26:16.720
whereabouts along the beaches, where thousands of Americans may be
386
00:26:16.799 --> 00:26:21.799
seen in impressionistic attire disporting themselves by bobbing up and
387
00:26:21.880 --> 00:26:25.519
down in the waves. One could easily secure a pailful
388
00:26:25.599 --> 00:26:29.039
of these fascinating creatures by wading out and groping in
389
00:26:29.079 --> 00:26:33.559
the sands. No more exhilarating pleasure can be secured from
390
00:26:33.680 --> 00:26:38.079
surf bathing than in this pastime, which calls for agility
391
00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:41.720
in dodging the breakers as they roll in. While you
392
00:26:41.759 --> 00:26:45.359
are in the act of dislodging a fine fat specimen,
393
00:26:45.759 --> 00:26:49.240
you're pale grasped in one hand, the other embedded in
394
00:26:49.279 --> 00:26:53.000
the sand seeking your prey. Your body is swept first
395
00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:56.599
in then out by the waves. In order to regain
396
00:26:56.640 --> 00:27:01.039
your balance, you lose your hold, just ask being toppled
397
00:27:01.079 --> 00:27:03.960
over by the next wave rushing towards its finish on
398
00:27:04.039 --> 00:27:07.640
the sands and miss the clam and so the process
399
00:27:07.759 --> 00:27:11.880
begins all over again. The little necks have their own
400
00:27:11.960 --> 00:27:14.839
places of abode close to the surface of the mud,
401
00:27:14.920 --> 00:27:19.200
in sequestered inlets. Now and again the phlebian clamor will
402
00:27:19.319 --> 00:27:22.519
come across the stray family of little fellows, while in
403
00:27:22.640 --> 00:27:26.559
quest of the common variety, but as a pastime, digging
404
00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:30.359
for little necks has but little zest. And now, after
405
00:27:30.440 --> 00:27:35.119
realizing the fascination of clamming, why be surprised if, when
406
00:27:35.119 --> 00:27:37.720
you run down to the cape for a weekend, your
407
00:27:37.799 --> 00:27:41.559
host scrips you with a hand, cold and moist from submersion,
408
00:27:41.920 --> 00:27:45.440
a clammy hand. And why be surprised if, on the
409
00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:49.319
following day, instead of the routine of golf and tennis,
410
00:27:49.599 --> 00:27:53.400
you are initiated into this simple sport. The surprise would
411
00:27:53.400 --> 00:27:56.200
come to the writer of this slight dissertation if he
412
00:27:56.240 --> 00:27:59.440
should find you callous to the delight of clamming, or
413
00:27:59.559 --> 00:28:10.480
disrespectable of the occupation of the clamor. End of section three,
414
00:28:10.680 --> 00:28:16.000
Section four of Cape Cotoities by Roger Livingstone's Cafe. This
415
00:28:16.039 --> 00:28:19.720
LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Read by Lore
416
00:28:20.880 --> 00:28:27.279
a byproduct of conservation. The torrent of conservation surged over
417
00:28:27.359 --> 00:28:31.000
our community in wartime with a mighty roar, carrying with
418
00:28:31.160 --> 00:28:34.759
it all thought of flowers and lawns, and making chaos
419
00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:38.519
of our cherished plans for a summer garden, with a
420
00:28:38.640 --> 00:28:43.839
velocity which only social enterprise could initiate. New England became
421
00:28:43.880 --> 00:28:49.400
a market garden from Eastport to Greenwich. Conservation developed backyards
422
00:28:49.400 --> 00:28:53.519
and vacant lots into gardens, and bank clerks into farmers,
423
00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:57.720
enthusiastic at the prospect and innocent of the coming torments
424
00:28:57.720 --> 00:29:01.359
which weeds and pests would soon bring them. And so
425
00:29:01.880 --> 00:29:05.359
for this same reason our flower garden on the cape
426
00:29:05.440 --> 00:29:09.200
simmered down to a few nasturtiums and whatever blossoms of
427
00:29:09.240 --> 00:29:13.559
a perennial nature cared to show themselves, while our spring boarders,
428
00:29:13.799 --> 00:29:17.200
usually a riot of color, were given over to vegetables.
429
00:29:18.039 --> 00:29:21.039
What then, should we have in our vases to reflect
430
00:29:21.039 --> 00:29:25.119
the profusion of the outdoor season. For a room without
431
00:29:25.160 --> 00:29:28.799
flowers in summer is as devoid as character and charm
432
00:29:29.079 --> 00:29:33.359
as a man without a necktie. The solution naturally was
433
00:29:33.400 --> 00:29:36.480
soon found by many in the wild flowers. If the
434
00:29:36.559 --> 00:29:40.559
conversation has accomplished nothing else. Its gift to us of
435
00:29:40.599 --> 00:29:45.200
an appreciation of the beauty and variety of these exquisite plants,
436
00:29:45.240 --> 00:29:49.559
while more than repay our efforts to grow potatoes, beans
437
00:29:49.640 --> 00:29:55.039
and corn at exorbitant prices with doubtful success. The last
438
00:29:55.160 --> 00:29:58.000
days of school for the children in certain affairs at
439
00:29:58.039 --> 00:30:02.559
the office, together with fixed habits which tyrannize over the household,
440
00:30:02.680 --> 00:30:05.680
kept us from leaving for the Cape until late in June,
441
00:30:05.839 --> 00:30:09.000
so that we missed the mayflowers which have made Cape
442
00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:14.559
cod famous for generations. The iris and violets, too had disappeared,
443
00:30:14.880 --> 00:30:17.559
as well as the dog would with its delicate and
444
00:30:17.640 --> 00:30:22.279
generous pink and white petals. A few short hours after arrival,
445
00:30:22.599 --> 00:30:26.319
my little daughter discovered near by some exquisite specimens of
446
00:30:26.359 --> 00:30:28.960
the wild lupine, growing just as I had seen it
447
00:30:29.079 --> 00:30:34.039
upon the slopes of Mount Tmilipas near San Francisco, although
448
00:30:34.079 --> 00:30:38.279
perhaps not in the same profusion. From that first day
449
00:30:38.359 --> 00:30:42.000
until well into September, our living room was made joyous
450
00:30:42.079 --> 00:30:45.839
by a succession of flowers as delicate and graceful as
451
00:30:45.920 --> 00:30:49.920
ever came from the highly cultivated gardens of the idle rich,
452
00:30:50.359 --> 00:30:53.920
a term which will soon vanish. And justly so. The
453
00:30:53.960 --> 00:30:57.799
wild roses were late and never more plentiful or more perfect.
454
00:30:58.200 --> 00:31:03.119
The daisies arranged mid clusters of shiny bayberry and huckleberry
455
00:31:03.240 --> 00:31:08.519
leaves were transformed into stately decorations. The broom, as it
456
00:31:08.599 --> 00:31:12.400
is often called, which abounds in certain sections of the cape,
457
00:31:12.640 --> 00:31:16.039
planted there in past years, without doubt, gave one a
458
00:31:16.160 --> 00:31:19.920
sense of having been ferried across the sea overnight, while
459
00:31:19.960 --> 00:31:24.119
our own columbine and wild geranium made a pleasing variety,
460
00:31:24.599 --> 00:31:28.680
especially when arranged with the soft green of the wild Sasparilla.
461
00:31:29.480 --> 00:31:32.960
With the coming of July, the Hudsonia or beech heather
462
00:31:33.359 --> 00:31:37.880
clothed our foreground with brilliant yellow spots touches of the
463
00:31:37.920 --> 00:31:41.480
sun here and there, while the low wild shrubs and
464
00:31:41.559 --> 00:31:44.880
grasses seemed to grow overnight in their desire to hide
465
00:31:44.920 --> 00:31:47.960
our view of the water. After a week of rain
466
00:31:48.119 --> 00:31:51.039
in which we were confined to the flowers about the house,
467
00:31:51.599 --> 00:31:56.599
succulent clover, Queen Anne's lace, and a wide variety of
468
00:31:56.680 --> 00:32:03.000
tall grasses, which mingled with pine branches form admirable wall decoration.
469
00:32:03.559 --> 00:32:07.440
Our desire for botanical information led us to scour the
470
00:32:07.559 --> 00:32:12.000
nearby country, not with guidebook, motor maps, or even a
471
00:32:12.039 --> 00:32:15.640
copy of How to Know the Wildflowers. But to journey
472
00:32:15.759 --> 00:32:19.559
simply forth, either on foot or tucked tightly into our
473
00:32:19.640 --> 00:32:24.039
forward car, to come unexpectedly upon one of the many
474
00:32:24.119 --> 00:32:27.799
ponds dotted with lilies and fringed with a variety of
475
00:32:27.839 --> 00:32:32.680
flowering shrubs, caused as delightful a sensation as the same
476
00:32:32.799 --> 00:32:36.519
site a few years ago would have aroused, Only then
477
00:32:36.920 --> 00:32:40.920
it would have stimulated a very different desire. The thought
478
00:32:41.039 --> 00:32:45.359
of a possible bass, lazily drifting below the surface, to
479
00:32:45.440 --> 00:32:49.640
be tempted perhaps by a fly, would have been uppermost.
480
00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:54.119
But this summer our sport lay in securing wildflowers, a
481
00:32:54.240 --> 00:32:58.200
harmless and charming pastime in which, for the first time,
482
00:32:58.440 --> 00:33:02.400
all the members of the family equal enjoyment. Even our
483
00:33:02.480 --> 00:33:07.440
near neighbors confirmed golfers admitted the fascination of our newly
484
00:33:07.480 --> 00:33:13.759
acquired sport to return laden with lilies, wild clematis, marshmallows
485
00:33:14.480 --> 00:33:20.359
delicately pink upon their tall, stately stems, cattails, red lilies,
486
00:33:20.640 --> 00:33:24.759
the fragrant clethra, and a variety of other flowers whose
487
00:33:24.839 --> 00:33:27.599
names are to be discovered in the winter. Over a
488
00:33:27.640 --> 00:33:33.119
complete botanical guide savored of a veritable triumph. Our growing
489
00:33:33.240 --> 00:33:37.000
interest in this wild garden was amply rewarded. For now
490
00:33:37.039 --> 00:33:39.880
in August, the flowers are at their height, and it
491
00:33:39.960 --> 00:33:45.160
became doubly interesting whether the discovery of new varieties or
492
00:33:45.240 --> 00:33:50.039
the satisfaction of gathering and arranging the commonest weeds brought
493
00:33:50.079 --> 00:33:54.160
the greater pleasure. It is hard to judge the recollection
494
00:33:54.400 --> 00:33:58.559
of a tall, graceful copper vase, filled with the despised
495
00:33:58.680 --> 00:34:02.319
chickery and bouncing the blue of the one and the
496
00:34:02.359 --> 00:34:07.079
delicate pinkish purple of the other, blending charmingly and supported
497
00:34:07.160 --> 00:34:11.480
in contrast by a few sprays of sumac leaves lingers
498
00:34:11.559 --> 00:34:15.000
as one of the floral discoveries of the summer. A
499
00:34:15.199 --> 00:34:19.880
mass of fireweed interspersed with slender sprays of salt grass
500
00:34:19.920 --> 00:34:24.039
and full bloom is another, and yet to the sportsmen
501
00:34:24.360 --> 00:34:30.199
or the embryonic scientists, individuals of very similar characteristics. An
502
00:34:30.239 --> 00:34:34.280
excursion into the back country through the woods, a good long,
503
00:34:34.480 --> 00:34:38.559
honest tramp in pursuit of new floral game, and the
504
00:34:38.599 --> 00:34:42.239
finding now a clump of cardinal flowers, and again the
505
00:34:42.320 --> 00:34:46.199
deadly night shade. For the sportsmen and scientists alike are
506
00:34:46.239 --> 00:34:50.559
fearless is keen pleasure. At times we would return with
507
00:34:50.639 --> 00:34:53.880
a little booty to show for our trouble, a gathering
508
00:34:53.960 --> 00:34:57.760
of Saint John's war, perhaps a few stalks of mallow
509
00:34:57.920 --> 00:35:01.920
or one eyed daisies, but never empty handed, and always
510
00:35:01.960 --> 00:35:04.599
with the exhilaration of the thought that here was a
511
00:35:04.639 --> 00:35:08.440
garden without limit, without weeds, and without the cares and
512
00:35:08.480 --> 00:35:12.760
expenses to which we were accustomed. In arrangement, it must
513
00:35:12.800 --> 00:35:17.719
be confessed that discussion often arose. Certain members of the family,
514
00:35:17.800 --> 00:35:22.000
who shall be nameless, preferred a few blooms alone in
515
00:35:22.079 --> 00:35:26.719
each face, while others clamored loudly for garnishings of salt
516
00:35:26.760 --> 00:35:32.079
grasses and other green decorations upon such flowers as butterfly
517
00:35:32.199 --> 00:35:37.000
weed and tansy. Such discussions nearly ended in riots, and
518
00:35:37.159 --> 00:35:40.679
only a tactful distribution of these blooms to those who
519
00:35:40.679 --> 00:35:45.039
had gathered them with full authority as to arrangement, secured peace.
520
00:35:45.880 --> 00:35:50.079
The golden rod made its appearance earlier than usual, the handsome,
521
00:35:50.159 --> 00:35:53.960
sturdy variety which grows close to the tide water, being
522
00:35:54.119 --> 00:35:58.719
especially fine. With it. Came the purple and white wild asters,
523
00:35:59.000 --> 00:36:01.920
which are in reality so much more beautiful than the
524
00:36:01.960 --> 00:36:06.400
cultivated kind, and the sea lavender, vining with baby's breath
525
00:36:06.480 --> 00:36:10.880
in its delicacy. In this September, a pleasant surprise came
526
00:36:10.920 --> 00:36:13.400
in the discovery of a flower which we called, and
527
00:36:13.559 --> 00:36:18.920
possibly incorrectly so, the wild primrose. Growing close to the
528
00:36:18.960 --> 00:36:22.679
coast among the pines and scrub oaks, and blooming at
529
00:36:22.679 --> 00:36:26.719
this same time was the beach pea, a long climbing
530
00:36:26.840 --> 00:36:31.679
vine of a pinkish violet color, luxuriating amid the desolation
531
00:36:31.840 --> 00:36:36.280
of the sand dunes. Close upon the heels of these blossoms,
532
00:36:36.559 --> 00:36:40.480
which both seemed to belong to the springtime, the turning
533
00:36:40.599 --> 00:36:45.079
of the leaves, the crispness of the air, the short evenings,
534
00:36:45.280 --> 00:36:50.320
and the aforesaid three governing reasons, school office, and domestic
535
00:36:50.400 --> 00:36:54.840
domination decided us, with more reluctance than ever, to close
536
00:36:54.880 --> 00:36:58.159
the cottage. It was not until our luggage was packed
537
00:36:58.239 --> 00:37:02.039
and ready that our final gathering of the season's wildflowers
538
00:37:02.119 --> 00:37:05.559
were removed and the vases put away against the coming
539
00:37:05.639 --> 00:37:09.239
of next spring. It still remains to be seen whether
540
00:37:09.360 --> 00:37:13.239
conservation will ultimately lead to a saving in the cost
541
00:37:13.280 --> 00:37:16.760
of food, For Americans are more given to preaching than
542
00:37:16.800 --> 00:37:19.800
to practice, But it has served us well in our
543
00:37:19.840 --> 00:37:24.360
appreciation of certain of the good things in life. End
544
00:37:24.400 --> 00:37:35.000
of section four, Section five of Cape Catodies by Roger
545
00:37:35.280 --> 00:37:39.480
Livingson's gate. This libribox recording is in the public domain
546
00:37:39.880 --> 00:37:45.800
for read by lore Motor Tyrannicus. In the dim days
547
00:37:45.800 --> 00:37:49.320
of a decade ago, a generation might well have passed,
548
00:37:49.679 --> 00:37:52.719
for time is measured by the march of events rather
549
00:37:52.800 --> 00:37:56.519
than the procession of years. I remember yearning for the
550
00:37:56.559 --> 00:38:01.519
possession of an automobile. It mattered not what make or shape,
551
00:38:01.760 --> 00:38:05.840
or size or year. I was oblivious to the merits
552
00:38:05.880 --> 00:38:09.639
of six cylinders as opposed to four. I laughed at
553
00:38:09.679 --> 00:38:13.559
the enthusiasts who reckoned upon the length of wheelbase as
554
00:38:13.599 --> 00:38:18.320
deciding his comforter, the question of demountable rims as governing
555
00:38:18.440 --> 00:38:22.480
his decision as to which make to select. All I
556
00:38:22.599 --> 00:38:27.440
coveted was something on wheels, preferably four of my own,
557
00:38:27.599 --> 00:38:31.039
which might go, or even might not go. For so
558
00:38:31.400 --> 00:38:35.159
rampant was the possessive desire in my heart that the
559
00:38:35.280 --> 00:38:37.559
chief thing in the world seemed to me at that
560
00:38:37.760 --> 00:38:41.320
time to be able to say my motor in an
561
00:38:41.559 --> 00:38:45.559
utterly casual matter of fact tone, and back it up
562
00:38:45.599 --> 00:38:48.960
by nodding my head in the direction of the barn, which,
563
00:38:49.000 --> 00:38:52.559
after the fashion of marriages, had suddenly changed its name
564
00:38:52.800 --> 00:38:57.039
overnight by the possession of a master, and so became
565
00:38:57.159 --> 00:39:01.480
my garage. This ridiculous state of mine is easy to
566
00:39:01.559 --> 00:39:05.199
account for. In winter we lived in the suburbs, where
567
00:39:05.239 --> 00:39:08.480
it seemed to both my wife and to me that
568
00:39:08.639 --> 00:39:12.480
every friend we had owned a car. In summer we
569
00:39:12.559 --> 00:39:16.920
sojourned up upon Cape Cod, where the motor had replaced
570
00:39:16.960 --> 00:39:20.920
the runabout so completely that our old horse looked like
571
00:39:20.960 --> 00:39:25.039
a prehistoric relic of the Stone Age. Added to this
572
00:39:25.280 --> 00:39:28.119
was the ignomy of knowing that the butcher and baker
573
00:39:28.239 --> 00:39:34.079
both possessed machines, and had that mythological person, the candlestick maker,
574
00:39:34.239 --> 00:39:38.400
abided in our town, doubtless he would have honked his
575
00:39:38.599 --> 00:39:42.920
way by our door. In short, the thing got so
576
00:39:43.119 --> 00:39:46.920
badly on our nerves that, finally, with full knowledge of
577
00:39:46.960 --> 00:39:52.079
the financial iniquity involved, I purchased one of those hopelessly
578
00:39:52.280 --> 00:39:58.440
Flebbeian affairs which travel under so many approprious pseudonyms afford
579
00:39:59.159 --> 00:40:02.239
From that day to this I have owned some sort
580
00:40:02.280 --> 00:40:06.119
of car, and have thought myself a wise and fortunate man,
581
00:40:06.559 --> 00:40:10.239
and subconsciously, I have felt myself rather more of a
582
00:40:10.280 --> 00:40:14.159
person because of this possession, for such is the frailty
583
00:40:14.400 --> 00:40:18.760
of human nature. To day, however, marks a turning point,
584
00:40:19.079 --> 00:40:24.199
a milestone, a crisis in my career. Personally, I consider
585
00:40:24.360 --> 00:40:29.000
this day one of triumph. I have sold my car.
