Panic on Cape Cod After Killer Shark Invasion

Three if by Land!

There are but three ways to get to Cape Cod by land. You have a choice of two vintage 1939 bridges. The Bourne Bridge is shown above.  There is also the 1939 Sagamore Bridge.  The third option is a seasonal only train ride from South Station in Boston to Hyannis.  You'll cross onto the island by riding over the vertical lift train bridge shown above, behind the Bourne Bridge.  When built many decades ago, it was the largest of its type in the world. 

Panic on Cape Cod After Killer Shark Invasion

     by Bill Russo

When the real-life version of “Jaws-the Movie” came to Cape Cod in the Summer of 2018 there was panic on the beaches as well as in the town halls of the 15 communities that make up the island resort area off the coast of mainland Massachusetts.

The season started as usual with the area’s population of 200,000 people playing host to millions of tourists, vacationers, weekenders and day-trippers.  In quirky Provincetown, the village’s 2,000 year-rounders welcomed upwards of 100,000 daily visitors on the busiest days.  

The first sign of the looming invasion of killer sea monsters took place the previous summer in the early afternoon of August 22.  Hints of trouble abounded throughout the morning.  There were almost a dozen reports of shark sightings from the halfway point of the Cape, Harwich; to the end of the island at Provincetown.  

In the words of many media outlets including the Boston Globe and CBS Radio/Television, ‘There was panic on a popular Cape Cod Beach…after a shark attacked a seal just a few yards offshore.”

It happened at Nauset Beach in Orleans and was witnessed by scores of horrified swimmers and hundreds more reclining on the sand. 

"I looked up and saw the dorsal fin and the tail of what was a Great White Shark," said Taylor Wade who recorded the gruesome site on a video, part of which was shown on the nightly TV news programs.

"You didn't know if it was a seal or a human, so it was kind of a heart stopping moment," he told reporters who were quickly dispatched to the town, which lies at the end of “Suicide Alley” a narrow two-lane highway that is the lone roadway to Lower Cape Cod. From this point on, the Cape is only one to two miles wide.

As Mr. Wade was making his video, horrified spectators desperately pleaded with the swimmers to get out of the water.  The sea became a red, swirling mass where the fatally wounded seal flopped around, trying to avoid the next gulp of the Great White. But the shark seemed suddenly to veer away from the seal and glide toward two vacationing New York City teenagers. 

When the boys became aware of the seal attack they dashed to shore as did the dozens of other swimmers, leaving only the dying seal to face what might have been the fate of a human being.  

"It was a close call but thank God we're all safe," one of the simmers said. 

However, dozens of the fear-struck people standing just 60 feet from where the bay ran red with seal blood, wondered when the next victim would be not a seal, but a person. 

Almost one year later the savage ambush came – on August 15, 2018. It was 18 miles from the seal attack site at Orleans, in the town of Truro, almost at the end of the island.  On a sunny, warm Thursday afternoon, 61 year old William Lytton of Scarsdale, New York State was wading in waist deep waters just off shore at Long Nook beach.  

He didn’t know that the bay was full of shark candy - a pod of seals.  He may not have realized that seals are like ‘fast-food’ to sharks; or perhaps he didn’t notice that they had been swimming near him.

Without warning, Lytton was struck a ferocious blow from behind, most likely by a Great White. Amidst searing pain, he struggled to shore with blood streaming from knife-like tooth cuts to his legs and torso.  Airlifted from the island, he was helicoptered to Tufts Medical Center in Boston.  With life threatening injuries, he spent one month in the facility before being released in ‘good’ condition but with deep scars from the puncture wounds to his limbs and body.  

This report comes to you from Harwich, the beginning of the Lower Cape. As of this writing there have been no sightings in the Harwich Villages, but Orleans, where there have been many sightings, is just one town down the Cape, so by 2019, I'm pretty sure they will be here!

Just one month later, on a sundrenched mid-September Saturday the next bite came – and it was the dreaded fatal one.  A 26 year old man from a Boston suburb had come to Cahoon Hollow Beach in Wellfleet, the only town on the western border of Truro village. 

He was boogie boarding not far from shore when the shark struck him.  Another boogie boarder bravely went to his rescue, but it’s believed that the man succumbed very shortly after being struck.  It was reported that he was lifeless when brought to the beach and that he had just ‘bled out’.

Once again there was panic not only on the beaches but in the streets and in the town halls. In Wellfleet hundreds of frightened townspeople flooded an elementary school to demand better protection against future shark attacks.
  

