Ahhh… The Friday of Memorial Day Weekend on Cape Cod. The idle of diesel engines in the bar parking lots delivering kegs of beer, the sound of vinyl covers being yanked off of the grills, the angst wafting in the air above the bustling Stop and Shop parking lots. It’s a special time of year on the Cape.
Today we say goodbye to quick trips into town and hello to 10 minute waits to take a left onto Rte. 28. We officially put our fleece ear muffs into storage and hook the hose up to the rubber ear muffs on our outboard motors, the gargling sound of the engine running for the first time reverberating in our once frozen bones.
As the march of the steel penguins lines up at the bridges and we retreat into our backyards, coolers in tow, we all feel that same trepidation. Unless you have lived here year round you can never know the mixed emotions Cape Codders get at the start of a summer season. For “them” things are about to get easier, for “us” things are about to get busier. It’s time to go to work.
Just try to remember one thing this weekend, when you get cut off by a car with New York plates, when you are in the weeds and some asshole asks if you have gluten free stuffed quahogs, when every one of your seasonal clients expects a spring cleanup in their yard yesterday, when some rookie asshole shakes off their towel up wind from you and covers you with sand, when some lady in Jorts asks your band to play Margaritaville, when a 16 year old in a $180,000 Range Rover steals your parking spot, just remember… Summer people, Some are not.
Also remember that each and every one of these tourists are spending money. Our plumbers are fixing their outside showers, our drivers are delivering their pizza, our stores are selling them beer, our restaurant owners are catching up on the bills that stacked up all winter. So smile, be nice, and at least wait until they are out of ear shot before you joke to your friend that the ’80’s called and they want their denim fanny pack back.
Facebook: The Real CapeTwitter: Hippie - Insane Tony
My shovel is still on my deck.
so glad I am not the only one
Back in ’02 or so, I grumbled in line for coffee and some lady said “If it wasn’t for us tourists, you wouldn’t have a job”.
I pointed out that, since I was working as a drug and alcohol counselor at a detox, she was more correct than she knew.
What’s with all this jean short hating?
^^^wears jorts.
We should get to sacrifice one New Yorker every Memorial Day, to ensure that the Gods are pleased and we get a good tourist harvest… make it like a Shirley Jackson story.
We voted down smoothing our road. Any off roading will result in broken struts and springs on the Range Rover driven by the 16 year old jackass. Explain that to your old man. Summer people try this once and locals just avoid the horrible road or drive 10 mph to protect their vehicles' undercarriage.
Yeah…they never put money in my pockets, and I am happy to say that very shortly I'm leaving, and will never be back. Tired of being part of the abused "lower classes". I will NEVER come back to the town I've been trapped in the last five years!!
Bye Felicia
Matthew Harlow so long, loser…
You forgot to add all the fun bicycle and running races they have, clogging up the already overloaded roads. I especially like the ten or so hours of hourns blairing, with the supporters egging them on……
We come to the Cape every August and stay 2 weeks …its been 15 years now.
We are a family of 4 . Our kids joined sailing camp in P town and know all the local kids. We don't come to party or be assholes, we leave all our asshole tourists in Brooklyn and understand what it's like to live in a destination point.
We come for the quiet , yes we ride bikes, yes we shop, yes we partake in Carnival .
But we love the beauty of your dunes , your beaches , your countryside and we hate the same breed of assholes that show up in our area that always seem to ruin it wherever they go.
They don't seem to understand that what they come for takes a blending in not beating apart.
Nope. I don't care how much money they spend, if they're an asshole then I'm going to be an asshole right back and tell them to get the fuck out of my town.
When you live in a tourist destination, you take the bad with the good….the good being the dollars that keep our towns and merchants afloat in the off-season.