586
00:40:29.719 --> 00:40:33.599
I have no independent means of transportation other than my
587
00:40:33.719 --> 00:40:37.039
own good legs, or at least they were so until
588
00:40:37.079 --> 00:40:41.039
I neglected them, and I rejoice in my motorless state.
589
00:40:41.639 --> 00:40:45.559
I feel a sense of exhilaration in my freedom from fords,
590
00:40:45.599 --> 00:40:50.159
from the bondage of buicks, from captivity in my Chaver sedan.
591
00:40:51.079 --> 00:40:56.320
Such exhilaration is doubtless hard to understand, because precisely the
592
00:40:56.440 --> 00:41:01.000
same conditions now exist which originally drove me into buying
593
00:41:01.079 --> 00:41:05.639
that first universal car, only in a more exaggerated degree.
594
00:41:06.360 --> 00:41:09.760
My children, and now there are more of them, are
595
00:41:09.840 --> 00:41:14.199
always clamoring for rides, even for the short distance of
596
00:41:14.280 --> 00:41:19.079
a few blocks which separates our house from school. My wife,
597
00:41:19.199 --> 00:41:22.000
and I must confess, there is now more of her too,
598
00:41:22.639 --> 00:41:27.079
still plies her trade of exchanging visits and buzzing about
599
00:41:27.239 --> 00:41:32.159
town all day long, never thinking of walking. And for myself,
600
00:41:32.519 --> 00:41:36.000
I have become mutely accustomed to the role of family
601
00:41:36.119 --> 00:41:41.920
chauffeur when not attempting that increasing impossibility, the attempt to
602
00:41:41.960 --> 00:41:46.400
make both ends meet. And yet is it, after all
603
00:41:46.519 --> 00:41:50.480
so hard to understand this relief in the first place?
604
00:41:50.920 --> 00:41:54.800
The car, no matter what variety, either goes or it
605
00:41:54.840 --> 00:41:58.199
does not go. If by chance it goes, you must
606
00:41:58.239 --> 00:42:00.880
go with it. If it does not let go, you
607
00:42:00.960 --> 00:42:03.880
must make it go, or get someone who knows more
608
00:42:03.880 --> 00:42:06.920
about it than you do, and who costs more than
609
00:42:06.960 --> 00:42:10.320
you do to mend it. That means that you go
610
00:42:10.519 --> 00:42:14.360
upstairs into your own room and change into your old
611
00:42:14.480 --> 00:42:18.559
clothes reserve for this purpose, go down again and out
612
00:42:18.599 --> 00:42:22.440
to the garage, where you stand in contemplated mood for
613
00:42:22.559 --> 00:42:26.519
some moments before crawling under the machine. When you are
614
00:42:26.599 --> 00:42:30.679
safely landed in a dripping pool of oil, your children
615
00:42:30.880 --> 00:42:34.840
and your neighbor's children come trooping in from play and
616
00:42:35.039 --> 00:42:37.800
ask you why you are there and what you are doing.
617
00:42:38.559 --> 00:42:43.199
This in itself is disconcerting, for you generally don't know.
618
00:42:44.000 --> 00:42:48.800
Having successfully found that out, you slowly emerge from your
619
00:42:48.920 --> 00:42:53.679
pramp quarters, which compare only with an upper berth, return
620
00:42:53.719 --> 00:42:57.639
to your room, resume the garb of a successful businessman
621
00:42:58.079 --> 00:43:00.800
and take the car to a garage and their wait
622
00:43:00.960 --> 00:43:06.360
until someone makes it sound all right. This individual vies
623
00:43:06.360 --> 00:43:11.119
with a tax collector in separating you from all excess cash.
624
00:43:11.679 --> 00:43:15.079
This does not happen every day, I admit, but there
625
00:43:15.199 --> 00:43:17.719
is a sensation in the back of the mind of
626
00:43:17.840 --> 00:43:22.039
nearly every motorist which is more or less constant. You
627
00:43:22.239 --> 00:43:24.800
know that you worry when the car does not go.
628
00:43:25.280 --> 00:43:28.960
There is no ground for speculation upon this point. You
629
00:43:29.119 --> 00:43:32.039
worry about what the matter is, and when you find
630
00:43:32.119 --> 00:43:34.760
you can't mend it and take it to a garage
631
00:43:34.800 --> 00:43:37.639
to be repaired, you worry as to whether you have
632
00:43:37.760 --> 00:43:40.840
taken it to the right garage or the right man
633
00:43:40.920 --> 00:43:44.039
in the garage. You fuss over the cost, and you
634
00:43:44.159 --> 00:43:48.639
continually wonder whether the repairs have been properly done, and
635
00:43:48.719 --> 00:43:51.599
whether the blame thing won't break out in the same
636
00:43:51.679 --> 00:43:54.840
place the next time you take the car out, And
637
00:43:55.159 --> 00:43:58.559
during this whole period you feel in the bottom of
638
00:43:58.599 --> 00:44:01.559
your heart that you could have mended it just as
639
00:44:01.599 --> 00:44:05.800
well yourself. Then there are the worries when it does go.
640
00:44:06.440 --> 00:44:09.199
You wonder when the tires are going to give out,
641
00:44:09.639 --> 00:44:13.480
whether they are too flat or too inflated, whether you
642
00:44:13.599 --> 00:44:17.039
put in gas before you started, and how the water is.
643
00:44:17.559 --> 00:44:21.599
You are continually guessing whether you have too much or
644
00:44:21.639 --> 00:44:26.480
too little oil, and you generally guess wrong. These, however,
645
00:44:26.679 --> 00:44:32.440
are all mere trifles, the superficial maunderings of a sensitive organism.
646
00:44:32.920 --> 00:44:37.599
Your major worries may be classified under three headings. First,
647
00:44:37.920 --> 00:44:42.079
the worry of changing cars Every year. The question comes
648
00:44:42.159 --> 00:44:46.519
up for family discussion, competing valiantly with the problem of
649
00:44:46.639 --> 00:44:49.280
when you are to move to the cake, shall we
650
00:44:49.360 --> 00:44:51.559
turn in the old car and get a new one?
651
00:44:52.119 --> 00:44:55.719
If so, what kind? And then follows a month of
652
00:44:55.880 --> 00:44:59.360
violent discussion in which my wife and the children take
653
00:44:59.400 --> 00:45:03.000
one side and I the other. By instinct, I am
654
00:45:03.039 --> 00:45:06.880
a modest man, and by habit cautious I do not
655
00:45:07.159 --> 00:45:12.239
like changes, especially sudden changes, And so my inclination is
656
00:45:12.280 --> 00:45:15.079
either to stick to the old car for another year
657
00:45:15.679 --> 00:45:19.280
or by a new one like it. My family, why,
658
00:45:19.360 --> 00:45:24.280
I cannot say, seem to be oppositely inclined. My wife
659
00:45:24.480 --> 00:45:27.559
favors that so and so has had great luck with
660
00:45:27.679 --> 00:45:33.119
a billy. My eldest backs are up with several lengthy
661
00:45:33.320 --> 00:45:38.199
anecdotes told him by so and So's son, proving the
662
00:45:38.239 --> 00:45:42.480
excellence of that make above all others. I am sufficiently
663
00:45:42.559 --> 00:45:45.920
shaken in my opinion to consult with the garage man
664
00:45:46.280 --> 00:45:49.800
from whom I bought my car, only to be shown
665
00:45:49.960 --> 00:45:53.679
a car of the variety mentioned in the deplorable condition,
666
00:45:53.920 --> 00:45:59.320
awaiting the mechanic skill, poor engine, inadequate something or other.
667
00:45:59.719 --> 00:46:03.199
I can't remember the name, and so it goes. My
668
00:46:03.360 --> 00:46:08.159
office is thronged with automobile salesmen, so that work is impossible,
669
00:46:08.639 --> 00:46:12.119
while the evenings are passed in futile argument until the
670
00:46:12.159 --> 00:46:16.840
final verdict is given, resulting generally in a compromise, a
671
00:46:16.920 --> 00:46:19.920
new car is purchased of a trifle better type at
672
00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:24.199
a considerable advance and price, and the old car sacrificed
673
00:46:24.239 --> 00:46:28.480
for a song. Those days of budding greenness for which
674
00:46:28.519 --> 00:46:31.960
we have long through all the cold, useless days of
675
00:46:32.000 --> 00:46:36.960
winter are utterly ruined by this fearful problem. The second
676
00:46:36.960 --> 00:46:40.840
worry comes with breakfast daily. Who is to use the
677
00:46:40.840 --> 00:46:44.840
car during the day, the day being balmy, I had
678
00:46:44.880 --> 00:46:47.519
thought of going to count in it, especially as I
679
00:46:47.559 --> 00:46:50.760
wanted to make a call on the way home my wife,
680
00:46:50.800 --> 00:46:54.000
it seems, had planned to go to the dressmaker. I
681
00:46:54.039 --> 00:46:57.880
should have guessed it Billy, who had just arrived at
682
00:46:57.880 --> 00:47:01.320
the legal age, which foolishly permit its youth to endanger
683
00:47:01.400 --> 00:47:05.239
the lives and liberty of American citizens. Had planned to
684
00:47:05.280 --> 00:47:08.400
take a number of his cronies to Saint Mark's School
685
00:47:08.559 --> 00:47:12.719
to see a ballgame. Billy, as can be readily imagined,
686
00:47:13.159 --> 00:47:18.000
wins out. This daily observance takes the entire breakfast period
687
00:47:18.159 --> 00:47:22.599
and often leads to slight feeling. I say slight because
688
00:47:22.599 --> 00:47:26.599
I rarely ever secure the car myself unless it needs repairing.
689
00:47:27.280 --> 00:47:30.360
The last worry may perhaps be more liken to fear
690
00:47:31.159 --> 00:47:35.920
what next, I generally remark for this third division concerns
691
00:47:35.920 --> 00:47:40.199
our friends in that happy decade, now but a dream.
692
00:47:40.599 --> 00:47:43.880
We used to live in a delightful community, surrounded by
693
00:47:43.920 --> 00:47:47.599
friends who dropped in and then dropped out again, both
694
00:47:47.679 --> 00:47:52.000
happy incidents in our daily life. But now who has
695
00:47:52.079 --> 00:47:55.960
time to see his neighbors when everyone is frantically motoring
696
00:47:56.039 --> 00:48:00.039
to some distance acquaintance miles away. What can you do?
697
00:48:00.079 --> 00:48:02.559
You and some friend at the end of nowhere invites
698
00:48:02.599 --> 00:48:04.880
you to dinner because she knows you have a motor.
699
00:48:05.599 --> 00:48:09.000
You go because your wife explains that this sort of
700
00:48:09.039 --> 00:48:12.519
thing is what a motor is for. Is that not
701
00:48:12.760 --> 00:48:16.480
a matter for worry to work in an office until five,
702
00:48:16.920 --> 00:48:20.199
to journey home with a knowledge that in exactly thirty
703
00:48:20.239 --> 00:48:23.239
minutes you start out in a car which needs.
704
00:48:23.000 --> 00:48:24.559
Oiling, and when one of.
705
00:48:24.599 --> 00:48:27.960
The tires should have more air for a distant suburb
706
00:48:28.079 --> 00:48:30.360
where you are to meet a number of people you
707
00:48:30.480 --> 00:48:33.760
do not know and never care to see again. That
708
00:48:33.880 --> 00:48:36.840
this sort of thing is going to increase just as
709
00:48:36.880 --> 00:48:40.039
long as you have a pesky car is more than
710
00:48:40.039 --> 00:48:44.199
a cause for worry. It is a calamity. In a trice,
711
00:48:44.639 --> 00:48:48.559
all this vanished, for I sold my car. I remember
712
00:48:48.639 --> 00:48:51.840
hearing the story of a Southerner whose property was taken
713
00:48:51.880 --> 00:48:54.840
from him during the Civil War, and who later was
714
00:48:54.960 --> 00:48:58.320
robbed of all the money on his person. He confessed
715
00:48:58.360 --> 00:49:01.760
to a feeling of intense joy relief, for with his
716
00:49:02.000 --> 00:49:06.840
loss of property went his feeling of responsibility and carefree.
717
00:49:06.880 --> 00:49:10.920
He entered the army and fought a gallant fight. And
718
00:49:11.039 --> 00:49:15.639
so upon that day I walked with elastic tread, head up,
719
00:49:16.000 --> 00:49:20.440
chest out, delighting in the discovery of freedom. I care
720
00:49:20.519 --> 00:49:24.639
not that my friends all possess cars. I've had one, several,
721
00:49:24.639 --> 00:49:27.559
in fact, and I can afford to buy others. But
722
00:49:27.639 --> 00:49:31.400
I am not going to that is not yet, and
723
00:49:31.519 --> 00:49:36.039
here I remember my family somewhat dubiously. I plan to
724
00:49:36.079 --> 00:49:39.960
renew the pleasures of daily rambles over the beautiful hills
725
00:49:40.000 --> 00:49:43.360
of my own town. I plan to renew old friendships
726
00:49:43.400 --> 00:49:47.039
with my neighbors nearby. I look forward to an occasional
727
00:49:47.159 --> 00:49:50.800
Sunday at home. In short, I picture the joy of
728
00:49:50.880 --> 00:49:55.199
being without a motor As a matter of fact, however,
729
00:49:55.920 --> 00:49:59.639
this vision was short lived. In the first place, the
730
00:50:00.639 --> 00:50:04.119
over the old, familiar hills made me so beastly lame
731
00:50:04.440 --> 00:50:07.519
that my Sunday at home was a painful one, and
732
00:50:07.599 --> 00:50:10.920
the day was punctuated by the complaints of each and
733
00:50:11.000 --> 00:50:14.000
every member of the family over the loss of the car.
