CapeCodToday Blog Chowder

Yankee Doodle Manny?

Finally, Ramirez grew up in the shadow of Yankee Stadium in Washington Heights, NY, and he might enjoy returning home. On the other hand, he might complain more about the spotlight there than he did here. Either way, he needs a place to play and the Yankees need some outfield thump. So be prepared, Sox fans, as Manny soon becomes the Yankees’ latest doodle-dandy.

Watch this space for more and/or subscribe to my musings at Boston's examiner.com!

A Truro vintage tale; Town by Town jobless numbers; Looking for a few good women; New challenges for fishermen; Drug kingpin nabbed; Security breach at Cape bank; Mother resentenced in daughter's murder; Casino Task Force worries Selectmen

TODAY's quote: "We have not seen anything in the way of fraud at all,"
                                            - Steven Lowell, chief operating officer at Cape Cod Cooperative.

Family-run winery’s a vintage tale
Few regrets mar success in Truro

Kathy Roberts thought her husband, Dave, was crazy when he suggested that they along with their grown children buy and manage a little vineyard on the Cape near where they liked to vacation. He had a job. So did their children. Two of the three lived in other states. The Truro Vineyards of Cape Cod was started in 1992 by two horticulturists who thought the Cape would be a good place to grow grapes. Dave, then the chief executive of United Liquors, had watched the business grow and was intrigued when it went up for sale... Herald.

Commercial fishermen face new challenges

When Frank Mirarchi heads out to sea with his boat these days, the Scituate fisherman often finds the most abundant fish stocks he has seen in 20 years. But these are anything but good times for Mirarchi. In fact, he says he considers this to be the most difficult business environment he has ever experienced.

Mirarchi, like many other commercial fishermen in the state, faces a strict restriction that allows him to fish the equivalent of only 24 days a year. He gets around the restriction by leasing days from another permit holder, but the lease expenses add up quickly. Now, Mirarchi is staring at a new restriction, one that would drop his days at sea to about 20 a year. Two weeks ago, the National Marine Fisheries Service drafted an interim rule aimed at accelerating the rebuilding of groundfish stocks by cutting New England commercial fishermen’s days at sea by 18 percent...

The sector concept has already been proven to work on Cape Cod... but several hurdles that still need to be overcome... Patriot Ledger.
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Accused Cape drug kingpin indicted

The man police describe as Cape Cod's biggest dealer of cocaine and heroin has been indicted by a grand jury.
   Jimmy Smith was indicted Friday on charges of trafficking more than 200 grams of cocaine and heroin, illegal possession of a large-capacity weapon and being an armed career criminal. Police said Smith eluded law enforcement officials over the past decade by staying at different locations... Herald.

Security breach exposes credit, debit card customers on Cape

The customers of several Cape Cod banks may have been affected by a security breach at Heartland Payment Systems Inc., one of the country's largest credit card payment processing companies. Cape Cod Cooperative Bank, TD Banknorth and Sovereign Bank have all reported that the accounts of some of their debit and credit card holders may have been involved.

Thousands of accounts may have been affected, although no cases of fraud have been reported yet, representatives of the three banks said... Trading Markets.
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Kingston selectmen concerned casino task force is taking stance

Kingston selectmen say they are concerned that a 17-town regional casino task force is "morphing into more of a political action committee" bent on stopping a proposed Wampanoag tribal casino in Middleboro. The board sent a Jan. 21 letter to task force chairman and Lakeville Selectman Nancy E. Yeatts expressing "concern" with the goals and stance of the group... Rayham Call.

Town by town jobless rates on Cape Cod
Ptown 29%, Sandwich 7%, most  double in a year

The statewide unemployment rate for December was 6.9 percent, somewhat better than the national average of 7.2 percent - but still far more than a year earlier when it stood at only 4.3 percent. So how did the Cape do?

Across all of Barnstable County, the unemployment rate stood at 8.2 percent. Here are numbers by town, as reported this week by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, comparing the percentrae in December 2008 with December 2007.

                           2008         2007
Barnstable       7.6                4.4
Bourne              7.9                5.0               
Brewster           7.4               4.4
Chatham           7.4               4.4.
Dennis               9.5                5.6
Eastham         10.1                6.2 ...see the rest at Cape Business.
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Cape Cod mom resentenced in daughter's death
No remeditation,mother's depression blamed

A woman accused of smothering her 2-year-old daughter to death has received a new sentence. Erin Colleran wasresentenced Friday in Barnstable Superior Court to life in prison for killing for her daughter in 2001. But the 34-year-old's new sentence was ordered on a second-degree murder conviction and includes the possibility of parole in less than 10 years, accounting for five years already served... WTEN-TV.

