Local Guy

Chuck Carey

 

I'm a local guy. Some people follow the every move of GM. For me it's Puritan Clothing or Brewer Electric.

 

Some people's lives turn on every word Peter Jennings says. I haven't watched him in over ten years. I listen more to Ed Lambert. He's like Walter Cronkite to me.

 

Nothing that happens over The Bridge has as much of an effect on me as what happens on Cape, except perhaps a sale at the Kingston Mall. The Kingston Mall is to me what Bermuda is to some.

 

Lots of folks figure Greenspan is the man at the top of the food chain. To me, it's John O'Brien.

 

When someone talks about the economy, I don't think about Dow Jones, I think of how full the parking lots look at the motels and restaurants on Rt. 28. They have more of an effect on this Cape Codder than soy bean futures or the daily trading figures for mortgage backed securities.

Who needs Frank Sinatra or Clark Gable when we have Don McKeag and Jack Furman ?

 

It's inportant to balance the off-Cape universe of yet-another-chrisis-in-the-world with the priorities involved with timing your trip to Hyannis in July. What would you do first if you heard the world was going to end - check CNN or catch that sunny afternoon trip to the Mall when all the tourists are at the beach ? Then again, they say when the world ends it will take a couple of days to hit the Cape.

 

I have to admit that when I was a kid, seeing President Kennedy at St. Francis Xavier gave me vibes. Now it's Tom George. I drove to the new CVS on North Street, Hyannis and it reminded me of when Charlies Variety was the only place in town open on Sunday nights.

 

Since I rely on the Cape Cod Times for all my news, I tend to think of Paul Gauvin as Sam Donaldson. Sean _____ always reminds my of Geraldo and of course, Jim Kinsella is my equivalent of MacNeil / Lehrer. Who needs all those off Cape guys ? I don't even watch the weather - I just see if my paper comes with a plastic bag. If it does I wear a raincoat.

 

Whenever I see Stuart Bornstein around town I automatically think of Donald Trump. Whenever I hear Sarah McLachlan or Celine Dion or Tory Amos I think of the Capes own Eden White, winner of the 1998 Lileth Fair contest daughter of Dr. Allen J. White.

 

Are you un-hurried, like to avoid the latest trends and base your plans on tried and true methods even when betters ways come along ? Then you may qualify to be a real Cape Codder. But only if you are a Sears, Howes, Eldridge or Crowell. If you're not, don't sweat it - it may take a few generations but your descendents will have a shot at it.

 

Maybe no true Cape Codder goes over the bridge more than twice a year, except, of course, to the Kingston Mall. There's one other thing - no true Cape Codder wears socks in July or August.