734
00:50:14.639 --> 00:50:18.360
I ventured out, still painfully, to call upon one or
735
00:50:18.360 --> 00:50:21.280
two of my old neighbors, just for a run in
736
00:50:21.519 --> 00:50:25.119
and out again, but they, it seemed, were out in
737
00:50:25.199 --> 00:50:29.039
their motors, and so I returned dejectedly to the sad
738
00:50:29.119 --> 00:50:32.559
faced group in my own living room, where we managed
739
00:50:32.599 --> 00:50:37.119
to exist until bedtime, conversing upon our perspective move to
740
00:50:37.199 --> 00:50:40.000
the cape and what it meant to the various members
741
00:50:40.000 --> 00:50:42.840
of the family to be, as my daughter puts it,
742
00:50:43.199 --> 00:50:47.000
a million miles away from every one with no means
743
00:50:47.039 --> 00:50:50.760
of ever leaving the house. And so it was the
744
00:50:50.800 --> 00:50:54.519
Cape and its appeal which broke my defenses. For I
745
00:50:54.599 --> 00:50:58.159
must confess our seasonal trips there were a delightful part
746
00:50:58.239 --> 00:51:01.320
of our existence, to say nothing of the joys of
747
00:51:01.360 --> 00:51:04.679
our summer life. The next day I took an early
748
00:51:04.800 --> 00:51:09.000
train to town, and I came home that evening, somewhat sheepish,
749
00:51:09.400 --> 00:51:13.480
but reasonably happy, for I came in a new car,
750
00:51:13.840 --> 00:51:17.119
which bids fair to be the best one, yet it
751
00:51:17.199 --> 00:51:27.880
is certainly the most expensive. End of chapter five, Section
752
00:51:28.079 --> 00:51:33.199
six of Cape Cotades by Roger Livingston's Cafe. This libribox
753
00:51:33.239 --> 00:51:37.760
recording is in the public domain, read by lore change
754
00:51:37.800 --> 00:51:43.960
and rest summer bargaining. Although on the surface, Cape cod
755
00:51:44.039 --> 00:51:47.360
seems to offer a haven of refuge to that much
756
00:51:47.480 --> 00:51:52.039
overworked appendage to the modern man, the pocketbook, there are
757
00:51:52.119 --> 00:51:55.480
dotted here and there upon the highways and byways many
758
00:51:55.559 --> 00:52:00.760
comparatively innocent pitfalls. To a close student. Of these danger
759
00:52:00.800 --> 00:52:04.400
spots there may be grouped under the heading tea rooms,
760
00:52:04.800 --> 00:52:08.880
arts and craft stores, and antique shops. I know of
761
00:52:08.960 --> 00:52:12.159
no greater relief than to escape from town and come
762
00:52:12.199 --> 00:52:16.280
to the Cape. Once there, the daily routine of office,
763
00:52:16.559 --> 00:52:20.480
the absence of any assigned duty, the leisure hours passed
764
00:52:20.519 --> 00:52:23.719
in or on the water, or idly knocking about the
765
00:52:23.760 --> 00:52:27.559
golf links tend to merge one day into another, so
766
00:52:27.639 --> 00:52:31.800
that time flashes past at an alarming rate. But every
767
00:52:31.840 --> 00:52:34.679
now and again comes a day when some member of
768
00:52:34.719 --> 00:52:37.960
the family suggests that we take the motor and extend
769
00:52:38.000 --> 00:52:41.639
our vision. It is upon such occasions that we test
770
00:52:41.679 --> 00:52:46.599
the financial astuteness of the Aborigines. One never visits the
771
00:52:46.639 --> 00:52:51.599
cape without discovering how effectively the climate stimulates the appetite.
772
00:52:52.119 --> 00:52:56.280
What wonder, therefore, that every village and hamlet possesses a
773
00:52:56.320 --> 00:53:00.559
tea room of varying attraction. The stop is made and
774
00:53:00.599 --> 00:53:03.840
the tea room visited, only to find that the family,
775
00:53:04.159 --> 00:53:07.880
in addition to ordering the tea with its accompaniment of
776
00:53:08.000 --> 00:53:11.239
toast and cake, or for the younger members, a bottle
777
00:53:11.280 --> 00:53:14.400
of ginger ale or an ice cream cone, are bent
778
00:53:14.559 --> 00:53:18.960
upon securing a souvenir. The tea room is generally furnished
779
00:53:19.000 --> 00:53:22.559
with an assortment of articles intended for just such gullibles
780
00:53:22.599 --> 00:53:27.280
as ourselves. There are, for instance, baskets of assorted sizes
781
00:53:27.360 --> 00:53:32.119
and colors for flowers or fruit, or sewing, or pine cones.
782
00:53:32.599 --> 00:53:36.159
In fact, for everything that should be thrown away, but isn't.
783
00:53:36.679 --> 00:53:40.000
We have several such baskets at home, but that does
784
00:53:40.079 --> 00:53:43.239
not prevent some member of the family from buying another.
785
00:53:43.960 --> 00:53:47.239
It will do for a Christmas present. Then there are
786
00:53:47.360 --> 00:53:50.960
varieties of other things made far away and designed to
787
00:53:51.079 --> 00:53:56.000
lure the cheerful motorists, such as charmingly decorated match cases
788
00:53:56.039 --> 00:54:02.159
for elderly people, noisily painted tin pails for the dainty knockers,
789
00:54:02.199 --> 00:54:04.880
and all manner of knick knacks for the women of
790
00:54:04.920 --> 00:54:09.000
the party. The invariable assortment of what to a man
791
00:54:09.480 --> 00:54:14.800
seems the essence of uselessness, and yet I confess attractive
792
00:54:15.000 --> 00:54:20.239
to an insidious extent. The pocket book is touched, not severely,
793
00:54:20.360 --> 00:54:24.039
to be sure, but there is perceptible shrinkage. As we
794
00:54:24.199 --> 00:54:27.840
file out to continue on our harmless junket. For a
795
00:54:27.880 --> 00:54:32.000
few miles, we bowl along over a delightfully smooth road
796
00:54:32.280 --> 00:54:35.840
and give ourselves over entirely to the view. Now, a
797
00:54:35.920 --> 00:54:38.719
long stretch of pine woods gives us a glimpse of
798
00:54:38.760 --> 00:54:42.000
the water glistening through the trees. Here and there a
799
00:54:42.039 --> 00:54:46.559
little farmhouse snugly tucked among a clump of lilacs close
800
00:54:46.599 --> 00:54:50.440
to the road, with visions of larger establishments in the
801
00:54:50.519 --> 00:54:54.519
distance out toward the sea, the homes of summer residence
802
00:54:54.639 --> 00:54:59.280
boldly exposed to the refreshing southwest wind. Then a long
803
00:54:59.320 --> 00:55:03.760
stretch of my and dune brilliant in the sun. Suddenly
804
00:55:03.800 --> 00:55:07.519
we come upon a more thickly populated district, where many
805
00:55:07.559 --> 00:55:10.519
of the old houses have been purchased and renovated to
806
00:55:10.559 --> 00:55:14.000
fit the needs of city people, who, with the assistance
807
00:55:14.079 --> 00:55:19.039
of some modern architect oftentimes make enticing homes of these
808
00:55:19.079 --> 00:55:23.360
structures by the simple addition of porches and piazzas, with
809
00:55:23.639 --> 00:55:27.199
bright touches of paint here and there on blinds and doors,
810
00:55:27.400 --> 00:55:31.559
and the hall garnished well with bright flowers, climbing roses,
811
00:55:31.599 --> 00:55:35.920
and cozy hedges. It is generally near such a settlement
812
00:55:36.039 --> 00:55:39.239
that we come upon the arts and crafts in all
813
00:55:39.360 --> 00:55:43.119
their glory. Compared to the tea room, the art shop
814
00:55:43.320 --> 00:55:47.280
is a veritable mind of treasure from a variety of toys,
815
00:55:47.320 --> 00:55:50.280
which would do credit to Schwartz to complete a set
816
00:55:50.320 --> 00:55:54.039
of hand painted furniture, such as one might expect to
817
00:55:54.079 --> 00:55:56.760
find in the window of the largest furniture store in
818
00:55:56.840 --> 00:56:00.119
Boston during the months of May and June. Seems a
819
00:56:00.239 --> 00:56:04.400
far cry for a small shop occupying a converted bungalow
820
00:56:04.519 --> 00:56:08.360
in the modest cape town. But this sort of thing exists,
821
00:56:08.679 --> 00:56:12.679
and between these items there is an almost endless list
822
00:56:12.840 --> 00:56:16.159
of what, for a better term, may be called specialties.
823
00:56:16.840 --> 00:56:20.800
And even I, who scorn the newness of furnishings as
824
00:56:20.880 --> 00:56:24.239
they are displayed in town, fall a victim first to
825
00:56:24.320 --> 00:56:28.400
an exceptionally soft toned rag rug, oval in shape and
826
00:56:28.559 --> 00:56:31.440
comfortable to the tread, and also to a set of
827
00:56:31.519 --> 00:56:35.960
doilies made of a light, colorful variety of oilcloth with
828
00:56:36.159 --> 00:56:40.039
dainty pattern, that my wife says will save washing. And
829
00:56:40.199 --> 00:56:44.519
lastly to a pair of bayberry candles, olive green and
830
00:56:44.679 --> 00:56:48.199
a full eighteen inches high, which it seems to me
831
00:56:48.800 --> 00:56:52.320
will give an admirable touch to our living room mantle.
832
00:56:53.079 --> 00:56:57.440
The shrinkage in the pocket book is easily discernible. In fact,
833
00:56:57.599 --> 00:57:00.199
I am led to say briskly that I think we
834
00:57:00.320 --> 00:57:03.719
had better be getting along home, and so we put
835
00:57:03.760 --> 00:57:07.480
our new treasures into the car and proceed homewards by
836
00:57:07.519 --> 00:57:11.400
a new route. More inland, it is always interesting to
837
00:57:11.480 --> 00:57:14.119
try the lesser known roads, even if they are a
838
00:57:14.159 --> 00:57:17.679
bit rougher. They are little traveled, and for this reason
839
00:57:18.000 --> 00:57:23.360
pleasanter in midsummer, one rarely loses the way, for signs
840
00:57:23.400 --> 00:57:27.360
are plentiful, and so we wind about the higher stretches
841
00:57:27.559 --> 00:57:31.119
which formed the backbone of the cape, along sandy roads
842
00:57:31.159 --> 00:57:34.639
which at times diminished to mere cart pass but at
843
00:57:34.719 --> 00:57:39.639
all times are possible emerging from this forest district. On
844
00:57:39.639 --> 00:57:43.639
one such excursion we came quite suddenly upon the forking
845
00:57:43.679 --> 00:57:46.880
of two roads, where a clump of neat looking farm houses,
846
00:57:47.159 --> 00:57:51.599
a school house, and a diminutive church indicated a real town.
847
00:57:52.079 --> 00:57:56.000
Here my eye was arrested by the magic sign antiques,
848
00:57:56.480 --> 00:57:59.480
stuck into the lawn in front of one of the houses.
849
00:58:00.199 --> 00:58:03.440
While I do not admit the slightest lure in the
850
00:58:03.480 --> 00:58:06.800
sign of a tea room, except when hard pressed by
851
00:58:06.880 --> 00:58:11.159
hunger and but scant attraction to the art shop, there
852
00:58:11.239 --> 00:58:15.360
is something about the word antete that what's my appetite
853
00:58:15.360 --> 00:58:20.360
for exploration, and especially so when found in a quiet
854
00:58:20.360 --> 00:58:24.719
little hamlet off the beaten path, and probably not familiar
855
00:58:24.800 --> 00:58:29.119
to the many hundreds of tourists who smoothly running motors
856
00:58:29.159 --> 00:58:35.159
of ample proportions bespeak well filled pocket books. Consequently, I
857
00:58:35.360 --> 00:58:38.880
grasped the emergency break and came to a sudden stop.
858
00:58:39.000 --> 00:58:41.960
In spite of a feeble protest for my daughter and
859
00:58:42.039 --> 00:58:44.480
a heavy sigh for my wife on the back seat.
860
00:58:44.960 --> 00:58:48.519
Where antiques are concerned, I take the lead, or, to
861
00:58:48.599 --> 00:58:52.599
be more accurate, I stand alone, and so proceeded to
862
00:58:52.880 --> 00:58:55.639
the back door of the house. For those who know
863
00:58:55.840 --> 00:59:00.480
Cape Cotter's well enough realize the inconvenience and delay which
864
00:59:00.519 --> 00:59:03.840
a knock at the front door provokes. Seeing a middle
865
00:59:03.880 --> 00:59:07.039
aged woman bending over the stove in the kitchen, I
866
00:59:07.159 --> 00:59:12.719
called to Mary, good afternoon by way of salutation. Good afternoon,
867
00:59:13.159 --> 00:59:16.559
she replied, as a necho might have thrown back my words.
868
00:59:17.199 --> 00:59:20.400
I saw your sign antiques and thought perhaps I might
869
00:59:20.480 --> 00:59:24.320
have a look at them, I continued, nothing daunted. Mister
870
00:59:24.480 --> 00:59:27.760
Eldridge ain't too home. But if you want to go
871
00:59:27.920 --> 00:59:30.239
out to the barn, you can see what he's got,
872
00:59:30.280 --> 00:59:33.559
she replied, without even turning her head to see what
873
00:59:33.719 --> 00:59:37.119
sort of a second story man I might be. Here
874
00:59:37.199 --> 00:59:40.559
was luck, however, for I could look over the stock
875
00:59:40.679 --> 00:59:44.039
in trade of this ambitious couple to my heart's content,
876
00:59:44.519 --> 00:59:47.440
and I made haste to the barn, which I found
877
00:59:47.559 --> 00:59:51.320
converted into one of the most amazing junk shops. It
878
00:59:51.480 --> 00:59:55.960
has ever been my pleasure to explore crowded together without
879
00:59:56.079 --> 00:59:59.679
rhyme or reason, and with no thought of display, or
880
00:59:59.719 --> 01:00:06.800
the foods and the chattels of generations of cape cotters, tables, chairs, beds, sofas,
881
01:00:07.039 --> 01:00:12.440
ice chests, apollorgan curtain rods, bits of carpet, crockery, in
882
01:00:12.519 --> 01:00:16.159
all stages of dilapidation. On one of the tables, a
883
01:00:16.280 --> 01:00:19.519
variety of hardware was strewn about. On one of the
884
01:00:19.599 --> 01:00:24.599
stiff backed chairs reposed three old brass lanterns. A rogers
885
01:00:24.639 --> 01:00:27.440
group on a kitchen table was flanked by a white
886
01:00:27.559 --> 01:00:30.960
mountain ice cream freezer on one side and a fine
887
01:00:31.079 --> 01:00:34.559
old fire bucket on the other. A four poster of
888
01:00:34.599 --> 01:00:39.599
apple wood with fluted posts terminating in pineapple tops. The wood,
889
01:00:39.719 --> 01:00:43.480
in an excellent state of preservation, was the repository of
890
01:00:43.480 --> 01:00:47.519
a half dozen pictures, three face down, while one of
891
01:00:47.559 --> 01:00:51.039
the others disclosed itself as really a good copy of
892
01:00:51.079 --> 01:00:54.599
the engraving of Washington and his family. But to the
893
01:00:54.719 --> 01:00:59.440
casual observer there seemed scarcely a piece of furniture, or
894
01:00:59.519 --> 01:01:03.920
in fact, anything which was sufficiently in repair to survive
895
01:01:04.000 --> 01:01:07.559
the journey to my house. Furthermore, the rank and file
896
01:01:07.639 --> 01:01:11.039
of articles were of recent date and had no charm
897
01:01:11.159 --> 01:01:15.719
for the collector. However, the very hopelessness of the quest
898
01:01:15.840 --> 01:01:19.760
whetted my appetite, and, to the utter disgust of my family,
899
01:01:20.159 --> 01:01:24.159
I spent a good half hour rummaging about, not only
900
01:01:24.159 --> 01:01:26.639
in the main part of the barn, but also in
901
01:01:26.719 --> 01:01:29.960
the stalls and even in the hayloft, for the whole
902
01:01:30.079 --> 01:01:34.280
building was bulging with what seemed the cast off furnishings
903
01:01:34.280 --> 01:01:38.679
of the entire cape. The result of my examination was
904
01:01:38.840 --> 01:01:42.639
really a fine ship's lantern, which I found in the loft,
905
01:01:43.000 --> 01:01:46.480
a pair of old pewter pepper pots reclining in an
906
01:01:46.519 --> 01:01:50.239
old soap dish, and a couple of straight back rush
907
01:01:50.400 --> 01:01:54.440
seated chairs, a trifle rickety, but with the seats in
908
01:01:54.559 --> 01:01:59.599
excellent condition, with the original rush plating which is unmistakable.
909
01:02:00.079 --> 01:02:03.559
For fear of mislaying my selection, I had brought them
910
01:02:03.599 --> 01:02:07.400
outside the barn, and at that moment a lanky, middle
911
01:02:07.440 --> 01:02:10.679
aged farmer drove up in a buggy and slowly got out.
912
01:02:11.480 --> 01:02:15.880
Is this mister Eldridge, I asked, that's me, He replied,
913
01:02:16.239 --> 01:02:20.000
been havin a look over the department store I ain't
914
01:02:20.039 --> 01:02:24.119
got in my elevators, an the outing department here, he
915
01:02:24.239 --> 01:02:27.480
looked at my golfing tweeds. Ain't much to brag about.
916
01:02:27.880 --> 01:02:30.840
But I've got most everything an there except the town
917
01:02:30.920 --> 01:02:33.599
hearst an, I'm savin that for my mother in law.
918
01:02:34.400 --> 01:02:38.239
By George, I thought, here's one of the real old timers.
919
01:02:38.639 --> 01:02:41.960
Nothing tass a turn about him. I pointed to the
920
01:02:42.000 --> 01:02:44.519
modest selection I had made, an asked em what the
921
01:02:44.559 --> 01:02:49.760
price was? Well as the price, he replied, taking off
922
01:02:49.760 --> 01:02:53.440
his hat and meditatively scratching his head. That's the worst
923
01:02:53.480 --> 01:02:56.519
of the business. I never just know what my things
924
01:02:56.519 --> 01:03:00.480
are worth. Damn. Chairs came from old widow Crockers over
925
01:03:00.599 --> 01:03:04.320
by Forestdale. She'd never sell him till she died, An
926
01:03:04.360 --> 01:03:06.800
then she couldn't help herself, and her son in law
927
01:03:06.920 --> 01:03:09.639
cleaned the place out. An, I got quite a lot
928
01:03:09.639 --> 01:03:12.039
of stuff, An paid him for the lot. What do
929
01:03:12.119 --> 01:03:16.079
you say to a couple dollars apiece? I said, yes,
930
01:03:16.519 --> 01:03:19.480
as soberly as I could, I would have given much
931
01:03:19.519 --> 01:03:23.079
more as to that lannern it's a good un An.