Applicants sought for Cape commission on women

Interested in applying to be a member of the new Cape Cod & Islands Commission on the Status of Women? Your time is now. The Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women announced Thursday, Jan. 29, that they are taking applications via their website at www.mass.gov/women, where applications and additional information are available. The MCSW, as the appointing authority, is accepting applications to fill the thirteen Commissioner positions. Those involved with and passionate about women's issues are encouraged to apply. To be considered for appointment, submit a completed application form to: Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women, Attn: Cape & Islands Applications, Charles F. Hurley Building, 19 Staniford St., 6th floor, Boston, MA 02114. The deadline for applications is March 30... Provincetown Banner.

"Passion Plunge" for Special Olympics of Massachusetts

Cape Codders Take the Plunge for Special Olympics

The Passion Plungers seemed to leave the icy waves even faster than they entered, see photo at the bottom.

Text by Walter Brooks and photos by David Curran

When even a Polar Bear watching seems worried about the water temperature...

maybe these women should have added long-johns to their ensembles, but...

when even the Butterflies are frigid, who cares.

Special Olympics Massachusetts held its 11th annual "Passion Plunge" today at Old Silver Beach in North Falmouth on a cold and windy Cape Cod afternoon.

The Passion Plunge is a unique fundraising event where participants show their passion for Special Olympics by raising pledges and then plunging into the winter waters.

There is no registration fee for the event, although Plungers do agree to help raise at least $250 each for local Special Olympics athletes, teams and events.

All Plungers who exceeded $250 in funds raised will earn a long-sleeved event t-shirt and access to the post-Plunge party featuring a full lunch.

Future Plungers can go to the organization's website and register for themselves or as a team they hope to put together for the next event.

Those who want to join an existing team can contact SOMA south section director Jay O'Brien at or call him at (508) 821-3635.

About the event

The Passion Plunge is an extraordinary event where brave and dedicated fundraisers take a dip into the icy February waters in support of Special Olympics.

According to the Passion Plunge Blog, "In the cold of winter, more than 1,000 people from across the state come out and support SOMA by taking a quick dip into the icy water. This incredible fundraiser finds friends of SOMA “freezin’ for a reason” at Plunges in Cape Cod, Hull, Revere, and Worcester. This year we want to grow our Passion Plunges even more!"

In its ten years, the event has raised over $1.6 million for Special Olympics Massachusetts athletes.

The greater Boston and North Shore area is home to over 4,262 Special Olympics athletes and Unified Partners (non-Special Olympics athletes), 2,424 volunteers and 600 coaches. Special Olympics Massachusetts also has a North Section office dedicated to growing the number of athletes in the greater Boston and North Shore area and increasing the number of athletic opportunities for these athletes.

All of the proceeds raised from the Revere Beach Passion Plunge will go to local Special Olympics athletes and programs.

For those too chicken to plunge, Special Olympics has created the Chicken Coop where dedicated fundraisers
can watch the Plunging while staying dry. Chickens are also eligible for fundraising incentives and prizes

Below you can watch the bracer plungers as they spwashed into the frozen surf on Saturday.

Snow, Ice, Falls, Fractures and the Law

There are been many media reports this week regarding the increased number of fall related injuries due to the actions of the weather gods. As the fractures increase in number, so do the calls to our office with questions about the law as relates to these incidents.

Many state courts, including Massachusetts have narrowed the circumstances in which someone may recover for a snow and ice related fall.  Each case will turn on whether or not the injury occured as the result of an "unnatural" or a "natural" condition. If the fall occurred as the result of a natural weather related condition, there is no recovery. However, if the fall occurred as the result of an "unnatural" condition, there may be a recovery for negligence. For example; it snows, the snow melts, and ice forms. That is a natural occurrence. However, a commercial property owner shovels his walkway and leaves an unsalted sheet of ice... an unnatural condition created as the result of alleged negligence. Also, a homeowner knows that a gutter with a hole in it leaks water onto a walkway resulting in a sheet of ice. That may be an unnatural condition. The individual facts of each case must be assessed and awareness of what occurred and pictures of the condition are often essential. In these types of cases, evidence disappears and the cases often become impossible to prove.

The law as to other fall cases, that are not snow and ice related, is well established. Every property owner owes a duty of due care to those lawfully on their property. Say, for example, you slip on laundry detergent in the Stop & Shop and hit your head (I have had a few of these). The length of time the detergent was there and the proximity of employees to the detergent are important.  If it had just fallen; maybe no liability. If it was there for a few minutes and employees took their time cleaning the substance; maybe liability.

When people fall, their first reaction is usually embarrassment. That is until they realize they have fractured a hip or shattered an elbow. These injuries are often very serious. Enjoy our Cape Cod winter and BE CAREFUL!

Defiance: A fascinating World War II story, a not-so-fascinating film

Movie directed by Edward Zwick falls well short of its potential

by Anne Kirby

Daniel Craig, center, plays Tuvia Bielski, who becomes the leader of an unlikely Jewish resistance movement against the Nazis as portrayed in the movie "Defiance."