Suzanne Grout-Thomas, the Wellfleet Director of Community Services, opened the meeting by detailing the measures officials have taken to increase awareness in previous years, including more training and updated first-aid procedures. 

She had an ominous warning however, saying,.. 

“We cannot put anything out there that will guarantee that you’re never going to run into a shark, that no one will ever be attacked by a shark or tasted by a shark,”

Angered residents, like Gail Sluis of Brewster, a village in the middle of Cape Cod, made a desperate plea to town and County officials.

“They’re eating our fish, now they’re eating our children. No sharks or seals are worth a young man’s life — they’re just not,” she said in tear choked emotion. 

All fifteen towns held meetings.  Ideas and suggestion were made, but virtually everyone agrees that the only way to stop future shark attacks is to have a zero swimming at beaches policy – and since tourism is the Cape’s biggest and most profitable industry by far – that “ain’t gonna happen”.

See you on the beach next Summer!

Life is a Cliff - Jumping Off is Harmful to Your Health

by Bill Russo

Thankfully most of us under stress are able to handle our problems and don’t resort to cliff jumping.  But stress is a serious problem and heads up the list of disorders that lead to such extremes as individuals contemplating taking their own life.

Any stressful environment can lead to depression.  Relationships and jobs are probably the leaders, but not far behind are money woes, pressures of school, and the death of a friend or relative.

Generally people get help in their fight against stress and depression from friends, physicians, medicine, or following their favorite sports teams.  For some folks, there is no help. 

The advice that follows is for everyone, but especially those who think their problems are beyond solution.  Somebody once said the only thing that does not change, is change itself. 

That is the key factor everyone needs to remember.  Things change.  A problem that looms as large as a mountain today, might disappear completely in a month or perhaps a year.  The point is that no one should never contemplate a permanent solution to a temporary problem.  Things do change over time. 

Try to minimize the stress and outlast the difficulty.  Sometimes time itself is the only remedy for a problem.

Good luck everybody.  Don’t fear change for there is no stopping it.  Get on board and ride it. 

Ten Reasons Why Most Diets Fail

These 10 Things are Why Most Diets Fail

Whether you want to lose a few pounds or a few hundred pounds, here are the common factors that often lead to ‘DIET FAILURE’. But…there is hope. If you are forewarned you can be forearmed.  So put these ten items on your mental plate and start digesting them right now.

1.    Caving to your Craving! Fat loves sugar and sugary things are the downfall of many people.  Sugar is addictive!  Giving in to the sweet cravings is one of the main causes of slippages and failures in a dieting program. Make no mistake about it, sugar is the biggest contributor to weight increases. There are ways to curb this pitfall, chief of which is “DON’T BUY SUGARY SNACKS!” Ensure and insure your weight loss success by avoiding killer sugars.  Don’t have any in your house.  When you’re tempted, drink a big glass of water.  Football’s greatest Quarterback, Tom Brady of the New England Patriots credits ‘Water’ as one of the main reasons for his success.  Up to about 64 ounces a day is recommended for weight loss as well as increasing overall health. 

It's okay to have one once in a while, but don't eat the whole plateful

2.    Hanging out with the wrong Crowd! Seriously, if your group’s favorite pastime is grabbing the ‘BOGO deal’ (Buy One Get One) on giant sandwiches at Fast Food Paradise, you need to run with a different crowd. If your best pals are food junkies, it will be very difficult (actually almost impossible) for you to stay away from unhealthy foods.  If you are the only one in the crowd trying to diet, they may actually actively work against you and urge you to forget about your weight loss hopes for the night and join in on the gorge-fest.  Here’s the hard truth. You not only have to cut calories, but you may have to cut out these friends – or at least eliminate going out for pizza, chicken, and burgers with them.  

This is not a real coupon, don't use it.  Even it if were real, don't use it unless you plan

 on chopping these mammoth beasts into quarters and sharing with seven of your closest buddies. 

3.    Reaching for the Moon!. While it is critical to set a goal, many people set the bar far too high.  If you need to lose 50 pounds, it might be wise to try to do it in stages.  It is far easier to lose ten or 20 pounds than fifty.  Set yourself up for success with a reachable target.  When you hit the mark, you can reset the goal and start all over again.  By reaching your first goal weight, you’ll be reprogramming yourself for winning and also increasing your confidence and self-esteem.