932
01:03:23.119 --> 01:03:25.599
The glass is all right. I shall have to get
933
01:03:25.639 --> 01:03:29.840
at least four dollars, all right, said I cheerfully, for
934
01:03:29.960 --> 01:03:32.760
I had seen a smaller one an Chatham for eight
935
01:03:33.000 --> 01:03:37.239
just a few days before. And how about the pepper pots, Oh,
936
01:03:37.360 --> 01:03:41.679
you can have em for let's see bout twenty five apiece.
937
01:03:42.000 --> 01:03:42.800
And I agreed.
938
01:03:43.360 --> 01:03:45.559
What do you do with all this stuff? I asked,
939
01:03:45.760 --> 01:03:48.039
as he helped me to dispose of my treasures in
940
01:03:48.119 --> 01:03:52.239
an already well filled car. Oh, mostly I sell to
941
01:03:52.320 --> 01:03:56.199
the Portuguese that come here firmin in cranberryin now An.
942
01:03:56.239 --> 01:03:58.599
Then I get some old stuff, same as you jest
943
01:03:58.679 --> 01:04:02.000
picked up. But Jenner, it's the newer kind that like
944
01:04:02.079 --> 01:04:05.360
the best. I just set that there, sign up, because
945
01:04:05.400 --> 01:04:09.199
I seed every derned fellow along the road. What has
946
01:04:09.199 --> 01:04:12.400
a toothpick or a shaving mud to sell? Puts up
947
01:04:12.440 --> 01:04:15.719
a sign, and so says I guess I'll stick up
948
01:04:15.800 --> 01:04:19.440
one two. And that is the way I became acquainted
949
01:04:19.519 --> 01:04:24.199
with Silas Eldridge, dealer in antiques, who has sold me
950
01:04:24.559 --> 01:04:28.239
many a real treasure. But I keep as whereabouts as
951
01:04:28.280 --> 01:04:32.599
secret as possible. For all the fascinating places for picking
952
01:04:32.679 --> 01:04:38.119
up astonishing bargains on Cape cod is old dilapidated barn
953
01:04:38.400 --> 01:04:50.440
offers the most surprises. End of Section six. Section seven
954
01:04:50.679 --> 01:04:56.000
of Cape Codad's by Roger Livingston Scathe. This Libribox recording
955
01:04:56.079 --> 01:04:59.599
is in the public domain read by Laura A.
956
01:05:00.119 --> 01:05:04.840
Slang is both the curse and the delight of the
957
01:05:04.920 --> 01:05:05.920
English language.
958
01:05:06.360 --> 01:05:11.039
And that form of slang which our British friends termed Americanisms,
959
01:05:11.440 --> 01:05:15.519
and which we now have largely adopted as our national
960
01:05:15.599 --> 01:05:19.280
mode of communication, is not confined to the youth.
961
01:05:19.039 --> 01:05:24.199
Of today by any means. In the home, in business,
962
01:05:24.239 --> 01:05:27.519
and of course in sport, slang has found its way
963
01:05:27.599 --> 01:05:30.320
and spread like the weeds in the garden of the
964
01:05:30.440 --> 01:05:35.679
over enthusiastic commuter. I remember hearing a clergyman of national
965
01:05:35.800 --> 01:05:40.119
reputation in advancing years, say, a short time ago, after
966
01:05:40.159 --> 01:05:44.039
a satisfying excursion of some sort, that he had more
967
01:05:44.159 --> 01:05:47.719
fun than a goat, and I defied him to eludicate
968
01:05:47.840 --> 01:05:52.599
that time worn phrase, to my satisfaction, the derivations and
969
01:05:52.760 --> 01:05:59.159
origins of American idioms and coloical expressions are vastly interesting,
970
01:05:59.599 --> 01:06:03.159
not in showing the resourcefulness of our people in cutting
971
01:06:03.199 --> 01:06:06.800
wordy corners, and in the development of a certain form
972
01:06:06.840 --> 01:06:10.320
of humor which I do not defend, but in shedding
973
01:06:10.360 --> 01:06:13.840
real light upon the whys and wherefores of our universe
974
01:06:13.960 --> 01:06:18.559
down to its smallest detail. A temperamental curiosity has led
975
01:06:18.599 --> 01:06:20.800
me from time to time to look up certain of
976
01:06:20.840 --> 01:06:25.360
the commoner expressions, and I am indebted to this eccentric
977
01:06:25.480 --> 01:06:30.679
hobby for several pleasurable experiences many years ago, so many,
978
01:06:30.679 --> 01:06:33.840
in fact, that the memory is distasteful. I went to
979
01:06:33.880 --> 01:06:37.400
a horse race where the winner passed our stand at
980
01:06:37.440 --> 01:06:40.880
a pace which my companion described as going like a
981
01:06:40.920 --> 01:06:45.599
blue streak, a familiar term with which I ignorantly agreed
982
01:06:45.639 --> 01:06:48.679
at the time. I suppose that since then I have
983
01:06:48.960 --> 01:06:52.440
heard it repeated many hundred times that It was not
984
01:06:52.519 --> 01:06:55.159
until last summer, when my son applied it to a
985
01:06:55.199 --> 01:06:58.559
motor boat passing out of the harbor, that I thought
986
01:06:58.559 --> 01:07:03.199
of inquiring into its origin and discovered, much to my surprise,
987
01:07:03.679 --> 01:07:07.480
that it applied to the elusive and disconcerting movements of
988
01:07:07.599 --> 01:07:11.880
an ordinary sea crab, often called the blue claw. The
989
01:07:11.960 --> 01:07:16.920
discovery peaked my curiosity, and I determined forthwith to investigate
990
01:07:17.039 --> 01:07:21.800
the locomotory accomplishments of these retiring animals. This was not
991
01:07:22.039 --> 01:07:25.800
as easy a task as I had expected. The crab
992
01:07:25.880 --> 01:07:30.800
is not socially inclined, and the term crabbed is soon apparent.
993
01:07:31.280 --> 01:07:32.880
He is only to be found.
994
01:07:32.679 --> 01:07:35.760
At low tide, and generally near the mouth of a
995
01:07:35.800 --> 01:07:39.239
salty creek, where the bottom is muddy and sparsely covered
996
01:07:39.280 --> 01:07:43.039
with seaweed and eel grass. There in the late summer
997
01:07:43.079 --> 01:07:46.159
and fall, he can be seen from canoe or rowboat
998
01:07:46.480 --> 01:07:49.719
if one is patient and watchful, and the expression to
999
01:07:49.800 --> 01:07:53.000
go like a blue streak fits him like a glove.
1000
01:07:53.360 --> 01:07:57.079
Having provided myself with a net of the butterfly variety,
1001
01:07:57.559 --> 01:08:01.199
I determined to secure a specimen and began my search
1002
01:08:01.239 --> 01:08:05.239
among the creeks so numerous along the shores of Cape Cod.
1003
01:08:05.760 --> 01:08:08.599
Although we came upon quite a number, it took the
1004
01:08:08.880 --> 01:08:10.000
entire morning.
1005
01:08:09.719 --> 01:08:10.599
To capture four.
1006
01:08:11.079 --> 01:08:17.039
When unmolested, these creatures crawl slowly and deliberately about their business,
1007
01:08:17.039 --> 01:08:21.119
sluggish in manner and shabbily, dark in appearance, grubbing about
1008
01:08:21.239 --> 01:08:24.800
on the bottom, now in, now out of the seaweed.
1009
01:08:25.199 --> 01:08:29.760
But the instant the danger is threatened, they undergo a transformation.
1010
01:08:30.319 --> 01:08:33.760
The claws, from sprawling about on the mud at every angle,
1011
01:08:34.079 --> 01:08:37.239
are drawn in, and like a flash, or far better,
1012
01:08:37.560 --> 01:08:40.840
like a blue streak, the particular crab that you have
1013
01:08:40.920 --> 01:08:43.560
selected for capture, darts away at an.
1014
01:08:43.520 --> 01:08:46.039
Angle that leaves you helpless with wonder.
1015
01:08:46.000 --> 01:08:49.159
At the suddenness of his departure and the blueness of
1016
01:08:49.239 --> 01:08:52.439
his appearance. As soon as you have spotted your prey,
1017
01:08:52.680 --> 01:08:57.079
the excitement begins. Armed with the net, you crawl quietly
1018
01:08:57.239 --> 01:08:59.760
to the bow of the boat and in whispers to
1019
01:09:00.279 --> 01:09:04.479
the rower. Now this way, now that, following the route
1020
01:09:04.520 --> 01:09:07.920
taken by the capricious scrab Sometimes the water is deep
1021
01:09:08.039 --> 01:09:09.920
enough to permit the use of the oars.
1022
01:09:10.359 --> 01:09:11.319
At others it.
1023
01:09:11.319 --> 01:09:14.199
Is necessary to pull the boat in and out among
1024
01:09:14.239 --> 01:09:18.319
the rocks covered by seaweed. Your journey always attended by
1025
01:09:18.520 --> 01:09:23.159
silence and stealth, as if the slightest noise would precipitate
1026
01:09:23.279 --> 01:09:27.680
in flight this wily crustacean. At last, when you are
1027
01:09:27.720 --> 01:09:31.039
within striking distance, the net is plunged in among the
1028
01:09:31.119 --> 01:09:37.960
grass and brought up alas empty. The hunt continues as before. When,
1029
01:09:38.319 --> 01:09:42.800
after repeated trials, your patience is rewarded and a fine
1030
01:09:42.880 --> 01:09:46.039
big fellow is caught, the greatest care must be taken
1031
01:09:46.079 --> 01:09:48.640
to prevent him from crawling out of the net and
1032
01:09:48.840 --> 01:09:51.239
escaping before he is landed in the boat, for his
1033
01:09:51.359 --> 01:09:56.239
activities are ceaseless. Indeed, even after he is flung deftly
1034
01:09:56.399 --> 01:10:00.560
into the pail. His savage struggles may succeed in him
1035
01:10:00.560 --> 01:10:04.840
from captivity, and so it is only with infinite caution
1036
01:10:05.119 --> 01:10:10.239
and patience qualifications necessary in every game, that you are
1037
01:10:10.279 --> 01:10:14.159
able to land your prize. And it is only then
1038
01:10:14.359 --> 01:10:18.199
that you will find the explanation of the color quality
1039
01:10:18.399 --> 01:10:22.159
of his passing. As the crab is taken from the water,
1040
01:10:22.720 --> 01:10:27.800
its mud colored shell appears a dark ultramarine blue, the
1041
01:10:27.840 --> 01:10:31.880
claws of a lighter shade, the underpart shading to white,
1042
01:10:31.960 --> 01:10:36.079
tinged with pink. Its entire surface seems metallic in the
1043
01:10:36.119 --> 01:10:40.079
intensity of its coloring. As it leaves the water. From
1044
01:10:40.119 --> 01:10:45.079
a slow, lazy animal of peaceful habits, the crab has
1045
01:10:45.119 --> 01:10:50.479
become a veritable monster, savage and fiercely aggressive, and woe
1046
01:10:50.520 --> 01:10:54.479
to the unfortunate one within reach of his claws. This
1047
01:10:54.600 --> 01:10:58.359
capture is a real experience and a distinctly sporting event.
1048
01:10:58.960 --> 01:11:03.520
So interesting and mysterious is the search, so active and
1049
01:11:03.680 --> 01:11:09.159
adventurous the pursuit, and so exciting and satisfying the actual catch,
1050
01:11:09.720 --> 01:11:12.520
that one is tempted to place crabbing among the big
1051
01:11:12.560 --> 01:11:14.560
events of a summer at the seashore.
1052
01:11:15.479 --> 01:11:16.079
I know a.
1053
01:11:16.039 --> 01:11:20.000
College professor who annually devotes the better part of his
1054
01:11:20.159 --> 01:11:24.640
vacation to this pastime, and several of my athletic friends,
1055
01:11:24.920 --> 01:11:28.039
whose prowess on the football field was a matter of
1056
01:11:28.159 --> 01:11:31.840
international comment in the papers, confessed to the.
1057
01:11:31.680 --> 01:11:33.199
Delights of a crab hunt.
1058
01:11:33.479 --> 01:11:37.840
But it is a surprising fact, nevertheless, that the majority
1059
01:11:37.880 --> 01:11:41.319
of those who visit the seacoasts each year have never
1060
01:11:41.479 --> 01:11:46.199
even heard of the extraordinary fascination of hunting. The originator
1061
01:11:46.319 --> 01:11:57.319
of the Blue Street end of section seven Section eight
1062
01:11:57.600 --> 01:12:03.079
of Cape Cutades by Roger Livingstone's Cafe. This Libribox recording
1063
01:12:03.119 --> 01:12:07.159
is in the public domain, read by lore a fresh
1064
01:12:07.399 --> 01:12:12.600
water cape to the majority of people, Cape cod spells
1065
01:12:12.760 --> 01:12:17.039
sea breezes, a tang of salt in the air, scrub oaks,
1066
01:12:17.359 --> 01:12:22.560
tall pines, stretches of sand, and a large appetite to
1067
01:12:22.640 --> 01:12:26.359
the few who know the cape from intimate acquaintance. There
1068
01:12:26.479 --> 01:12:31.159
is added to this picture a swelling country, densely wooded
1069
01:12:31.239 --> 01:12:35.359
in sections and spotted with ponds. It is a source
1070
01:12:35.399 --> 01:12:39.279
of never ending wonder how these ponds exist in a
1071
01:12:39.359 --> 01:12:42.840
country where the soil is so porous that a few
1072
01:12:42.880 --> 01:12:45.520
minutes after a shower there is no trace of the rain.
1073
01:12:46.479 --> 01:12:50.680
In almost every instance, they are fed from springs beneath
1074
01:12:50.680 --> 01:12:54.520
the surface, and the solution has been offered, and quite
1075
01:12:54.600 --> 01:12:58.760
generally believe that much of this fresh water flows in
1076
01:12:58.840 --> 01:13:03.319
subterranean chain panels, having their source far distance in the
1077
01:13:03.359 --> 01:13:08.079
White mountains. So plentiful is the supply that wells and
1078
01:13:08.199 --> 01:13:11.920
pipes driven a few feet into the soil at almost
1079
01:13:12.000 --> 01:13:17.039
any spot furnish clear, pure water and ample supply for
1080
01:13:17.159 --> 01:13:21.800
household needs. A more remarkable fact is that at low
1081
01:13:21.960 --> 01:13:26.399
tide in many of the harbors and inlets, fresh water
1082
01:13:26.520 --> 01:13:30.439
can be found between the high and most stretches, oozing
1083
01:13:30.520 --> 01:13:34.359
through the salty surface of sand and mud. And so
1084
01:13:34.560 --> 01:13:38.560
the cape, for all its salt qualities, has fresh water
1085
01:13:38.760 --> 01:13:43.800
in profusion and ponds without number. In Plymouth County alone
1086
01:13:44.039 --> 01:13:47.600
there are three hundred and sixty five ponds, many of
1087
01:13:47.640 --> 01:13:52.319
them of substantial size, while the lower cape is almost
1088
01:13:52.359 --> 01:13:57.800
equally well provided. A generation ago, many of the residents
1089
01:13:57.840 --> 01:14:01.399
of Plymouth past their summers on the largest of these
1090
01:14:02.079 --> 01:14:06.159
long pond Having the salt breezes most of the year,
1091
01:14:06.439 --> 01:14:11.239
they wisely sought a change to inland waters. Last year
1092
01:14:11.319 --> 01:14:15.039
I met a gentleman fishing in wick By Pond, made
1093
01:14:15.119 --> 01:14:18.920
famous by Cleveland and Joe Jefferson, who told me he
1094
01:14:19.079 --> 01:14:21.920
came on from Chicago every year to pass a month
1095
01:14:22.039 --> 01:14:25.760
fast fishing. It was probably ten miles from the coast,
1096
01:14:26.119 --> 01:14:28.079
and might have been a hundred for all the good
1097
01:14:28.079 --> 01:14:30.800
it did him. But on the other hand, why not
1098
01:14:30.920 --> 01:14:33.600
a pond on the cape as well as a rangely
1099
01:14:33.760 --> 01:14:37.880
lake in Maine. The life is much the same, the
1100
01:14:37.920 --> 01:14:43.079
air refreshing, and the scenery delightful. These larger ponds are
1101
01:14:43.119 --> 01:14:46.479
fully as large as many of the main lakes. Long
1102
01:14:46.600 --> 01:14:49.560
Pond at Plymouth is said to be ten miles long,
1103
01:14:49.920 --> 01:14:52.640
and I have seen the water at Great Herring Pond
1104
01:14:52.720 --> 01:14:55.640
as rough as one would care to have it when canoeing.
1105
01:14:56.680 --> 01:15:00.359
To be sure, the fishing is not, perhaps so very exciting.