By Anne Kirby

Defiance" is a World War II film directed by Edward Zwick, whose previous work includes "Glory," "Legends of the Fall" and "Blood Diamond." The movie is set in the eastern region of Poland (now known as Belarus), an area invaded by German soldiers in 1941 who occupied the land for years.

A story with this kind of power, drama and leadership has the makings of an spectacular epic film. "Defiance," however, disappointingly falls short of its potential.

The film is adapted from Nechama Tec's 1993 book, Defiance: The Bielski Partisans. Tec's true story describes the Jewish Resistance movement that was started by four Polish brothers, the Bielskis.

Retreating into the woods, these men became guerillas who opposed the German occupation of their land and saved more than a thousand Jewish people from certain death at the hands of Nazi soldiers.

The Bielski Resistance is a strong and dramatic survival story. The Jews sacrificed and suffered as they faced sickness, starvation, constant hiding, and extremes of weather while moving from camp to camp to avoid German attacks.

A story with this kind of power, drama and leadership has the makings of a spectacular epic film. "Defiance," however, disappointingly falls short of its potential.

Zwick takes the wrong approach

Instead of lighting a bonfire of a film with a torch, Zwick rubbed sticks together. His resulting film is good, but could have been so much better.

Zwick mistakenly confronts the Bielski Resistance story head-on and like a documentary. Without the sort of imagination and character development the film needed to reach emotional high notes, Zwick controlled the film with the painstaking discipline of an elementary school nun.

The focal point of the film is the relationship between the two older Bielski brothers, Tuvia (Daniel Craig) and Zus (Liev Schreiber.) The younger brothers Azael (Jamie Bell) and Aron (George MacKay) have minor supporting roles.

After the brutal slayings of their parents, Zus and Tuvia leave their wives and homes behind as they seek revenge on the local police chief who, under orders from Nazi soldiers, killed their parents.

Descendants number in thousands

In the final film credits, we discover that these same refugees built managed to organize another resistance settlement that not only contained living quarters but a hospital as well.
During their total three years of survival, records state that only 50 of their people were lost.All told some 1,200 Jews survived and today their offspring is 10,000 people strong.
This is an amazing tribute to the people who together survived the Nazi invasion through their mind, spirit and faith through one of the largest recorded Jewish Resistance groups in World War II.

With raw and animal-like instincts, the brothers also set out with a vengeance to slay Nazi soldiers.

Retreating into a makeshift hide-out in the forest, the men begin rebuilding their lives. They survive through raiding farms while procuring guns, ammunition, liquor and cigarettes from the bodies of dead Nazi soldiers whom they track and kill.

At first the Bieslki resistance is loosely organized through the efforts of hard-working local Jewish intelligentsia and refugees whose offensive tactics consist of surprise raids on Nazi soldiers.

As the Bielski resistance grows, the brothers seek defensive tactics through their decision to make alliances with nearby Russian partisans.

As word about the Bielski Resistance spreads, hundreds of bewildered Jews wander into the crowded camp seeking shelter, sustenance and protection.

With the ongoing growth, tension begins to rise between Zus and Tuvia. They become rivals who bicker over whether or not to continue the immense responsibilities of feeding and sheltering a growing refuge population while managing a resistance movement.

In an emotionally jarring scene, reminiscent of the angry, biblical fight between Cain and Abel,  Zus and Tuvia viciously clash, attacking one another, in a power struggle that the refugees witness.

Tuvia falls seconds short of killing Zus with a rock, and the two disperse. Tuvia becomes the people's choice and reluctant leader, while Zus decamps to join the Soviet Army unit also operating behind German lines.

Tuvia begins to organize the camp into a larger settlement, but soon becomes frustrated and confused over his leadership, when he discovers that the refugees in camp view him either as a modern-day Moses or a overpowering tyrant.

Zus departs, plot weakens

Without the edifying strength and comraderie of Zus, whose performance provides substance, structure and balance,  the film is soon upstaged by Tuvia.

As a leader, Tuvia comes off as strong and decisive. But, he also comes off stereotypically with a James Bond kind of heroic resilience where he becomes unbridled, intensely romantic and charming, oozing a palpable sensuality that is enhanced by his rugged leather jacket overlain with a shouldered rifle. The performance steals the show.

This positioning of Tuvia transforms the film's story. The plot begins to weaken, loosing some of  its momentum. Known to use Hollywood theatrics, Zwick counters the loss of Zus throwing in a series of vignettes, like random ingredients in a gourmet recipe. They serve little purpose other than to compromise the film's integrity.

Zwick counters the loss of Zus by throwing in a series of vignettes, like random ingredients in a recipe. They serve little purpose other than to compromise the film's integrity.

Rather than portray poignant, day-to-day scenes with contextual information from real-life characters with emotions, interests, values, and the backgrounds of Jews from all walks of life, Zwick intersperses groups of refuges who appear to be more fascinated with incoming lines of refuges, soup, morsels of bread or the antics of a stupid bully taunting other Jews, rather than their own idiosyncratic struggles to survive uncertain futures.