4.    Big Plates. The Bigger the Plate the Bigger the Waist.  One of the easiest ways to lose weight is to eat less!  That’s easy to say and hard to do.  It can be made a lot easier by simply using smaller plates. When you have a large plate, you tend to fill it to the maximum.  If you have a smaller plate, you can fill it to the brim, but you will be eating less.  If you go with smaller plates, after a short period you will be accustomed to consuming less food.  You can still eat your favorite things, but you will be eating less of them.  Weight loss is made easier by portion control, and the small plates will automatically help you size down both your food amounts and your waist size.

Fool Yourself.  It really works.  The same amount of food on a small plate

looks like more food.  If you practice using small plates, after a week or two

your mind gets tricked into believing it!

5.    Exercise.  While exercise is undoubtedly a much needed fitness component, it can be a serious detriment to your weight loss hopes.  How can that be, you ask?  Because it increases your appetite, I reply.  While exercise does indeed burn calories, sometimes it makes people so hungry they cancel out the benefits of the run, walk or whatever, by binge eating.  Moderate exercise will certainly help you, just don’t do too much of it, especially in the beginning stages of your weight loss adventure.

6.    Not Knowing the ABCs of Dieting. Many fad diets make extraordinary claims.  While these plans may work for some people, often they are expensive and ineffective.  Do some research before you buy any diet scheme, special foods or pills.   Years ago, one of my best friends, who was obese and had diabetes decided to purchase one of the dieting plans that sends you a 30 day supply of pre-packaged meals. Supposedly if you eat the food you will lose a great deal of weight. The day after my friend got the food he called me and excitedly said, “This stuff is great.  It tastes good.  I’ve got meals, desserts, snacks and even shakes.  By the time I’ve finished these healthy meals, I’ll probably have lost 20 pounds.”  I didn’t hear from him for a while so I called him and asked him how he was making out on the 30 day diet plan.  “I’m off it now.  It didn’t work.  I gained 10 pounds.”  After I questioned him further, he blurted out the truth.  “I ate all the food in three days.  Thirty days worth of food.  It cost me hundreds of dollars and I ate it in three days.” Don’t make a mistake with pills or plans.  Move into those waters slowly and carefully.  The best diet plan is one that will work and does not cost a lot of money – I think the small plate system is best and will work for anyone who gives it an honest try.

7.    Scrape off the Scales:  I’m not talking about removing the scales from fresh fish, but the scales from your bathroom or in your fitness center.  When I started on my quest to lose 40 pounds, I was devastated every time I scaled in and did not see a weight loss.  It got so I got on the scale 10 or 20 times a day.  I made a deal with myself that I would only look at the scale once a week.  After I did that, I was able to see the disappearance of a pound or two every week until I finished my plummet from 210 to 170.  That was four years ago and I slowly drifted back to 180, but I’ve maintained 180 for two years. More importantly my blood pressure and other indicators are all good. So the bottom line is don’t fret about the scale.  Check yourself once a week or so and keep your mind focused on the goal.  Tell yourself, “Eat Less – Lose Weight.”  That’s dieting by the letters, E-L-L-W!

8.    Why you eat. We have to eat to maintain life.  We do not have to over eat to stay alive, in fact if you want to stay alive for a long time overeating can be your worst enemy.  Some people over eat for social reasons.  They go with their pals to the All You Can Eat Buffet and literally have a contest to see who can devour the most helpings of meat, potatoes, beverages, and desserts. Pizza lovers buy a large pizza and eat the whole thing by themselves. Some people overeat for the sheer joy of it.  Others eat too much because they are sad and food cheers them up. Instead of focusing on the food for comfort, they need to refocus and reposition themselves to get comfort from their gradual reduction of food consumption and their controlled weight loss.

9.    Dangerous Road Ahead.  If you are reading this you may have already seen the signs of danger:  Perhaps, you’ve gone to the last hole on your belt.  You either need to buy a bigger belt or lose weight. Walking upstairs is a chore and sometimes you find that you’re out of breath when you reach the top.  For whatever reason you’ve decided to lose some weight.  The best way to do it is to plan ahead. Sometimes people don’t bother to pack a lunch for work and end up eating expensive, unhealthy fast food.  Skipping a good breakfast at home in favor of a few donuts and a coffee at Dunkin, is another way to rack up the pounds while losing weight only in your wallet.  Plan your healthy meals ahead of time. 