1106
01:15:00.760 --> 01:15:04.960
Few trout except in the occasional streams which have been stocked,
1107
01:15:05.439 --> 01:15:09.920
but landlocked salmon, perch and pickerel to be had with
1108
01:15:10.000 --> 01:15:13.359
a little patience and a shrimp or so. The real
1109
01:15:13.439 --> 01:15:16.920
pleasure which these ponds offer is a surprise and delight
1110
01:15:17.000 --> 01:15:21.079
of coming upon them, as one does frequently and quickly
1111
01:15:21.239 --> 01:15:26.239
while motoring through the less frequented roads from Plymouth down
1112
01:15:26.399 --> 01:15:31.239
the Cape through Sandwich. Nearly every road and bypath leads
1113
01:15:31.279 --> 01:15:35.479
to some picturesque little sheet of water, often closely wooded
1114
01:15:35.479 --> 01:15:39.520
to its shores and without a sign of habitation. From
1115
01:15:39.600 --> 01:15:46.199
Wareham or Cotuit, from Pocasset or Falmouth, from Hyenus or Chatham,
1116
01:15:46.720 --> 01:15:50.279
in short, from nearly every one of the many Cape towns,
1117
01:15:50.319 --> 01:15:53.079
a ride of fifteen or twenty minutes will take one
1118
01:15:53.119 --> 01:15:55.960
to a pond which might as well be fifty miles
1119
01:15:55.960 --> 01:16:00.239
from any center of human activity. One rarely meets other
1120
01:16:00.359 --> 01:16:04.680
adventures upon such trips, and the silence and peace which
1121
01:16:04.800 --> 01:16:08.439
rain from excellent foils to the summer life so near
1122
01:16:08.479 --> 01:16:12.439
at hand. Those who are wise and cape ways possess
1123
01:16:12.520 --> 01:16:16.359
small canoes mounted upon two wheels, which are fastened on
1124
01:16:16.520 --> 01:16:19.920
behind their cars, so that when touring the ponds they
1125
01:16:19.960 --> 01:16:23.439
are not limited in their fishing to the shore or
1126
01:16:23.479 --> 01:16:26.319
to the chance of finding a boat. There are a
1127
01:16:26.399 --> 01:16:29.760
number of gentlemen who have built small camps upon certain
1128
01:16:29.800 --> 01:16:34.319
of these secluded spots, for casual excursions and for spring
1129
01:16:34.520 --> 01:16:39.039
and fall use. They are wise by leaving Boston at noon,
1130
01:16:39.279 --> 01:16:42.920
they can always be in camp by sundown, ready to
1131
01:16:43.079 --> 01:16:47.319
enjoy a full Sunday. While the mighty fishermen who depends
1132
01:16:47.479 --> 01:16:51.479
entirely upon the main lakes or the more remote places.
1133
01:16:51.560 --> 01:16:55.600
Must plan a week's vacation with the chance of better sport,
1134
01:16:55.920 --> 01:16:59.359
to be sure, but no better life. For the life
1135
01:16:59.479 --> 01:17:02.439
of a spot sortsmen in the open is much the same.
1136
01:17:03.119 --> 01:17:06.399
The great outdoors is universal in its appeal to the
1137
01:17:06.479 --> 01:17:11.039
sane minded and healthy bodied. I have experienced as much
1138
01:17:11.159 --> 01:17:15.600
heat and poor fishing in Novuscatia during July as I
1139
01:17:15.680 --> 01:17:18.800
have on our ponds of the Cape, And in addition
1140
01:17:19.039 --> 01:17:22.520
I have noticed more mosquitoes and midges to the Cubic
1141
01:17:22.600 --> 01:17:27.000
inch in Canada than on these same ponds. But of that,
1142
01:17:27.159 --> 01:17:30.560
perhaps the less said, the better. I have in mind
1143
01:17:30.600 --> 01:17:34.520
a little excursion which illustrates these extremes of cape life,
1144
01:17:34.920 --> 01:17:37.960
and it is but one of many. An early July,
1145
01:17:38.199 --> 01:17:42.479
when the children, freed from school restraint, were on the rampage,
1146
01:17:42.600 --> 01:17:45.520
and our cottage was bearing the brunt of an onslaught
1147
01:17:45.600 --> 01:17:49.039
a youthful visitors, each of our neighbors having one or
1148
01:17:49.039 --> 01:17:52.600
two boys and girls as guests for their children. Life
1149
01:17:52.640 --> 01:17:56.279
seemed to me an unending series of activities coupled with
1150
01:17:56.399 --> 01:18:00.960
ceaseless slang. In fact, I was fed up with it all,
1151
01:18:01.359 --> 01:18:05.800
so that when my classmate and old friend are telephone
1152
01:18:05.840 --> 01:18:07.800
to say that he was going up to the pond
1153
01:18:07.880 --> 01:18:10.640
for a day or so. I clung to the receiver
1154
01:18:10.840 --> 01:18:14.439
in my joy to escape. The preparations for such a
1155
01:18:14.520 --> 01:18:19.239
trip are simple. A blanket, a change of clothing, a toothbrush,
1156
01:18:19.640 --> 01:18:23.760
no razor, food enough to fill a small basket, and yes,
1157
01:18:24.119 --> 01:18:28.039
I suppose it must be confessed a bottle. My fishing
1158
01:18:28.119 --> 01:18:32.279
tackle is always ready. The bait, however, is more difficult
1159
01:18:32.359 --> 01:18:35.880
to secure with net and pail. I hastened to the
1160
01:18:35.920 --> 01:18:39.600
creek which enters the harbor near our cottage, and it
1161
01:18:39.840 --> 01:18:43.920
being fortunately low tied, I was able in the twenty
1162
01:18:44.000 --> 01:18:49.079
minutes left before ours arrival to secure a fair supply
1163
01:18:49.279 --> 01:18:52.840
of shrimp. That was all there was to it. We
1164
01:18:52.880 --> 01:18:55.520
are off well within an hour from the time of
1165
01:18:55.600 --> 01:18:59.199
his message, and well within an hour we had arrived
1166
01:18:59.239 --> 01:19:02.520
at his little shitjack, perched high above the shore of
1167
01:19:02.600 --> 01:19:05.640
one of the loveliest ponds on the cape, and were
1168
01:19:05.720 --> 01:19:09.319
settled for the night. The camp was well stocked with
1169
01:19:09.479 --> 01:19:14.680
wood and simply furnished with camp beds, the ordinary cooking utensils,
1170
01:19:15.039 --> 01:19:18.800
and such comforts as may be gathered about, a broad hearth,
1171
01:19:18.960 --> 01:19:23.239
and a roaring fire outside the wind had died down,
1172
01:19:23.479 --> 01:19:27.720
and not a ripple disturbed the mirrored surface of the water,
1173
01:19:28.199 --> 01:19:32.920
which reflected the delicate outline of cedar pine and oak,
1174
01:19:33.359 --> 01:19:36.800
a lacy filament which shielded the setting sun from the
1175
01:19:36.880 --> 01:19:42.000
already silver reflection of the half moon. A perfect time,
1176
01:19:42.159 --> 01:19:46.199
of a perfect day, in a well nigh perfect spot,
1177
01:19:46.319 --> 01:19:49.960
I said, by way of expressing the joy of my escape.
1178
01:19:50.600 --> 01:19:54.479
Such a burst of eloquence demands a toast, remarked my friend.
1179
01:19:55.079 --> 01:19:59.399
So we forthwith resorted to the foresaid bottle, and then
1180
01:19:59.560 --> 01:20:05.159
turned and prepared supper, the inevitable scrambled eggs, deviled ham,
1181
01:20:05.800 --> 01:20:10.119
bread and marmalade and coffee. To think of that howling
1182
01:20:10.199 --> 01:20:14.399
mob at home only twenty minutes away, I mused, puffingly,
1183
01:20:14.560 --> 01:20:19.039
contented at my pipe and reveling in the silence. To
1184
01:20:19.159 --> 01:20:22.239
think of what a motor we'll do, replied my friend,
1185
01:20:22.359 --> 01:20:26.640
who was not unaware of my opinion of cars. I
1186
01:20:26.760 --> 01:20:30.600
muttered something incoherently, and squirmmed a bit at the thought
1187
01:20:30.680 --> 01:20:33.600
of some of my notions. The next morning, we were
1188
01:20:33.680 --> 01:20:36.600
up with the sun, and, after a hasty bite, put
1189
01:20:36.600 --> 01:20:39.680
our canoe into the water and set about our main task.
1190
01:20:40.279 --> 01:20:43.000
We were both fairly familiar with the haunts of the
1191
01:20:43.039 --> 01:20:46.640
wily bass in summer. They lie close to the bottom,
1192
01:20:46.840 --> 01:20:50.319
the laziest of fellows, sucking in the bait if they
1193
01:20:50.439 --> 01:20:54.159
notice it at all, in a dreamy fashion. But once
1194
01:20:54.239 --> 01:20:58.399
hooked they showed their metal. And so when I finally
1195
01:20:58.439 --> 01:21:02.119
felt a slight strain on my I held back until
1196
01:21:02.159 --> 01:21:05.760
I was sure of my fist. Yes, I had him,
1197
01:21:06.000 --> 01:21:09.359
and a good big one at that. There is little
1198
01:21:09.479 --> 01:21:13.239
or no casting in midsummer, so that I had brought
1199
01:21:13.279 --> 01:21:16.960
a stouter trolling rod, and it was just as well.
1200
01:21:17.439 --> 01:21:21.039
I played that fellow for ten minutes, and when R
1201
01:21:21.600 --> 01:21:24.760
finally netted him for me, we sat and looked at
1202
01:21:24.800 --> 01:21:29.680
each other, speechless. By gad, he's a five pounder, said
1203
01:21:29.720 --> 01:21:35.279
my friend, excitedly. Hmmm, about four and three quarters, I replied,
1204
01:21:35.319 --> 01:21:37.920
in a matter of fact tone to cover my excitement.
1205
01:21:38.640 --> 01:21:42.800
We caught twelve that morning, several weighing two pounds or more,
1206
01:21:43.359 --> 01:21:47.319
splendid fishing, the best we had ever had on the pond.
1207
01:21:47.880 --> 01:21:50.760
When we reached the camp and weighed my prize, he
1208
01:21:50.920 --> 01:21:56.159
tipped the scales up five and three ounces, a record fish.
1209
01:21:56.720 --> 01:22:00.199
Late in the afternoon, the clouds began to gather the
1210
01:22:00.239 --> 01:22:03.680
wind turned northeast, so he decided to run for cover.
1211
01:22:04.399 --> 01:22:07.319
I was at home in time for dinner and found
1212
01:22:07.319 --> 01:22:10.840
the spell broken. It was I who did the talking,
1213
01:22:11.199 --> 01:22:15.720
an amazing amount of it, while the youngsters sat open mouthed,
1214
01:22:15.720 --> 01:22:18.439
when my bass was brought onto the table in a
1215
01:22:18.479 --> 01:22:23.319
platter all to himself, garnished by our cook, who so says,
1216
01:22:23.359 --> 01:22:26.640
my wife is proud of my ability as a provider.
1217
01:22:27.079 --> 01:22:31.800
What more versatile land of summer than can one imagine
1218
01:22:31.800 --> 01:22:36.119
than the seashore with an almost permanent breeze, with a
1219
01:22:36.239 --> 01:22:40.359
chain of inland ponds, remote and wild in character, almost
1220
01:22:40.359 --> 01:22:45.199
at one's back door. Motivly speaking, if variety is truly
1221
01:22:45.239 --> 01:22:49.199
the spice of life, what better seasoned offering has any
1222
01:22:49.319 --> 01:22:54.199
locality to show than Cape cod end of section eight,
1223
01:23:00.239 --> 01:23:05.119
Section nine of Cape Cottades by Roger Livingstone's Cafe. This
1224
01:23:05.159 --> 01:23:08.960
libribox recording is in the public domain. Read by Lore
1225
01:23:09.800 --> 01:23:15.199
al Fresco. Before you pass judgment upon any man or
1226
01:23:15.279 --> 01:23:20.000
woman of your acquaintance, ask kim or her to a picnic. Then,
1227
01:23:20.039 --> 01:23:22.640
if you are not ready to form a decision, they
1228
01:23:22.640 --> 01:23:26.359
will probably have made up their minds about you a picnic.
1229
01:23:26.560 --> 01:23:30.239
So the dictionary has it is an entertainment in a grove.
1230
01:23:30.520 --> 01:23:34.039
An i'minous and hazardous place at best for a good time,
1231
01:23:34.520 --> 01:23:38.159
and one to be avoided except by sentimental couples. And
1232
01:23:38.279 --> 01:23:41.960
therefore the dictionary may be considered narrow minded in naming
1233
01:23:42.039 --> 01:23:47.359
the locality. Furthermore, its advice is rarely followed in these days,
1234
01:23:47.520 --> 01:23:51.479
and the picnics which I prefer, and there are countless,
1235
01:23:51.720 --> 01:23:54.960
are held upon the seashore, and for the most part
1236
01:23:55.159 --> 01:23:58.640
in the sea itself. There is a white sandy beach
1237
01:23:58.680 --> 01:24:02.039
of a mile or more, banked by great sand dunes
1238
01:24:02.159 --> 01:24:06.800
and bordering a section of Buzzard's Bay, which is comparatively unknown,
1239
01:24:07.159 --> 01:24:10.800
where there are no houses, not even bath houses, and
1240
01:24:10.840 --> 01:24:14.159
where the delighted squeal of the noisy girl or the
1241
01:24:14.159 --> 01:24:18.119
guffa of the blatant youth is rarely heard. It is
1242
01:24:18.199 --> 01:24:21.640
here that we frequently gather with a few good friends,
1243
01:24:21.840 --> 01:24:26.880
upon pleasant warm days, for an impromptu meal al fresco,
1244
01:24:27.079 --> 01:24:30.199
preceded by a joyous bath in water as clear as
1245
01:24:30.239 --> 01:24:34.479
crystal warm, and yet with a spiciness that clears the
1246
01:24:34.560 --> 01:24:38.199
head from all drowsiness. And what's the appetite to a
1247
01:24:38.319 --> 01:24:43.119
keen edge? There are problems to every picnic. The conventions
1248
01:24:43.119 --> 01:24:46.319
of life grip hard, and yet it is curious and
1249
01:24:46.399 --> 01:24:50.520
sometimes amusing to see how thin the veneer really is
1250
01:24:50.920 --> 01:24:53.640
when the primitive necessities.
1251
01:24:52.840 --> 01:24:54.640
Of a picnic are faced.
1252
01:24:55.039 --> 01:24:58.720
The sand dunes are conveniently rolling every now and then
1253
01:24:59.159 --> 01:25:03.880
dipping into bowl like formations, and in these sequestered or
1254
01:25:03.960 --> 01:25:08.239
semi sequestered nooks we domed our bathing suits and sally
1255
01:25:08.359 --> 01:25:11.560
forth to the sea. One of our friends, a man
1256
01:25:11.800 --> 01:25:15.560
somewhat particular as to his appearance and the soul of modesty,
1257
01:25:16.159 --> 01:25:19.399
was directed to the appointed place, But his love for
1258
01:25:19.520 --> 01:25:22.880
the view led him up the slope, so that, innocently
1259
01:25:23.119 --> 01:25:27.199
turning our gaze shoreward, the feminine portion of our gathering
1260
01:25:27.399 --> 01:25:31.840
was considerably disconcerted to see the apostle of beau Brummel
1261
01:25:32.279 --> 01:25:36.880
in nature's garb, innocently viewing the horizon and giving little
1262
01:25:36.920 --> 01:25:40.560
heed to his natty bathing suit, a black and orange
1263
01:25:40.560 --> 01:25:44.479
affair with immaculate white belt, which lay at his feet.
1264
01:25:45.239 --> 01:25:48.600
The women, too, those who but a few moments before,
1265
01:25:48.640 --> 01:25:51.199
would have tried in every way to conceal a hole
1266
01:25:51.279 --> 01:25:55.079
in their stockings, were glad to borrow bathing dresses of
1267
01:25:55.119 --> 01:25:58.760
any reasonable style, if by chance they had forgotten to
1268
01:25:58.800 --> 01:26:02.159
pack their own, and the stockings seemed of no importance,
1269
01:26:03.000 --> 01:26:05.359
to line up twenty or more on the beach and
1270
01:26:05.600 --> 01:26:08.840
rush for a plunge to breast the billows, or to
1271
01:26:08.960 --> 01:26:12.359
grope amid the sands for sea clamps, to race along
1272
01:26:12.439 --> 01:26:15.439
the beach for the sheer joy of life is the
1273
01:26:15.479 --> 01:26:18.880
glad part of what I call a picnic. And then
1274
01:26:19.079 --> 01:26:23.319
the food, no meal, which must be coaxed along by
1275
01:26:23.319 --> 01:26:27.039
a cocktail or other appetizer to prepare the way for
1276
01:26:27.279 --> 01:26:32.359
course after course of indigestible concoctions planned.
1277
01:26:31.960 --> 01:26:33.319
By fertile minded.
1278
01:26:33.079 --> 01:26:38.159
Chefs, but honest beef and chicken and ham sandwiches, delicately
1279
01:26:38.279 --> 01:26:44.560
prepared and tastefully arranged, sandwiches of lettuce and cheese, and paprika,
1280
01:26:44.840 --> 01:26:49.680
sandwiches with sardines with olives, gram sandwiches with a thin
1281
01:26:49.800 --> 01:26:53.720
layer of marmalade or guaba intended for the children but
1282
01:26:53.920 --> 01:26:58.880
partaken of by all, and stuffed eggs, the variety only
1283
01:26:58.920 --> 01:27:02.239
to be found at a picnic and eaten in two gulps,
1284
01:27:02.640 --> 01:27:06.760
the one place where such table manners are tolerated. And
1285
01:27:07.159 --> 01:27:10.600
it is on picnics that the thermos bottle is most
1286
01:27:10.680 --> 01:27:16.840
thoroughly appreciated. The miracle of hot bullyon, hot coffee, iced tea,
1287
01:27:17.199 --> 01:27:21.920
and a variety of beverages suitably chilled or heated, seems
1288
01:27:22.000 --> 01:27:25.399
ever to be a source of fresh surprise and pleasure.