And with typical Hollywod flair and sentimentality, Tuvia all too coincidentally wins the heart of the camp's most beautiful female offering.

Amidst the flair there is, however, a touching scene where Tuvia and his lover, played by Alexa Davalos, romantically embrace, wrapped warmly in a cocoon of blankets and animal skins. 

Ironically this is one of the few scenes where Zwick takes us inside a camp hut to witness any kind of individual or family interaction such as Tuvia and his "forest-wife" who share love as protection and escape.

Momentum and emotion pick up when soon afterward a German air attack swoops down upon the settlement pummeling fleeing refugees with fierce, exploding bombs.  Going deeper into the woods, they re-establish their the settlement once more.  

In a final climactic battle scene,  Zus and a Soviet unit rescue Tuvia and his Jewish resistance soldiers battling a small, yet powerful, troop of Nazi soldiers.  It is their toughest battle to date.

However, in this scene Zus and Tuvia — once separated through anger — become resolved as brothers.  Their departure carries the film to its natural ending.  Graphicallyand powerfully shot using forest greens and warm browns,  we view the refugees heading back into the thick, Belorussian woods forest where they boldly survive another two years until liberation.

 Daniel Craig, left, and Liev Schreiber play two brothers who start a Jewish resistance movement in "Defiance."

Boys of Summer return; Room tax will hurt Cape; Web works; "There's no place like home"; Dancers Buffalo bound; New Bait Fishing rules'

 TODAY's quote: “We really need this. It has been a long time coming, This fishery hasn’t had any direct regulation. I hope after tonight and when we enact the rules, everybody will be on the same page.”
       - Dan McKiernan, deputy director of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.

Cape tourist industry sets sights on regional visitors
New theme: "There's no place like home"

PROVINCETOWN - The marketing theme for the 2009 tourism season both here and across Cape Cod is emerging as, "There's no place like home." Worried that economic recession in the U.S. and Europe will discourage cash-strapped potential vacationers, tourism officials at the local and regional levels are focusing their marketing dollars on a 300-mile radius of Cape Cod, roughly New York City to Worcester. This is a marked change from last year, when the falling dollar led to what many consider a successful campaign to attract European visitors to Cape Cod... Taunton Daily Gazette.
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Lodging tax may have long-term negative effects

"Ironically, imposing room taxes on those who rent their homes in the summer actually could lead to even lower home prices and less property tax revenues." - Glenn Ritt.

Massachusetts legislators need to consider the negative ripple effects of the short-term lodging tax proposal. While the tax might give short-term relief to cash-strapped towns, it could result in unintended consequences and may hurt tourism and real estate sales of all homes on the Cape, not just second homes.

"Ironically, imposing room taxes on those who rent their homes in the summer actually could lead to even lower home prices and less property tax revenues," explains Glenn Ritt, editor and co-publisher of Cape Business in Dennis. "That's because many second-home owners already are strapped to keep their residences here - and a room tax could be the proverbial last straw". And, how will the tax be collected from homeowners? Most likely this initiative will require yet another state commission staffed by state workers already collecting a pension with benefits. This will ultimately consume a good deal of the tax funds collected... Cape Business.
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Rules for bait fishing may change

Fishermen from Cape Cod and all points south of Boston worried about new restrictions on surface gill nets, pondered a revival of purse seining and tossed comments into the salad at the public hearing held in Plymouth at the Radisson Tuesday night... The Register.

Transplanted Cape dancers shuffle off to Buffalo

Buffalo's ambitious Configuration Dance company will premiere two new works tonight in a free performance at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.

The company, formerly of Cape Cod, Mass., has become a major presence on the local arts scene since its official relocation here last year. The troupe will show off a new piece by former American Ballet Theatre prima ballerina Susan Jaffe, performed by ABT alum Misty Copeland... Configuration’s artistic director, Joseph Cipolla, will be at the event to answer questions about the company, its upcoming season and its work in general... The Buffalo News.
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Web is bucking the Recession
Profit Rise 18% at Amazon as Shoppers Seek Online Deals

In December, Amazon.com said it was having its "best ever" holiday season. On Thursday, it offered proof. The company posted strong earnings in a brutal climate that has punished nearly every other retailer, online and offline. Amazon's net profit rose 9 percent, to $225 million, or 52 cents a share, in the quarter that ended on Dec. 31, up from $207 million, or 48 cents, in the same quarter a year earlier... NY Times.

Cape Cod brand Peanut Snack are safe Company does its own peanuts

Lance Incorporated says its peanut butter products are safe. The Charlotte-based manufacturer, which makes sandwich crackers, cookies, potato chips, crackers and other snacks, said they do not use any peanut butter or peanut butter paste from the supplier involved in the salmonella investigation.