10.                      Food is Too Expensive:  Food is indeed expensive but if you plan your meals and eat at home, you will spend far less than you would by frequenting the pizza, burger, and chicken joints. In my youth I liked Chinese Food.  I spent a lot of money and time in places with names like The Dragon Lady, Kowloon, and more. Quite often I watched the workers and managers of these establishments take their lunch break.  Invariably they would sit alone at a table and though they could have anything on the menu, they always had one thing only – a big bowl of plain, white rice.  I also noticed that very few of these people carried ‘extra weight’. I learned something from that. I began to cook rice at home.  I grew to like it very much.  Plain white rice.  It is very inexpensive, healthy and filling.  You can’t go wrong if you use it as part of your diet plan.

No Diet Plan is perfect it is up to you to ‘perfect’ the perfect plan for you. If you take note of the ten concepts we’ve talked about, you’ll have a good chance to set a goal and reach it. Good luck.  I leave you with two words of advice.  SMALL PLATES.

LGBTQ is at Risk of Running Out of Letters

Just a few years ago we had the LGB community, and then I woke up from a nap that must have rivaled Rip Van Winkle’s; because I found that we now have an LGBTQ community!

I’m all for inclusion and have always supported people’s personal choices about things, but let’s be sensible folks.  At this rate it’s not going to be long before we run out of alphabet.

You are very disingenuous if you think it’s going to stop at Q.  Over the next year or so the name of the community will probably evolve into

The LGBTTQQAEU

That’s quite a mouthful so let’s break it down.  I think we all know the first three letters. They stand for Lesbians, Bisexuals, and Gays. I’m not sure when ‘T’, the fourth letter was added. It stands for Transexual, although I wonder why Transvestites don’t have their own letter.  Shouldn’t it be LGBTT? 

The most recent addition is the letter ‘Q’.  There seems to be some debate whether this is for ‘queer’ or ‘questioning’.  Let’s put in two Qs and cover both bases.  Shouldn’t it be LGBTTQQ?

So pretty soon, I’m sure the leaders of the LGBTTQQ community are going to be approached by a scouting group from the Asexual community and then the new name will have to be The LGBTTQQA.

After that, I expect that an advance party from the Enuch community will ask for inclusion.  Shouldn’t it be the LGBTTQQAEU community?

STOP!!!

I have a better idea.  Why don’t we simply call all these individuals human beings?  Shouldn’t it be the PEOPLE community? Let’s stop putting labels on everybody and stand up for PEOPLE.

-0-

Make a Killer, Lighted Halloween Display in Just 5 minutes

Welcome to the 'Halloween Horribles'

They're little lighted jars of horror/humor that you actually can make in five minutes or less!

You really can duplicate this thrilling Halloween Display in a few  minutes once you've assembled the materials - most of which you probably already have.   Look at a few more of our creations and then we'll tell you how to make them.

As I'm sure you noticed, we simply used old jars to create these eerie scenes.  We cut out the stick-ons from magazines, newspaper ads, and some on line free resources.  Where-ever there are eyes, mouths, or windows, cut them out so that the light will shine through.

Safety Concerns?  In an all adult house like ours, we use real candles in the jars.  But you can get fabulous battery operated candles that will do the job just as well.  The Dollar store has them and they are actually 2 for 1 dollar!

Here's how we made 'em.  We had a few Mason Jars and other types.  We also bought a couple at the dollar store.  Here's a sample of what's in the store right now that's perfect for Halloween Horribles making...…

This jar has a suspended candle holder that will create an unusual lighting effect.  The jar below is the perfect size for making a 'Halloween Horrible' and since it's from the dollar store, it's (you guessed it) just one dollar!

Here are some of the cut outs we have used.  You can find them on line or simply get out your scissors and cut them out from various sources like magazines, newspapers, coloring books etc. Make sure you (carefully) cut out all eyes, mouths, windows etc. to get the full effect of the lighting. 

Once you gather all the materials, you will find that you can make these 'Halloween Horribles' in five minutes or less and enjoy them right up until October 31st, at which time you can peel off the bats, witches, and haunted houses and exchange them for the theme of the next big holiday - Thanksgiving!

The Eight Best Things For Senior Golfers

The Eight Step Program for Senior Golfers

Before we get started let’s get one thing settled.  You don’t need to be a great golfer, you only need to be good enough to have fun and that’s not too hard to do.

Full disclosure: I am not a golfer.  I don’t like it. I’d sooner mow the grass than chase a little white ball around it.

My cousin, who is more than 20 years older than I, was the same way.  She didn’t care much for the sport, but said she might consider playing it when she got old and retired to Florida. 

Both things happened, she got old and she moved to South Florida.  Most of the people in her retirement community were golfers, so she decided, age the age of 80, to join in.  

The first season she was terrible and few people wanted to play with her. She kept at it however, and before the first snow-birds flew back to New England she was an ‘okay’ golfer.