1289
01:27:26.039 --> 01:27:30.359
Toward autumn, the picnics offer a new variety for the children.
1290
01:27:30.560 --> 01:27:34.279
Thrill at the expectation of cooking their own dinner, the
1291
01:27:34.399 --> 01:27:39.239
joys of a bonfire, the excitement of bearing potatoes, corn
1292
01:27:39.279 --> 01:27:43.720
and clams and seaweed, the frying of ham and eggs,
1293
01:27:44.119 --> 01:27:47.279
and the occasional treat of flapjacks when one of our
1294
01:27:47.399 --> 01:27:51.760
nautical friends happens to be of our number. These are
1295
01:27:51.760 --> 01:27:54.520
but a few of the pleasures of a picnic, such
1296
01:27:54.560 --> 01:27:58.119
as one encounters on the shores of Buzzards Bay in
1297
01:27:58.279 --> 01:28:02.119
August and September. It must be admitted that there are
1298
01:28:02.199 --> 01:28:06.000
certain drawbacks which seem serious to the individual of fixed
1299
01:28:06.039 --> 01:28:11.399
tabits tender feet and uncertain digestion. There is, for example,
1300
01:28:11.479 --> 01:28:15.920
the beautiful white sand glistening in the sun, smooth as
1301
01:28:15.960 --> 01:28:19.439
a billiard table, and fine as powder. It must be
1302
01:28:19.520 --> 01:28:23.039
admitted that after the bath, one is conscious of the
1303
01:28:23.039 --> 01:28:27.119
pervading quality of its particles. It is in one's hair,
1304
01:28:27.520 --> 01:28:31.960
one's shoes, and often elsewhere about the person. It is
1305
01:28:32.039 --> 01:28:37.239
discovered invading the aforesaid sandwiches, which seem well named. At
1306
01:28:37.279 --> 01:28:41.359
such times, a brisk wind slaps it into your eye
1307
01:28:41.560 --> 01:28:45.680
or your mouth in disconcerting fashion, and you become aware
1308
01:28:45.760 --> 01:28:49.800
of its grating presence. Then again there are clouds upon
1309
01:28:49.840 --> 01:28:53.720
the horizon. To those who are seriously affected by the sand,
1310
01:28:54.079 --> 01:28:58.039
these clouds look ominous. They may forebode a storm and
1311
01:28:58.119 --> 01:29:02.479
a wedding. A certain clammingess of hands and feet occasioned
1312
01:29:02.520 --> 01:29:05.479
by the bath remind one that a change in the
1313
01:29:05.479 --> 01:29:09.439
weather precedes a cold in the head. These feelings mark
1314
01:29:09.479 --> 01:29:12.720
the man of creature comforts, and he fails to join
1315
01:29:12.880 --> 01:29:15.760
in the part singing which comes after the hearty meal.
1316
01:29:16.119 --> 01:29:20.239
When pipes are lighted and the entire gathering stretch themselves
1317
01:29:20.359 --> 01:29:23.720
upon the sands for a lazy half hour before the
1318
01:29:23.760 --> 01:29:29.159
inevitable cleaning up process begins, this same individual declines to
1319
01:29:29.199 --> 01:29:33.079
tell his best story, and should a ballgame be suggested,
1320
01:29:33.439 --> 01:29:36.880
he will be found callous to all coaxing. He has
1321
01:29:37.000 --> 01:29:40.239
enough sand in his shoes as it is, or he
1322
01:29:40.279 --> 01:29:45.039
has eaten too much for exercising, or possibly the clouds
1323
01:29:45.039 --> 01:29:50.600
on the horizon lower more formidably, Yes, a picnic discloses
1324
01:29:50.720 --> 01:29:54.640
the strength and weakness of character which mark our friends.
1325
01:29:54.840 --> 01:29:58.760
And yet after all it does more, for it brings
1326
01:29:58.800 --> 01:30:01.840
out the best and most of us. And few, even
1327
01:30:01.960 --> 01:30:06.880
our habitually conventional friends failed to respond to the delights
1328
01:30:06.920 --> 01:30:11.359
of a seashore picnic, or lack in the essential philosophy
1329
01:30:11.840 --> 01:30:23.000
of an outdoor care free existence. End of section nine
1330
01:30:23.720 --> 01:30:29.199
Section ten of Cape Codades by Roger Livingston's Cafe. This
1331
01:30:29.279 --> 01:30:34.960
libribox recording is in the public domain read by Lore Models.
1332
01:30:36.279 --> 01:30:40.159
Long before the Old Colony Railroad thought of running a
1333
01:30:40.239 --> 01:30:43.680
line to Cape Cod, although that in itself was not
1334
01:30:43.760 --> 01:30:47.439
so very long ago, well within the memory of man,
1335
01:30:47.880 --> 01:30:50.920
there was one charm of the Cape which is fash
1336
01:30:51.159 --> 01:30:56.479
vanishing and entirely unknown to the casual visitor, and unappreciated
1337
01:30:56.560 --> 01:31:00.479
by the perennial summer residents. In those days there was
1338
01:31:00.520 --> 01:31:05.640
a host of rugged, sturdy men, intelligent, courageous, upright and
1339
01:31:05.800 --> 01:31:09.920
keen minded. They were the Cape Captains, the men who
1340
01:31:10.000 --> 01:31:13.439
grew up among the sand dunes to the rote of
1341
01:31:13.520 --> 01:31:16.880
the sea, the men who carried the good name of
1342
01:31:17.119 --> 01:31:19.760
Cape Cod to the ends of the earth. And who
1343
01:31:19.800 --> 01:31:23.319
brought back with them the fortunes which made the little
1344
01:31:23.359 --> 01:31:27.560
towns dotted here and there along the shore hamans of
1345
01:31:27.760 --> 01:31:31.840
comfort and rest. Such men could tell stories which would
1346
01:31:31.880 --> 01:31:35.720
buy for those of Conrad and Stevenson. But for the
1347
01:31:35.800 --> 01:31:40.600
most part their deeds go unrecorded except in their ship's logs,
1348
01:31:40.640 --> 01:31:45.399
for they were a simple, reserved company of this epoch.
1349
01:31:45.560 --> 01:31:48.560
There remains but one relic which is sought after by
1350
01:31:48.600 --> 01:31:53.319
the present generation and its savers of the antique. In fact,
1351
01:31:53.680 --> 01:31:58.039
in fact, it is the antiquarium rather than the adventurer
1352
01:31:58.399 --> 01:32:02.600
who ransacks the cape at present for ship's models. In
1353
01:32:02.640 --> 01:32:05.680
those early days, there were months at a time when
1354
01:32:05.680 --> 01:32:08.880
the ship's company were idle, and it grew to be
1355
01:32:09.000 --> 01:32:12.880
a custom for those clever with their hands to fashion
1356
01:32:13.000 --> 01:32:16.479
models of the schooners in which they sailed, or of
1357
01:32:16.600 --> 01:32:21.079
seacraft notable for beauty of line or complexity of rig.
1358
01:32:21.800 --> 01:32:24.920
Many an old sea captain would pass his idle moments
1359
01:32:24.960 --> 01:32:28.760
in fashioning these miniature boats, and many members of the
1360
01:32:28.800 --> 01:32:32.520
ship's crews became adept at the hobby, where a knowledge
1361
01:32:32.520 --> 01:32:35.760
of tools was almost an essential for every man on
1362
01:32:35.800 --> 01:32:39.800
the cape, where the trades of carpenter, painter and plumber
1363
01:32:40.079 --> 01:32:45.000
were generally performed by the householder. Furthermore, a sailor would
1364
01:32:45.119 --> 01:32:48.880
infinitely preferred to whittle out a model than to swab
1365
01:32:49.000 --> 01:32:52.960
down the deck, and frequently a clever mechanic would be
1366
01:32:53.039 --> 01:32:57.119
relieved by his captain from this menial work if he
1367
01:32:57.199 --> 01:33:00.520
devoted his time to the perfection of a model which
1368
01:33:00.640 --> 01:33:05.479
was destined for the mantle of the captain's best poller. Therefore,
1369
01:33:05.720 --> 01:33:08.960
in the old days there was scarcely a cape family
1370
01:33:09.319 --> 01:33:13.079
of salt water ancestry which did not boast of at
1371
01:33:13.159 --> 01:33:16.840
least one model, and often more the trade mark of
1372
01:33:16.880 --> 01:33:21.239
an honorable and hazardous occupation, and a relic of former
1373
01:33:21.319 --> 01:33:24.680
days of plenty, when the cape was peopled only by
1374
01:33:24.720 --> 01:33:28.640
the native cape cotters, and before steam took from them
1375
01:33:28.680 --> 01:33:32.039
the vocation to which they were reared. To day, the
1376
01:33:32.119 --> 01:33:35.159
captain of a full rigged ship is as hard to
1377
01:33:35.199 --> 01:33:38.960
find as the vessel herself, and the cape exists upon
1378
01:33:39.039 --> 01:33:43.680
the summer residence and upon the less productive occupation of fishing,
1379
01:33:44.159 --> 01:33:47.239
which is largely in the hands of the Portuguese, who
1380
01:33:47.279 --> 01:33:49.880
have come in droves to settle upon our land. Of
1381
01:33:50.000 --> 01:33:55.039
Bartholomew Gosnold and his company of adventurers, and so the
1382
01:33:55.079 --> 01:33:58.239
interest in ships and in tails of the sea has
1383
01:33:58.279 --> 01:34:02.159
disappeared along with those who upheld the trade, and the
1384
01:34:02.319 --> 01:34:07.000
models familiar sites to the descendants have been relegated to
1385
01:34:07.039 --> 01:34:10.560
the attic or have been sold as curiosities to the
1386
01:34:10.760 --> 01:34:15.880
ubiquitous dealers in antiques who persistently come to the Cape
1387
01:34:15.880 --> 01:34:21.079
for old furniture, fewter china, anything in fact, which can
1388
01:34:21.119 --> 01:34:24.720
be palmed off on that voracious type of collector, the
1389
01:34:24.840 --> 01:34:29.159
lover of antiques. During the last few years, for some
1390
01:34:29.239 --> 01:34:33.600
reason or other, these models have become very popular. Just
1391
01:34:33.760 --> 01:34:36.920
why it is not easy to explain. It is true
1392
01:34:36.920 --> 01:34:40.399
that they typify a lost trade which was full of adventure.
1393
01:34:40.840 --> 01:34:44.079
It is also true that they are decorative, many of them,
1394
01:34:44.600 --> 01:34:49.000
but that hardly explains the ravenous appetite which many collectors
1395
01:34:49.000 --> 01:34:52.640
of antiques have recently developed to obtain a genuine model.
1396
01:34:53.279 --> 01:34:56.680
Dealers have secured agents in every town on the Cape
1397
01:34:56.720 --> 01:35:01.319
who are ransacking their neighborhoods for models, ha models, pictures
1398
01:35:01.359 --> 01:35:04.760
of boats, made in bass, reliefs, weather veins, and the
1399
01:35:04.800 --> 01:35:08.960
shape of ships, and the prices are increasing by leaps
1400
01:35:08.960 --> 01:35:12.600
and bounds. In fact, so popular has this fad become
1401
01:35:12.760 --> 01:35:17.000
that ex sailors and carpenters with some slight acquaintance with
1402
01:35:17.079 --> 01:35:20.680
the sea are now developing quite a business and fashioning
1403
01:35:20.760 --> 01:35:25.479
models of special designs or of former famous ships. A
1404
01:35:25.520 --> 01:35:28.720
few years ago, the model of a schooner about two
1405
01:35:28.760 --> 01:35:32.319
feet in length, fully rigged, would bring in the neighborhood
1406
01:35:32.359 --> 01:35:36.479
of twenty five dollars. Today the same model could not
1407
01:35:36.680 --> 01:35:40.840
be secured for less than one hundred dollars. Often the smaller,
1408
01:35:41.039 --> 01:35:45.840
more exquisitely made specimens will bring more. The descendants of
1409
01:35:45.880 --> 01:35:49.720
the old captains have lost any sentimental regard for these
1410
01:35:49.760 --> 01:35:54.359
relics and gladly part with them for a comparatively small sum,
1411
01:35:54.720 --> 01:35:58.560
but only to the patient and skillful, who know cape
1412
01:35:58.560 --> 01:36:02.880
ways and cape people. And so it is almost impossible
1413
01:36:02.960 --> 01:36:06.239
for the tourists to secure a model except from a dealer.
1414
01:36:07.039 --> 01:36:10.359
Should the casual summer visitor attempt to bargain with his
1415
01:36:10.520 --> 01:36:14.239
native cape neighbor, he would find him a wily bird,
1416
01:36:14.399 --> 01:36:18.560
suspicious of being imposed upon, and as likely as not
1417
01:36:18.680 --> 01:36:23.239
to put an absurd valuation upon his possession. And yet
1418
01:36:23.319 --> 01:36:26.680
that same cape neighbor might part with the model the
1419
01:36:26.720 --> 01:36:29.800
next day to a total stranger for a smaller sum.
1420
01:36:30.039 --> 01:36:33.560
For such as the nature of the denizen of the cape,
1421
01:36:33.600 --> 01:36:37.880
this contrary mindedness and disinclination to do a favor is
1422
01:36:37.960 --> 01:36:41.880
not unusual. But as against this trait he will be
1423
01:36:41.960 --> 01:36:45.720
found to be a genial host and a kindly acquaintance,
1424
01:36:45.880 --> 01:36:50.000
often generous beyond his means. And so today we witness
1425
01:36:50.039 --> 01:36:53.960
the passing of the models last relic of the olden days,
1426
01:36:54.199 --> 01:36:57.800
the golden days of Cape cod from those tiny cape
1427
01:36:57.800 --> 01:37:01.600
cottages built by these same stir d captains, to the
1428
01:37:01.760 --> 01:37:05.479
comfortable mansions of the summer people, whose knowledge of the
1429
01:37:05.479 --> 01:37:09.119
sea is secured in July and August by an occasional dip,
1430
01:37:09.560 --> 01:37:12.359
a sail, and a knockabout and a glimpse of a
1431
01:37:12.439 --> 01:37:16.560
glorious sunset over the shining waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
1432
01:37:18.119 --> 01:37:27.920
End of section ten, Section eleven at Cape Codady's by
1433
01:37:28.039 --> 01:37:32.640
Roger Livingston's Cafe. This libribox recording is in the public domain.
1434
01:37:33.239 --> 01:37:38.359
Read by Lore. A wet sheet and a flowing sea.
1435
01:37:39.600 --> 01:37:43.239
In my eastful days, I often wondered at the regularity
1436
01:37:43.439 --> 01:37:46.800
with which elderly people would go out to drive day
1437
01:37:46.840 --> 01:37:50.920
after day, sitting in the same seat in the same carriage,
1438
01:37:51.239 --> 01:37:55.319
behind the same horses driven by the same coachman along
1439
01:37:55.359 --> 01:37:59.079
the same roads. It seemed to me a lamentable waste
1440
01:37:59.119 --> 01:38:02.880
of time, And now I have more or less less,
1441
01:38:02.920 --> 01:38:06.840
as the year's advance, the same feeling toward those couples
1442
01:38:06.920 --> 01:38:11.000
whose chief relaxation as a spin along the state roads
1443
01:38:11.039 --> 01:38:14.880
of their district in a well appointed limousine. For I
1444
01:38:14.960 --> 01:38:18.279
belong to that class of motorists who use their cars
1445
01:38:18.319 --> 01:38:22.880
purely for convenience and prefer the fresh air variety. Yet
1446
01:38:22.920 --> 01:38:26.159
when it comes to sailing, for some reason which I
1447
01:38:26.239 --> 01:38:31.159
am at a loss to explain, my views are diametrically opposite.
1448
01:38:31.520 --> 01:38:35.319
I am content to clamber into my knack aboll and
1449
01:38:35.399 --> 01:38:39.840
to perform the routine labor of pumping her out, unfurling
1450
01:38:39.920 --> 01:38:43.880
and hoisting the sail, and casting off. Then to cruise
1451
01:38:44.000 --> 01:38:48.359
lazily about our harbor, sailing over the same course, day
1452
01:38:48.399 --> 01:38:51.880
in and day out, with little variation, And to do
1453
01:38:51.920 --> 01:38:55.359
this either alone or with a kindred spirit.
1454
01:38:55.039 --> 01:38:56.039
As the case may be.
1455
01:38:57.000 --> 01:39:00.920
To many. These cases may seem parallel to me, they
1456
01:39:00.960 --> 01:39:04.920
are widely variant. There is a formality to a drive
1457
01:39:05.239 --> 01:39:08.239
or a motor ride which starts with the costume morn
1458
01:39:08.640 --> 01:39:12.680
and ends with the character of conversation on a boat,
1459
01:39:12.960 --> 01:39:16.720
and I am speaking entirely of small boats. The costume
1460
01:39:17.000 --> 01:39:21.479
is of a heterogeneous variety, and the conversation of the freest.