"Anything with the Lance brand is totally safe," said Dave Singer, president and CEO of Lance Inc. "Peanuts have recently been called in to this recall... we do our own peanuts as well."

Lance products are sold under the Lance, Cape Cod, Tom's, Archway and Brent & Sam's names... (Second item on reort) TV-14.

The Boys of Summer return in Winter

The Hyannis Sound returns each February to reminf their listeners to look them up each summer.Tonight, Saturday, February 14, they'll be appear (the LOOOOVE show) at St. Christopher's Episcopal Church in Chatham at 7:30pm. And tomorrow, Sunday, February 15 theyll be at First Congregational Church in Wellfleet at 2:00pm. General Admission tickets sold only at the door: $9 Adult, $6 children under 14 and seniors. For more information (or to book them this summer) call Townsend at 917.975.8686.

Rourke is resurrected in 'The Wrestler'

Provides stunning portrayal of aging professional wrestler on the ropes

Randy "The Ram" Robinson, as played by Mickey Rourke, struggles through another match late in his wrestling career.

By Anne Kirby

In his latest film, "The Wrestler," director Darren Aronofsky teams up with actor Mickey Rourke, providing a well-scripted and powerful portrayal of a 1980s pro wrestling superstar who is aging into the present day.

After years without a film that would do him justice, Mickey Rourke is resurrected through his brilliant comeback role as the wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson.

After years without a film that would do him justice, Rourke is resurrected through his brilliant comeback role as the wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson.

Rourke - whose once matinee idol looks in "Diner" and "9 1/2 Weeks" have been transformed into a bludgeoned, bulky visage - performs the role with such intensity, sensitivity and intuition that it is hard to separate the actor from the role.

And as if this were not enough, there is also Rourke's own formidable experience as a wrestler, characterized in the actor's tightly pumped physique that comes off being an entity in its own right.

For Randy, this is his alter ego and unsung trophy that anchors him in the past, yet locks him into an uncertain present with smaller matches that no longer take place in supersized wrestling arenas, but in smaller veterans halls and school gyms where Randy reestablishes himself on weekends as "The Ram" in dim rooms that double as sweaty dressing rooms.

Unable to adjust to a less fulfilling present, Randy figuratively costumes his aging persona through a ritualistic, bodily adornment that reveals the major role that performance plays in wrestling arenas.

'The Ram' keeps on going

Reinventing the champion performer his fans know as "The Ram," Randy prepares for each performance creating contrived moves that each contender agree to before entering the ring.

Like a professional actor, Randy dresses in colorful psychedelic green and white spandex pants that embody the only identity he knows. He ceremoniously tapes up his arms, hiding bits of chopped razor blades that enhance his performance through self-imposed bloodletting that sets him up as a deified champ as he drives audiences into screaming and laudatory applause.

The film is set in a seedy New Jersey town that looks as if it were once defined through solid middle class values and neighborhoods, where a younger Randy "The Ram" pumped his audiences full of exhilaration, making their lives emotionally real for them.

After years of pounding abuse and regimens of drugs and steroids that slowly take their toll on wrestlers' bodies, Randy has become an aging wrestler with little hope of ever returning to his former image as "The Ram."

As he confronts his present life, he is demeaned by new realities, such as having to take a part-time job in a supermarket.

But wrestling is all he knows and it has become part of his genetic make up.

Randy escapes the lonely existence of his mobile home playing Nintendo and indulging in mock wrestling matches with younger neighborhood boys who look up to him, yet are starting to move out of his life as they too grow older.

Driving into town in an older model van, which sports a haunting play-action figure of "The Ram" on the dashboard and serves as a home when he comes up short on his monthly rent, he routinely checks in with his old wrestling buddies and promoters who continue to book his matches and treat him with the respect of a tribal brother and a champion wrestler.

The one thing that keeps the man and person inside of Randy going is a relationship that he has developed with a beautiful yet aging stripper, Cassidy, who is astonishingly played by Marisa Tomei.

Although the relationship is deferential and built upon a surface-like attraction, the two have one thing in common - their ability to make a living through pleasing others with their bodies - which is the mask they conceals their real identities with which neither of them is in touch.

Randy and Cassidy's relationship is central to the film. Randy, who is one of Cassidy's paying customers and a regular at the striptease joint where she does her acts, wants to be as her amorous friend.

In an early scene, Randy reveals his feelings for Marisa through a semi-protective, aggressive reaction where he reaches out to protect her from the belittling comments of a younger group of guys who taunt her about her age as she cajoles them into a lap dance.

Cassidy responds with a terse tension that lets us know she views Randy as a paying client rather than a potential boyfriend.

Eventually we get subtle glimpses into Cassidy's more vulnerable feelings when she drops her professional guard and agrees to meet Randy outside of her workplace for just one beer only.