When November came, the Snow-Birds flew back to West Palm Beach where she was living and the next season winter golfing began.  In season two my dear cousin was one of the better golfers in the club.  She was beating most of the other ladies with regularity and was giving the men a run for their money. 

In her third season she celebrated her 82^nd birthday by winning a tournament and becoming perhaps the best senior woman golfer in her association.

That she did so well was no surprise me because I knew her background.  She was an army nurse during World War II and had been smack dab in the middle of the Pacific action, seeing and doing things no person should ever have to.  She displayed rare courage and skill aiding the medics and doctors in cases ranging the gamut from minor to catastrophic.

In her upper 90’s now, she has given up the game of golf, she did however offer me the following advice.

“When you get old take up golf,” she said. “It’s good exercise, even if you ride around in a cart, and it’s good for your mind as well as your body.”

I’d take her advice right this minute, but for one thing. She was 80 when she started playing.  I’m only 75, so I’m going to wait five more years before I begin.

Whether you are 50 or 90, if you want to play senior golf, here are the eight tips that may help.

I don’t know much about it but a golfer guru said these are the eight factors needed to be a good

Player:

concentration and focus,

attitude,

practice,

fitness,

foundation,

balance,

recovery of the game,

technique and distance.

Once I start playing, I know that concentration and focus will be one of the hardest things to master.  I’ve seen those pro golfers on television lining up 30 feet putts, and I’ve been impressed with their ability to zone in on the challenge – especially when there is big money riding on the shot.

“Plan the shot well in advance,” says the guru. “Visualize it in your mind even before you approach the tee.”

“When you’re standing there, club in hand staring down at the ball, make up your mind that you are going to hit it well. Don’t fuss over the shot. Make up your mind and hit it.  Second guessing and adjusting your angles endlessly is a guarantee of a poor shot. Think it and then do it. This kind of focus and concentration will produce good results.”

I said that the main thing to aim for is to be good enough to have fun.  But if you want to go to the next level and try to be a really good golfer that’s fine too.  Your attitude will need to be PMA to the maX. That’s POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE TO THE MAXIMUM.

“If your goal is to enter and win in the senior tournaments you need to set your mind and attitude on winning,” advises the guru. “The ‘Can Do’ feeling is what separates people like Tiger Woods or Ben Hogan from the crowd.

“That and another thing; endless practice.  If you want to come up big in the title matches you’ll have to dedicate yourself to practice, practice, and then practice some more. All the while fixing in your mind the thoughts that you can, and you will, win.”

Talent and recovery are critical to your victory. Not unlike a billiard player playing his bank shots, you need to develop a talent for thinking and placing the ball right where you want it. What if you fail to land the ball where you want it?  This happens way too often and it’s where recovery comes in.  Forget the last shot and think only of the next shot. Your next one could be a great one and make you completely forget the clinker. Try to minimize the damage and improve your position as best you can.” 

Fitness obviously is a major factor in how well you will do.  Fitness is a problem for many seniors.  Walking and swimming are two of the best things you can do to improve your level of fitness. Another sound idea is to practice your swing about a thousand times a day.  Wherever you are, no matter what time it is, take some practice swings – no club involved.  Just go through the motions. Do it so many times that it becomes automatic, so much so that when you get to the tee you can step right up and blast off a good shot with no apparent thought and effort. 

Distance is important but…..

Before we talk about distance, let’s talk about size.  The bigger you are, in theory, the farther you can hit the ball.  But wait, there’s more!

In baseball during the 2018 season, literal giants like 6’7” Aaron Judge of the NY Yankees, and 6’6” Giancarlo Stanton also with the ‘Bombers’ were slugging home runs at a record pace.  But the best player in baseball was 5’9” Markus “Mookie” Betts of the Boston Red Sox.  He hit 32 home runs and stole 30 bases and led all of baseball in many hitting categories, including the highest batting average!

Why?  Why did this 5’9” man perform so well?  Hand-eye coordination.  Attitude.  Practice. Fitness. All of them! He had all of the eight items needed for success.

If you can’t hit far, then focus and practice hitting for accuracy.  If you can place your shots perfectly, it will go a long way in overcoming distance deficiencies. 

Build a sound playing foundation by working on all the eight success points.

You may never become a senior golf champion, but you’ll be good enough to have fun, and won’t be afraid to compete against any other players. As a side benefit you will be more fit and much more likely to be able to play golf (and do many other things) until deep into your 90s.  Best of luck.  In five years, I’ll see you on the course.