1461
01:39:22.000 --> 01:39:26.920
In fact, there is something so thoroughly unconventional about life
1462
01:39:26.960 --> 01:39:31.720
on the water that even the stiffest of Braminian Bostonians
1463
01:39:31.760 --> 01:39:35.159
may occasionally be heard to indulge in slang and to
1464
01:39:35.279 --> 01:39:40.720
assume a rakish attitude perched upon deck. But such criticism,
1465
01:39:41.039 --> 01:39:45.760
or rather comparison, is highly superficial. There is more to
1466
01:39:45.800 --> 01:39:49.760
it than external appearance. For sailing brings out the best
1467
01:39:49.800 --> 01:39:55.640
in human nature, encourages philosophy, develops independence of thought and act,
1468
01:39:56.039 --> 01:39:59.800
and largely so because those who sail shed their coating
1469
01:39:59.840 --> 01:40:04.479
of reserve and allow their natural feelings spare play. There
1470
01:40:04.520 --> 01:40:07.439
is no quicker way to know and size up one's
1471
01:40:07.479 --> 01:40:10.720
friends than to go on a cruise for a few days.
1472
01:40:11.079 --> 01:40:14.399
There is no better way of enjoying and extending one's
1473
01:40:14.439 --> 01:40:19.479
friendships with both sexes than spending a few afternoons sailing together,
1474
01:40:20.000 --> 01:40:23.439
skirting along the shore with a fair breeze. Nor is
1475
01:40:23.439 --> 01:40:26.680
there any quicker way of learning the weaknesses of certain
1476
01:40:26.760 --> 01:40:31.560
individuals than by observing their conduct under perhaps less peaceful
1477
01:40:31.640 --> 01:40:36.000
conditions at sea. For the best of skippers cannot predict
1478
01:40:36.039 --> 01:40:39.720
weather conditions, and there are times when wind and storm
1479
01:40:39.800 --> 01:40:44.159
will come upon one with surprising quickness. Here in New England,
1480
01:40:44.359 --> 01:40:48.079
the sailing fraternity may be divided into those who prefer
1481
01:40:48.159 --> 01:40:50.960
the main coast and those who cling to the cape
1482
01:40:51.079 --> 01:40:54.640
and Buzzard's Bay. As one of the latter class, I
1483
01:40:54.800 --> 01:40:58.279
always claim our supremacy by stating two points which I
1484
01:40:58.319 --> 01:41:01.800
believe to be true. First that we have more wind
1485
01:41:02.239 --> 01:41:05.920
and second that we have less fog. To me, this
1486
01:41:06.159 --> 01:41:10.760
is convincing. The southwest wind which cools the cape, blows
1487
01:41:10.840 --> 01:41:14.039
nearly every day in summer, and with a strength that
1488
01:41:14.279 --> 01:41:18.760
often requires reefing. Rarely between ten in the morning and
1489
01:41:18.920 --> 01:41:22.359
five at night will the mariner find himself be calmed
1490
01:41:22.399 --> 01:41:26.560
in Buzzard's Bay. In fact, the stranger is generally amazed
1491
01:41:26.600 --> 01:41:29.640
to see girls and young boys sailing without the presence
1492
01:41:29.680 --> 01:41:32.520
of an older person in what looks to him a
1493
01:41:32.640 --> 01:41:36.159
three wreath breeze. They have been brought up to it
1494
01:41:36.520 --> 01:41:40.600
and realize that vigilance must always be exercised on the water,
1495
01:41:41.000 --> 01:41:43.399
and they know the qualities of their boat and the
1496
01:41:43.439 --> 01:41:46.520
power of the wind. I know of no better training
1497
01:41:46.560 --> 01:41:50.159
for youngsters who are proficient in swimming than to learn
1498
01:41:50.239 --> 01:41:53.960
to sail and race their own little boats. The development
1499
01:41:54.079 --> 01:41:59.520
of a power of observation, accurate judgment, prompt action, and
1500
01:41:59.600 --> 01:42:02.720
steady nerve comes more quickly with the handling of a
1501
01:42:02.760 --> 01:42:05.600
boat than in any other way for those who lead
1502
01:42:05.640 --> 01:42:09.439
our kind of life. Sailing is confined to boats, but
1503
01:42:09.640 --> 01:42:14.039
boats are not by any means confined to sailing. For latterly,
1504
01:42:14.359 --> 01:42:17.520
they are almost as many motor boats to be found
1505
01:42:17.600 --> 01:42:21.319
chugging along the shores of the cape as there are sailboats.
1506
01:42:21.840 --> 01:42:25.319
Although I personally always pity the groups in the stern
1507
01:42:25.520 --> 01:42:29.520
of one of these modern affairs, which makes it noisy passage,
1508
01:42:29.640 --> 01:42:34.079
leaving an odorous wake of oil and smoke. But doubtless
1509
01:42:34.159 --> 01:42:37.199
I am extreme in my views and old fashioned in
1510
01:42:37.279 --> 01:42:41.039
my taste. Give me a knock about a fifteen footer
1511
01:42:41.159 --> 01:42:44.640
for real comfort, for a daily sale, a stiff member
1512
01:42:44.800 --> 01:42:49.199
of the twenty one foot class for cruising alongshore. Give
1513
01:42:49.239 --> 01:42:52.560
me a comfortable cat boat broad of beam for a
1514
01:42:52.640 --> 01:42:55.920
family boat or for a day's fishing. Or let me
1515
01:42:56.079 --> 01:42:59.359
idle about in one of our little twelve foot hereshoft
1516
01:42:59.399 --> 01:43:02.880
class with my small son. In any one of them,
1517
01:43:02.960 --> 01:43:06.000
I shall find the same sense of freedom, the same
1518
01:43:06.039 --> 01:43:09.279
sort of pleasure, and the same love for the salt sea.
1519
01:43:09.720 --> 01:43:12.840
And from each I shall look at the windy sandy
1520
01:43:12.880 --> 01:43:17.199
shores of the Cape with the same loyal affection. End
1521
01:43:17.239 --> 01:43:27.840
of Section eleven, Section twelve of Cape Cotodies by Roger
1522
01:43:28.000 --> 01:43:31.960
Livingstone's cathe This libribox recording is in the public domain.
1523
01:43:32.640 --> 01:43:37.840
Read by lore my Cape Farm. If I have thought
1524
01:43:37.840 --> 01:43:40.199
of it at all, I have thought of myself as
1525
01:43:40.239 --> 01:43:43.960
a sociable cuss. Not that I like sociables.
1526
01:43:44.079 --> 01:43:45.279
I hate them, and.
1527
01:43:45.239 --> 01:43:47.880
That is probably why they have gone out of fashion.
1528
01:43:48.800 --> 01:43:52.880
What to my mind defines sociability is the quality of
1529
01:43:53.039 --> 01:43:58.119
enjoying and giving enjoyment to others, singly in pairs or
1530
01:43:58.159 --> 01:44:02.720
in groups. And in present days, sociability is generally put
1531
01:44:02.840 --> 01:44:06.439
to the test, either at dinners or at weekend parties,
1532
01:44:06.720 --> 01:44:12.880
for these are the principal points of contact between friends. Latterly, however,
1533
01:44:13.239 --> 01:44:16.600
my social bent has been somewhat warped by the growing
1534
01:44:16.680 --> 01:44:19.359
desire on the part of my friends to boast of
1535
01:44:19.439 --> 01:44:24.279
their success as producers of food, whether it be premature finality,
1536
01:44:24.800 --> 01:44:29.520
the results of conservation, or merely the acquisition of wealth,
1537
01:44:29.800 --> 01:44:33.279
which is being rapidly returned to its own through the
1538
01:44:33.319 --> 01:44:37.560
purchase of land and the ingenuity of gardeners. It is
1539
01:44:37.600 --> 01:44:40.840
a fact that at dinners of the cut and dried variety,
1540
01:44:41.119 --> 01:44:45.000
or of family gathering, or more especially over a weekend,
1541
01:44:45.520 --> 01:44:49.680
my host invariably calls attention to the asparagus with a
1542
01:44:49.920 --> 01:44:54.199
modest cough as prelude, or my hostess mentions the number
1543
01:44:54.239 --> 01:44:57.520
of eggs the farmer brought in yesterday to be put
1544
01:44:57.600 --> 01:45:03.199
down in water glass. Times it is not asparagus, but peas,
1545
01:45:03.560 --> 01:45:07.439
or corn, or perhaps a chicken, or even a ham.
1546
01:45:07.920 --> 01:45:12.119
This the host his wife more generally dilates upon the
1547
01:45:12.159 --> 01:45:16.119
milk products and the preserving end of the bill of fare.
1548
01:45:16.640 --> 01:45:19.800
But for whatever cause, the thing got a bit on
1549
01:45:19.960 --> 01:45:23.479
my nerves, so that I found myself thinking of reasons
1550
01:45:23.520 --> 01:45:26.760
for not visiting so and so, or for not dining
1551
01:45:26.840 --> 01:45:30.640
with the thingham bobs on Friday week when I knew
1552
01:45:30.680 --> 01:45:33.840
we hadn't a thing on earth to do. This frame
1553
01:45:33.880 --> 01:45:37.640
of mind was, of course all wrong. In the first place.
1554
01:45:37.800 --> 01:45:40.560
These friends were as good and as loyal as they
1555
01:45:40.560 --> 01:45:44.319
were ten years ago, when if they had any garden
1556
01:45:44.359 --> 01:45:47.840
at all, it consisted of a half dozen radishes that
1557
01:45:48.000 --> 01:45:52.800
no one could eat without summoning a physician within four hours. Furthermore,
1558
01:45:52.920 --> 01:45:57.399
the aforesat asparagus with its accompaniments was better than the
1559
01:45:57.600 --> 01:46:01.960
ordinary variety which has decorated the entrance to the greengrocer's
1560
01:46:02.079 --> 01:46:05.600
establishment for the better part of a week. And lastly,
1561
01:46:05.880 --> 01:46:09.039
as I had no garden myself, why not enjoy the
1562
01:46:09.079 --> 01:46:13.359
best and be thankful? Probably the reason was envy and
1563
01:46:13.439 --> 01:46:18.039
the season spring, when contrary to budding nature, one's own
1564
01:46:18.159 --> 01:46:22.279
physical being is not as blooming as it should be.
1565
01:46:22.279 --> 01:46:25.560
Be this as it may, the final result has probably
1566
01:46:25.600 --> 01:46:28.359
made me more of a bore to my friends than
1567
01:46:28.399 --> 01:46:31.840
they ever were to me. For to get even with them,
1568
01:46:32.039 --> 01:46:35.960
I conceived the happy idea of catering to their epicurean
1569
01:46:36.079 --> 01:46:39.560
taste from my own farm, which consisted of a scant
1570
01:46:39.680 --> 01:46:43.600
two acres of shoreline in that section of Cape Cod
1571
01:46:43.640 --> 01:46:47.640
which is renowned for its scarcity of soil. The idea
1572
01:46:47.760 --> 01:46:50.359
came to me soon after we moved down for the
1573
01:46:50.439 --> 01:46:54.560
summer months, and my wife became so enthusiastic that it
1574
01:46:54.600 --> 01:46:57.960
really became our hobby for the season. We had planned
1575
01:46:58.000 --> 01:47:02.359
a succession of weekends, and many of these agricultural intimates
1576
01:47:02.399 --> 01:47:05.640
were coming to us for return visits. We would feed
1577
01:47:05.640 --> 01:47:08.560
them upon the fat of our land, or in this case,
1578
01:47:08.760 --> 01:47:12.239
largely the fat of the sea. It is interesting and
1579
01:47:12.399 --> 01:47:15.720
instructive to learn just what varieties of food can be
1580
01:47:15.760 --> 01:47:19.720
secured from the immediate vicinity of any place, and to me,
1581
01:47:20.119 --> 01:47:24.399
especially so of our Cape cod During the entire summer,
1582
01:47:24.560 --> 01:47:27.840
I felt so personal an interest in our section of
1583
01:47:27.880 --> 01:47:31.520
the country that my small son exclaimed one day that
1584
01:47:31.640 --> 01:47:34.720
I talked as if I owned the entire cape. I know,
1585
01:47:34.920 --> 01:47:39.640
I felt a proprietary interest in certain fishing grounds whereabouts
1586
01:47:39.640 --> 01:47:42.039
of which I would not confess even on the rack.
1587
01:47:42.560 --> 01:47:45.399
And it amuses me now to think of the circuitous
1588
01:47:45.479 --> 01:47:49.239
routes I used in getting to certain berry patches and
1589
01:47:49.359 --> 01:47:54.159
stretches where mushrooms grew overnight in variety. Our dinners, or
1590
01:47:54.239 --> 01:47:57.960
high teas, as we always called them, were infinite as
1591
01:47:58.000 --> 01:48:02.399
compared with those of our asparagus associates. I remember one
1592
01:48:02.479 --> 01:48:06.199
little repast which pleased me mightily because it came at
1593
01:48:06.199 --> 01:48:08.560
the end of one of those hot days they are
1594
01:48:08.680 --> 01:48:11.680
rare on the Cape, when the wind refused to blow
1595
01:48:11.760 --> 01:48:15.920
from the southwest. We had had our swim, But even
1596
01:48:16.000 --> 01:48:19.079
golf was a bit too strenuous, and food does not
1597
01:48:19.159 --> 01:48:22.880
have its usual appeal on such occasions, even on the Cape.
1598
01:48:23.239 --> 01:48:26.840
It also happened that our friends of this particular weekend
1599
01:48:27.199 --> 01:48:31.760
were literally congested with land and its more generous offerings.
1600
01:48:32.079 --> 01:48:36.359
And so when I practiced the usual humilitory cough and
1601
01:48:36.520 --> 01:48:39.960
remark that our simple repast came from my cape farm,
1602
01:48:40.079 --> 01:48:43.199
and they must excuse its simplicity, I was just a
1603
01:48:43.239 --> 01:48:46.760
trifle nervous. The melons were a gift for my plumber,
1604
01:48:47.039 --> 01:48:50.840
a curious combination. If only the plumber could plumb as
1605
01:48:50.880 --> 01:48:54.640
well as he grows melons upon his barren sandpile, our
1606
01:48:54.680 --> 01:48:58.760
summer comfort would be increased by fifty percent. No better
1607
01:48:58.840 --> 01:49:02.359
melons can be found than these little fellows. The clam
1608
01:49:02.439 --> 01:49:07.079
broth from my own clambed was an appetizer. I seriously
1609
01:49:07.159 --> 01:49:11.319
believe that there is real energizing value in such clam broth,
1610
01:49:11.399 --> 01:49:15.520
as this boiled down almost to a liqueur from newly
1611
01:49:15.720 --> 01:49:20.239
dug clams. Then came scallops, plucked that day from the
1612
01:49:20.279 --> 01:49:25.199
seaweed where they lie at low tide, blowing like miniature whales.
1613
01:49:25.840 --> 01:49:28.600
We all know how delicious they are in the autumn
1614
01:49:28.680 --> 01:49:33.159
served with tartar sauce, but have you ever tasted them
1615
01:49:33.319 --> 01:49:36.720
creamed with a dash of brown sherry and served with
1616
01:49:36.880 --> 01:49:41.319
fresh mushrooms, Just as the plumber supplies us with melons,
1617
01:49:41.640 --> 01:49:46.119
so the fishman is a local authority on lettuce. Our salad,
1618
01:49:46.159 --> 01:49:51.119
therefore came from Captain Barwick, crisp and white, with slices
1619
01:49:51.159 --> 01:49:54.720
of early pears from a nearby tree, and with it
1620
01:49:54.800 --> 01:49:59.840
my favorite muffins, of course, white corn meal toasted then
1621
01:50:00.239 --> 01:50:04.279
and eaten with beech plum jam made from our own
1622
01:50:04.439 --> 01:50:07.960
bushes in the bramble patch close by the lane, and
1623
01:50:08.159 --> 01:50:13.239
cottage cheese, which are cooked positively enjoys making. My wife
1624
01:50:13.239 --> 01:50:15.760
had felt this to be a rather scant repast for
1625
01:50:15.840 --> 01:50:18.960
those used to dinners of six or eight courses, and
1626
01:50:19.079 --> 01:50:23.800
so the dessert was a substantial huckleberry pudding, served cold
1627
01:50:23.880 --> 01:50:27.520
from the ice chest with whipped cream, and to take
1628
01:50:27.560 --> 01:50:29.960
the chill off, we had a small glass of my
1629
01:50:30.159 --> 01:50:34.840
home made wild cherry brandy with our coffee. And while
1630
01:50:34.880 --> 01:50:39.239
there are other beverages which are preferable, I confess it
1631
01:50:39.439 --> 01:50:45.199
gave us a delightfully comforting sensation. The hearty, genuine praise
1632
01:50:45.279 --> 01:50:48.439
for my guests gave me a fleeting feeling of shame
1633
01:50:48.840 --> 01:50:53.079
at the way I had criticized their asparagus and numberless eggs,
1634
01:50:53.479 --> 01:50:56.840
but the pride of success carried me with it. Oh,
1635
01:50:56.880 --> 01:51:00.520
this is not anything. Wait until tomorrow and let me
1636
01:51:00.640 --> 01:51:04.479
show you the varieties which my farm offers. In the
1637
01:51:04.520 --> 01:51:07.039
cat boat, I have a well in which we keep
1638
01:51:07.199 --> 01:51:11.119
fish alive. What you say to a butterfish for breakfast.