In the bar, the two unwind into a sensuous embrace and a lingering kiss that heightens Cassidy's tension. She reacts by gulping down her beer as quickly as possible and running haplessly out of the bar. Signaling her resolve to Randy, he views her feminine wiles and tough exterior with even more attraction.

The relationship evolves through a series of ups and downs where Cassidy retains a stiff upper lip as she resists Randy's blithe romantic approaches.

With unconvincing arguments that support her role as a working woman and a mother with important responsibilities at home, Randy cunningly works his way into her heart, giving up his dashboard toy figure of "The Ram" to her son.

Through his daughter, played by Evan Rachel Wood, we glimpse Randy's past as a series of bridges that he burned years ago.

It is not until after Randy suffers a serious heart attack and turns to Cassidy for help that she removes herself as a potential intimate, insisting that he reach out to his own family and only kin, his estranged daughter.

Again, he does not hear her deeper message. His false hopes are reinforced when Marisa, in an act of kindness, offers to meet him and help select a gift for his daughter's birthday.

The daughter, Stephanie Robinson, who attends college and lives with her girlfriend, is a striking young woman played by Evan Rachel Wood.

Through her, we glimpse Randy's past as a series of bridges that he burned years ago. She is unwilling at first to accept him back into her life, faulting him with the fact that he was not there for her when she needed him.

With warm brown eyes and elegant charm, he woos her back into his life like a knight in shining armor and a voice as sweet and gentle as a prince who comes bearing gifts.

But with little patience left on her side, Randy is just one poorly timed mistake away from losing his daughter when he gets caught up in a highly sensual escapade with a young blonde and forgets to keep his dinner date with his daughter.

Randy decides to step back into the ring

Frustrated and heartbroken by the rejections of his daughter and Cassidy, the latter of whom he thwarts during a heated argument, Randy lets on no self-pity or no feelings of remorse that might indicate a possible crack in the thick armor of his wrestling mentality. He reverses his decision to retire and decides to enter the ring once more.

Pulling out the stops, Randy defies his doctor's orders never to wrestle again when he agrees to fight his 1980s arch-nemesis, "The Ayatollah" in the larger venue of a wrestling arena that could serve as his ticket back into stardom.

Primed, pumped and prideful, Randy enters the arena like a god in full wrestling regalia. Drama runs strong as Randy is transformed through the sounds of a cheering audience and thunderous applause.

As he nears the ring, he is completely transfixed as if in a daze of past moments that he revisits with each step.

Nothing can stop his headlong rush into destiny, not even the unexpected arrival of Cassidy, who rushes to his side in a show of love and friendship, begging him not to wrestle and reminding him of his ill health.

Even she is too late, though, and nothing can stop Randy now from his final redemption, where he boldly confronts either his resurrection or certain death as Randy "The Ram" Robinson, the only person he will ever be.

 "The Ram" reconnects with his daughter, played by Evan Rachel Wood, on the boardwalk at the Jersey Shore.

Wonders of the Cape Cod Bike Trails 10

The purpose of this series is to give you a look at some of the remarkable sites along - or near - the Cape Cod Bike Trails. They're a part of the rich history and charm of Cape Cod not recorded in the works of H. D. Thoreau, Joseph Lincoln, Henry Beston, Mary Higgins Clark, Robert Finch or Robert Crais. By reading about them, I hope you will gain a closer, more imtimate and meaningful appreciation of this unique little island paradise, as you pedal merrily along its bike trails.

The Wedding Cake Factory, Sandwich.

Before I tell you the story of the Wedding Cake Factory, I would be remiss if I didn't include something about the original tenant of the building - the Mama Nickerson's Vulcanized Cod Fish Ball Company. It was founded by three local fishermen, members of a respected old Cape Cod family, just returned from WWII. They revamped a 'secret' breading compound, originally developed by them and applied to flak jackets, which greatly improved their protective qualities.

This "bread of life" compound gave the cod fish balls an extraordinary chewy texture. It proved to be a Godsend for local residents, because of food shortages and rationing called for by the Government, which were still in effect. People could pop one or two of these 'springy' delights into their mouth - and get more chewing satisfaction than they would from a complete meal with side orders of potatoes and vegetables. They were soon on the school lunch program, where they saved thousands of dollars each year. Dentists even began to recommended them for preventing cavities - without having to ingest large quantities of dangerous fluoride.

For half a generation, the building sported the famous advertising slogan, "Mama Nickerson's Vulcanized Cod Fish Balls - Mmmmm, Chewy!" It became a local tradition, when passing by the factory, to make visible chewing motions, rub one's tummy and say, "Mmmmm, Chewy!"

The company bounced along very nicely - even through the Korean war years - until, in 1960, a bid was tendered by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.  At first, the offer was turned down, but Goodyear then promised the owners that they could continue to run the plant and keep all the employees. Shortly after the deal was signed, Goodyear fired everyone and set up new machinery in the factory, where they proceeded to manufacture basketballs and golf balls - using the patented 'secret' breaded coating.  After 1 year the factory machinery was moved to Ohio and the building left vacant.

Today, both the NBA and ABA use basketballs manufactured with the original Mama Nickerson's coating. They are emblazoned with the phrases, "Bounce this!", "Bounce What?" and "Yo Mama!" The golf balls, with the quaint, fishy sounding name of Super Max-Fry, were outlawed by the PGA in 2004 - but are still allowed in use on non-PGA courses and in some Country Club tournaments.

The Nickerson brothers, feeling very let down by the corporate 'fibbing', decided to approach entrepreneurship once again. Their first idea of Frozen Cod on a Stick - a treat developed for the summer tourist crowd - fell flat as a flounder. But their next idea was an absolute gem! Using their collective minds they developed what has become famous around the world: The Oyster-Stuffed wedding cake.

To convey the happy and festive spirit of a wedding, the outside of the factory building was painted to resemble a wedding cake surrounded by oysters. Cartoon balloons were drawn overhead and filled with cheeky phrases like: "I'll be waiting in the bed for you," "Honey, we're going to have a little oyster," "I love it when you irritate me!"…and the like.

The client list read like a "Who's Who" of celebrities: From Jacky Gleason and Jackie Kennedy Onasis (ordered twice), to Mick Jagger, Johnny Carson, Grace Kelly, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, Dr. Timothy Leary (with the first and only LSD laced oyster cake) Brad Pitt, Gwenyth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett, Johnny Depp - and many others too numerous to mention in an article of this size.

The biggest repeat customer was Elizabeth Taylor, followed by Zsa Zsa Gabor in a closely contested race. Some Hollywood historians say they both acquired and shed husbands at a fanatical pace - just to have another 'go' at these wonderful wedding cakes.

Today, the Wedding Cake Factory sits idle; the victim of too many back-to-back seasons of red tide, coupled with unfair international fishing rules. Its once happily painted exterior has been given a coat of sky blue and gray, signifying more of a weather condition than a place that once dispensed joy to newly married couples.

Perhaps, one day when the 'powers that be' remember who they are sworn to represent, the fishing rules will change for the better - and the Wedding Cake Factory will spring to life again - manufacturing their mouth-watering, libido-enhancing treats for all newlyweds and their wedding guests to enjoy.

 -- The Phantom Cyclist

As times grow tight, locals again become welcome at Cape motels

Innkeepers, hoteliers relax informal ban against Cape residents

The wave pool at the Cape Codder Resort in Hyannis is a popular draw for locals and non-locals alike.

'Stay-cation' trend grows across Cape and nation

By James Kinsella

There's your standard Cape Cod tourism model: A landlocked family hours from the ocean packs its bags, jumps in the car, heads to a Cape motel and glories in a week or two of wonderfully non-mainland activities.

A number of motel owners have enforced a de facto ban on renting a room to anyone with a Barnstable County address.

Then there's your non-standard Cape Cod tourism model: Someone who already lives on the Cape attempts to stay in a Cape Cod motel.

For decades, motel owners have been far more comfortable with the standard than with the non-standard model - even to the point of enforcing a de facto ban on renting a room to anyone with a Barnstable County address.

Now a third model - a middle path, if you will - is starting to develop. Motels here and there are actually hoping to entice Cape residents to come and stay with them.

Starting Saturday, Jan. 25, the Cape Codder Resort & Spa on Route 132 in Hyannis offered a "Kama'aina (the Hawaiian word for local discount) Week."

The promotion offered a 40-percent discount on suites and rooms, as well as free passes to the wave pool at the 256-room motel.

For at least once, proof of Barnstable County residency was a help - indeed, a requirement - rather than a hindrance.

In a Hawaiian-themed discount advertisement, complete with hula-skirted figurine, the Cape Codder alluded to how places in Hawaii often offer discounts to local residents.

By bringing the custom to residents of Cape Cod towns, the Cape Codder stated, "It's our way of spreading a little 'Aloha' (good feeling)."

"It's something that sort of benefits the locals," said Bill Catania, president of the Catania Hospitality Group. "They're looking for vacations - we can offer them something right at home."

A decision to stay at the Hyannis motel, Catania said, is a way for Cape Codders to get a change-of-scene from their home, yet still save on travel expenses to more distant destinations.

Wendy Northcross, president and chief executive officer of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, said "stay-cations" - where locals leave their homes to take a break at an inn or motel in their area - has caught on around the nation.

These days, Northcross said, people in the accommodations industry have started looking at people who live within 50 miles of their respective locations as potential guests.

"I know that the recent trend toward 'stay-cations' has driven a lot of hoteliers and innkeepers to rethink their marketing strategies, and many are promoting stay-cations," she said. "Think of it as expansion of market share in a shrinking marketplace due to the current economic climate."