1639
01:51:11.840 --> 01:51:14.119
For dinner, we can either go out to the fishing
1640
01:51:14.159 --> 01:51:17.079
grounds for something with a real pull to it, or
1641
01:51:17.119 --> 01:51:19.840
we can motor over to turtle pond for a try
1642
01:51:19.920 --> 01:51:22.520
at a bass. Or we can golf and take a
1643
01:51:22.560 --> 01:51:25.680
couple of lobsters out of my pots, bobbing up and
1644
01:51:25.800 --> 01:51:30.119
down out there by the point hold on. My friend interjected,
1645
01:51:30.600 --> 01:51:33.119
What I want to know is whether everyone on the
1646
01:51:33.239 --> 01:51:36.399
cape lives in this way, for if they do, I
1647
01:51:36.479 --> 01:51:40.079
think I shall be moving down here by another season. No,
1648
01:51:40.520 --> 01:51:43.960
I replied, very few. In the first place. Most people
1649
01:51:44.039 --> 01:51:49.279
continue to do just what their neighbors do, tennis, golf, swimming, sailing.
1650
01:51:49.840 --> 01:51:52.159
The fishing is poor unless you know where to go.
1651
01:51:52.640 --> 01:51:55.279
The natives are not helpful unless you know how to
1652
01:51:55.359 --> 01:51:58.920
take them. And that is why I call it my farm.
1653
01:51:59.239 --> 01:52:02.640
Because I have. I've taken it all unto myself, and
1654
01:52:02.760 --> 01:52:06.640
I reap a reward much richer than I deserve. I
1655
01:52:06.800 --> 01:52:09.960
pass much of my time hunting up new fishing grounds,
1656
01:52:10.359 --> 01:52:14.119
or the layer of the soft shell crab, or even
1657
01:52:14.199 --> 01:52:18.239
the quiet, muddy recesses of the little necks. I wonder
1658
01:52:18.279 --> 01:52:22.119
about the country exploring new berry patches, for there is
1659
01:52:22.359 --> 01:52:25.479
a great variety of these, And if you must know,
1660
01:52:25.960 --> 01:52:31.199
I fraternize with certain delightfully conversational individuals who sell me
1661
01:52:31.319 --> 01:52:35.279
delicious fruit and vegetables, as well as ducks and chickens,
1662
01:52:35.279 --> 01:52:38.640
and a variety of odds and ends, as for instance,
1663
01:52:38.720 --> 01:52:43.399
that little model over there. But you could not buy them, no, sir,
1664
01:52:44.119 --> 01:52:47.680
not until you learn the art of negotiation to perfection.
1665
01:52:48.319 --> 01:52:51.520
You may manage your estates to the Queen's taste. But
1666
01:52:51.640 --> 01:52:55.720
when it comes to managing a Cape cotter, ah, that's
1667
01:52:55.760 --> 01:52:59.359
not done so easily. I see my friends leading the
1668
01:52:59.439 --> 01:53:02.960
convention summer life, and wonder at times how they can
1669
01:53:03.000 --> 01:53:05.920
come to the Cape year after year and yet be
1670
01:53:06.039 --> 01:53:10.800
strangers to its real fascination, because it has many other
1671
01:53:11.039 --> 01:53:16.199
hidden allurements besides this quest for food. End of Section twelve.
1672
01:53:22.319 --> 01:53:27.600
Section thirteen of Cape Codades by Roger Livingston's Gathe. This
1673
01:53:27.680 --> 01:53:31.560
libribox recording is in the public domain. Read by lore.
1674
01:53:32.680 --> 01:53:39.359
Scallops and aftermath. Sport, according to our highest authorities, is
1675
01:53:39.399 --> 01:53:44.439
that which diverts and makes mirth. And from this general interpretation,
1676
01:53:44.720 --> 01:53:47.520
the term has been applied to gains and to the
1677
01:53:47.600 --> 01:53:51.800
various forms of hunting and fishing commonly known. But I
1678
01:53:51.840 --> 01:53:54.760
have yet to hear the word applied to the pursuit
1679
01:53:54.880 --> 01:53:59.800
of the scallop. And yet scalloping more nearly approaches they
1680
01:53:59.800 --> 01:54:03.000
are original meaning of sport than most of the games
1681
01:54:03.039 --> 01:54:06.600
which are commonly classed under this heading. For not only
1682
01:54:06.640 --> 01:54:10.800
does the scallop divert and provoke the mirth of his pursuer,
1683
01:54:11.239 --> 01:54:15.279
but the pursuer in turn evokes a similar feeling and
1684
01:54:15.399 --> 01:54:18.680
impression upon those who chance to see him in action.
1685
01:54:19.840 --> 01:54:23.199
Those who have never tasted the joys and excitement of
1686
01:54:23.399 --> 01:54:27.720
escallop hunt have not completed their education as real sportsmen.
1687
01:54:28.439 --> 01:54:32.039
It is true that Badminton does not devote a volume
1688
01:54:32.159 --> 01:54:36.119
to this particular pastime. It is equally true that the
1689
01:54:36.159 --> 01:54:40.359
progressive American journalist, whose duty it is to supply the
1690
01:54:40.399 --> 01:54:43.720
sporting columns of his paper with all the news of
1691
01:54:43.840 --> 01:54:49.119
current athletic events invariably ignores this important item, and our
1692
01:54:49.279 --> 01:54:54.760
mighty nimrods fail to include scalloping among their feats of prowess.
1693
01:54:55.119 --> 01:54:58.600
But in each case the cause of the omission invariably
1694
01:54:58.720 --> 01:55:01.600
can be traced to ignorant rents, and to the fact
1695
01:55:01.680 --> 01:55:05.079
that your scallop hunter is a wary fellow who says
1696
01:55:05.159 --> 01:55:10.159
but little and boasts less, fearing inadvertently to disclose the
1697
01:55:10.159 --> 01:55:14.279
favored haunts of his favorite prey. And so for these
1698
01:55:14.479 --> 01:55:19.479
and divers causes, the pursuit of the scallop lies in obscurity.
1699
01:55:20.159 --> 01:55:22.880
On the other hand, the scallop has been a friend
1700
01:55:22.920 --> 01:55:26.960
to man for generations in many and varied ways. In
1701
01:55:27.039 --> 01:55:30.680
the days of the Crusaders, the pilgrims returning from the
1702
01:55:30.720 --> 01:55:35.039
Holy Land wore scallop shells gathered upon the coast of
1703
01:55:35.159 --> 01:55:38.720
Palestine as a badge or mark of the success of
1704
01:55:38.800 --> 01:55:43.479
their wanderings. At an equally early period, the scallop shell
1705
01:55:43.600 --> 01:55:48.000
became an important factor in design, from architecture through the
1706
01:55:48.119 --> 01:55:52.560
various stages to the adornment of women's clothes. The scallop
1707
01:55:52.560 --> 01:55:57.199
shell is discovered embedded in the capitals of many famous columns.
1708
01:55:57.680 --> 01:56:01.680
It will be found chiseled upon the keystone of countless arches,
1709
01:56:02.199 --> 01:56:06.800
scarcely a theater, but possesses it among its mural decorations.
1710
01:56:07.399 --> 01:56:10.520
Upon the title pages of books, it serves in an
1711
01:56:10.560 --> 01:56:15.359
equally decorative capacity, while the scalloping upon the hymns of
1712
01:56:15.439 --> 01:56:20.319
dresses brings the scallop's shell familiarly into our family life.
1713
01:56:20.920 --> 01:56:24.680
In addition to all this, certain families of ancient lineage
1714
01:56:24.720 --> 01:56:27.279
have adopted the shell as a part of their crest.
1715
01:56:28.159 --> 01:56:31.680
Heraldry traces the cause to the days of the Knights
1716
01:56:31.720 --> 01:56:35.720
of the Holy Land. The scallop, therefore, has been sought
1717
01:56:35.760 --> 01:56:40.520
by generations, and is known marine upstart, facing his claims
1718
01:56:40.560 --> 01:56:44.640
to popularity upon his flavor as a savory dish for
1719
01:56:44.760 --> 01:56:50.760
a mad Lucullus. In short, the scallop is historic, artistic, decorative,
1720
01:56:51.119 --> 01:56:55.079
and delicious. In real life, however, he is one of
1721
01:56:55.119 --> 01:57:00.199
the numerous marine bivalve mollusks of the genus pectin, and
1722
01:57:00.399 --> 01:57:04.279
to those who have not already recognized the symmetrically ribbed
1723
01:57:04.319 --> 01:57:09.279
shells so often found upon our beaches, a dictionary is recommended.
1724
01:57:09.720 --> 01:57:12.600
Although his past is buried in the anals of the
1725
01:57:12.640 --> 01:57:15.880
Holy Land, in Aegean waters and upon the banks of
1726
01:57:15.920 --> 01:57:19.319
the Red Sea. Just at present he is rampant upon
1727
01:57:19.359 --> 01:57:22.800
the shoals of Cape Cod, and it is here that
1728
01:57:22.880 --> 01:57:27.119
our scallopers pursue him. During the weeks previous to early
1729
01:57:27.239 --> 01:57:32.159
autumn days when the cape fishermen wages destruction with sea rakes,
1730
01:57:32.359 --> 01:57:37.359
scenes and nuts. Imagine the tide running low, disclosing the
1731
01:57:37.399 --> 01:57:41.399
bright sandy bottoms of countless inlets, the ripple of the
1732
01:57:41.439 --> 01:57:45.960
waters making dim the outlines of the corrugated surfaces of
1733
01:57:46.000 --> 01:57:50.279
the submerged shore. At such times, and in certain localities
1734
01:57:50.319 --> 01:57:54.560
which shall be nameless, the wily hunter issues forth, invading
1735
01:57:54.640 --> 01:57:58.560
suit or rubber booted, or even in the enthusiasm of
1736
01:57:58.640 --> 01:58:03.439
the moment, fully closed with pale or basket, sometimes attached
1737
01:58:03.479 --> 01:58:06.640
to his waist by a cord. He wades in at
1738
01:58:06.640 --> 01:58:10.199
a slow pace, gazing searchingly into the depths of the
1739
01:58:10.239 --> 01:58:13.359
water for a sign of his prey, choosing at first
1740
01:58:13.399 --> 01:58:16.319
the shoals, where it is easier to see and is
1741
01:58:16.479 --> 01:58:19.880
likely a spot as others for fine shell fish, And
1742
01:58:20.039 --> 01:58:24.399
here a curious phenomenon is discovered. His eye catches the
1743
01:58:24.439 --> 01:58:27.600
glint of a shining shell, and he stoops to secure
1744
01:58:27.640 --> 01:58:31.119
it only to find a half shell without life, the
1745
01:58:31.159 --> 01:58:35.039
brighter shell, the less chance of its being inhabited. The
1746
01:58:35.119 --> 01:58:39.479
scallop covers himself, when possible, with a few strands of seaweed,
1747
01:58:40.119 --> 01:58:43.640
or buries himself in the mud or sand, And therefore,
1748
01:58:43.800 --> 01:58:46.600
when in the full bloom of life, he looks like
1749
01:58:46.680 --> 01:58:51.239
a hoary, hairy thing of past history, an encrusted shell
1750
01:58:51.319 --> 01:58:54.960
from which life might have departed a century ago. If
1751
01:58:55.000 --> 01:58:59.039
by good fortune, the hand comes in contact with him, however,
1752
01:58:59.399 --> 01:59:02.720
is by ta is made quickly evident by a savage
1753
01:59:02.760 --> 01:59:06.680
snap of his shell as the large muscle expands and
1754
01:59:06.760 --> 01:59:10.079
contracts and self defense, and should a finger become caught
1755
01:59:10.119 --> 01:59:13.279
between the upper and lower shells, the hunter is in
1756
01:59:13.359 --> 01:59:17.199
for a sharp nip. The quest leads from spot to spot,
1757
01:59:17.479 --> 01:59:21.800
from shoal water out into deeper parts, until one finds
1758
01:59:21.920 --> 01:59:26.319
one's self waist deep, bending and stooping, raking the bottom
1759
01:59:26.359 --> 01:59:30.319
with frenzied hand groping for these tufted prizes, And when
1760
01:59:30.319 --> 01:59:33.479
one is fortunate to secure a good spot, the hand
1761
01:59:33.560 --> 01:59:37.159
never fails to bring up one, two, and sometimes more
1762
01:59:37.560 --> 01:59:42.399
of these irate creatures, whose antics evoke admiration, and whose
1763
01:59:42.399 --> 01:59:46.880
strength seems almost abnormal. There are bright, warm days in
1764
01:59:46.920 --> 01:59:49.359
the latter part of August, when on many parts of
1765
01:59:49.399 --> 01:59:53.600
the shore may be seen men, women and children by scorers,
1766
01:59:54.000 --> 01:59:59.279
curiously and wonderfully garbed, grotesquely postured, waiting the waters in
1767
01:59:59.319 --> 02:00:04.119
this fascina pursuit, which, after the quiet clamor of clam digging,
1768
02:00:04.439 --> 02:00:08.600
possesses the excitement of big game hunting. Were it not
1769
02:00:08.720 --> 02:00:13.000
for a strict law, these same hardy hunters would undoubtedly
1770
02:00:13.520 --> 02:00:16.920
be found in dories plying a small net for the
1771
02:00:16.960 --> 02:00:20.800
same purpose. But the very crudity of the chase has
1772
02:00:20.840 --> 02:00:24.239
its advantages, for one comes close to the life of
1773
02:00:24.279 --> 02:00:27.359
the sea bottom and all that goes on there. From
1774
02:00:27.439 --> 02:00:31.119
the waving masses of seaweed of many varieties, to the
1775
02:00:31.199 --> 02:00:34.720
countless forms of life clinging to the rocks embedded in
1776
02:00:34.760 --> 02:00:37.960
the mud or darting through the water. The sea bottom
1777
02:00:38.199 --> 02:00:41.560
is as busy as Broadway, and as full of mystery.
1778
02:00:42.119 --> 02:00:45.439
The reader must not for a moment imagine the scallop, however,
1779
02:00:45.760 --> 02:00:49.600
as belonging to a suddendary type of life. Often he
1780
02:00:49.680 --> 02:00:52.159
is found moving at a high rate of speed through
1781
02:00:52.159 --> 02:00:55.960
the water, propelled by this same muscle which provides his
1782
02:00:56.079 --> 02:01:00.359
defense by opening and closing his shell. He moves forward
1783
02:01:00.479 --> 02:01:05.319
an upward or downward, apparently at will, digging himself into
1784
02:01:05.359 --> 02:01:09.640
the mud and effectually hiding himself from his pursuers. He
1785
02:01:09.720 --> 02:01:13.399
deserves the respect of his superiors in the animal kingdom,
1786
02:01:13.760 --> 02:01:17.199
and at the same time proves himself fair game by
1787
02:01:17.239 --> 02:01:21.039
his prowess. And so one is led out and out
1788
02:01:21.119 --> 02:01:25.640
still farther until bent upon securing one more victim, a
1789
02:01:25.720 --> 02:01:29.600
mouthful of water and smarting eyes give notice that those
1790
02:01:29.680 --> 02:01:33.439
beyond are safe for the tying being, And this successful
1791
02:01:33.520 --> 02:01:36.840
hunter returns to his boat with a full pail, while
1792
02:01:36.880 --> 02:01:40.680
the sun, enormous and a deep orange red, is just
1793
02:01:40.880 --> 02:01:44.960
touching the horizon. The conquest does not complete, for it
1794
02:01:45.079 --> 02:01:48.880
is no easy task to open these snapping bi valves,
1795
02:01:49.199 --> 02:01:52.319
and thus to extract the muscle that is the edible portion,
1796
02:01:52.800 --> 02:01:56.319
and the full reward is, by no means reaped. That
1797
02:01:56.560 --> 02:02:00.000
is left for the evening meal when the scallop becomes
1798
02:02:00.199 --> 02:02:03.680
the piece de la resistance, cooked in one of a
1799
02:02:03.800 --> 02:02:08.079
hundred ways. But of this, let a cordone blue convince
1800
02:02:08.119 --> 02:02:12.840
you whose best efforts are secured and deserved by the scallop.
1801
02:02:14.159 --> 02:02:17.960
Aftermath and now comes the fall of the year, with
1802
02:02:18.119 --> 02:02:22.159
days gorgeous in coloring, from the clear crystal blue of
1803
02:02:22.199 --> 02:02:26.319
the sky reflected in sparkling waters, to the flame tinted
1804
02:02:26.399 --> 02:02:30.319
stretches of woodland watched over by tall pines and guarded
1805
02:02:30.359 --> 02:02:35.239
by stately cedars. The sandy roads glisten in the distances,
1806
02:02:35.279 --> 02:02:38.439
marking off sections of the Cape country as a huge
1807
02:02:38.479 --> 02:02:44.640
picture puzzle. The atmosphere seems purged of all imperfection, giving
1808
02:02:44.760 --> 02:02:48.920
to every town and hamlet a spotless appearance, bright with
1809
02:02:49.079 --> 02:02:54.359
late flowers and fresh fruit awaiting the harvest azure days
1810
02:02:54.399 --> 02:02:58.079
of October the most perfect of the year. It is
1811
02:02:58.199 --> 02:03:02.560
then that regretfully we say our ravar to our beloved
1812
02:03:02.600 --> 02:03:07.560
Cape and all its glory. End of Section thirteen. End
1813
02:03:07.600 --> 02:03:15.760
of Cape Codades by Roger Livingston's Cafe