Indeed, rooms in inns and motels are akin to airline seats. Once a plane flies with an unfilled seat - or a motel room is unfilled for a night - that potential revenue is gone, never to be recaptured.

Once night passes, an unfilled room's revenue is gone forever

Hence the attraction of making rooms more attractive to potential customers - often in the non-balmy off-season, even to people with local addresses.

International Inn in Hyannis again has opened its rooms to Cape residents.

 Rich Scovill, general manager of the International Inn on Main Street in Hyannis, has seen the full spectrum on the question of local residents, from acceptance to an outright ban to a more flexible policy.

Scovill said the motel, known for its "Cuddle & Bubble" promotion, routinely rented to Cape residents for years.

But seven years ago, the inn decided against it.

"We're probably one of the first places to institute a rule, no locals," Scovill said. "We were having a lot of trouble with local patrons."

That trouble, Scovill said, included people selling drugs, or being drunk and disorderly.

People who were spending their hard-earned money, he said, had a right to stay in a place without police sirens and lights going on near their doors.

So the International Inn instituted a policy: "No more Cape Codders - that's where the trouble's coming from."

The move got a lot of publicity. But even the Massachusetts Lodging Foundation found the rule wasn't discriminatory under law. The inn was refusing to rent, not on skin color or gender, but rather on location.

The ban, Scovill said, effectively weeded out many of the troublemakers.

After the ban, a number of local couples met informally with Scovill. If they were upstanding, he vetted them and allowed them to stay at the inn.

In another move, the inn required the presentation of a credit card by any prospective customer, which stripped away much of the younger market.

These days, the inn has a flexible policy, opening its rooms to qualified locals as well as people across the bridge.

Cape Point in Yarmouth runs a number of local promotions, but is careful about who gets in.

Paul Swartz, president of the Dockside Hotel Group - which includes the 116-room Cape Pointe, the 140-room Town & Country, and the 100-room Mariner, all in Yarmouth - said the group has offered special promotions to local residents in the past, such as to clubs or to adults seeking a getaway weekend.

But Swartz, like other motel owners across the Cape, can attest to the perils of renting to local residents.

"We're very strict in who we rent to," he said.

A key concern: that the potential customers have problems with alcohol or mental disabilities, or that they're drug dealers who want to conduct their business away from their homes, which could be seized following arrest and conviction.

"We have a responsibility for the people who are staying here," Swartz said. "We're strictly tourist-oriented... We're not carte blanche."

Cape Codder has Barnstable police station around corner

At the Cape Codder, Catania said, "We have security and certain procedures in place."

In particular, he said, the motel observes and enforces restrictions on the number of people who can stay in a given room, a way of forestalling those guests who would invite up to 25 people to a room, often a prelude to trashing the accommodation.

The motel's location also helps: "We are next to the police station," Catania said.

Northcross doubts that there's a general ban on renting to Cape residents rather than internal policies at Cape inns and motels addressing the issue.

Spyro Mitrokostas, executive director of the Dennis Chamber of Commerce, said owners of inns and motels also may be leery of abetting local people who are seeking rooms as a way to carry on extra-marital affairs.

Leonard Fisher, who owns the 11-room Kingfisher Lodging on Route 6A in Dennis, says he is cautious - and with good reason - about renting to local people.

"We've had bad luck," Fisher said. "It just isn't worth it."

Police find no reason to visit Kingfisher

First off, he said, he asks prospective customers for a driver's license. Then he asks for the prospective length of stay.

"When you say 'a week,' the flags go up," Fisher said.

For customers seeking a week's rental, he usually asks for payment in advance, which usually deters them.

In the past, he said, he's found some local people, often unemployed, won't leave a room for one or two weeks. When they do leave, the room is a mess and the bill is unpaid.

"They think you owe it to them," he said.

On one hand, Fisher said, he runs a pretty loose operation: "I'm very accommodating."

He grants discounts as he sees fit and rents his rooms for extended stays to construction workers working on local projects.

On the other, he said the police department never has had cause to come to his motel.

Leonard Fisher at Kingfisher Lodging in Dennis, having been burned in the past, has instituted policies on potential customers designed to protect the business.

Varitek deal done; Red Sox Nation exhales

Former Hyannis Met stays with Red Sox

Reports from several news sources say Jason Varitek has come to terms with the Boston Red Sox on a two-year agreement that calls for a $5 million salary in 2009 and a dual option for 2010 that could net him an additional $5 million.

On the right is a photo which CapeCodToday Investigative Reporter Peter Robbins took of Jason Varitek when he played for the Hyannis Mets in 1991. That was the year the Hyannis Mets won the title in the Cape Cod Baseball League.

According to The Boston Herald, the resolution was said to be “amicable,” and The Providence Journal said Sox manager Terry Francona is a happy man.

So it’s OK to breathe again, Sox fans – the captain is back after really never having gone anyplace else!

 Watch this space for more and/or subscribe to my musings at Boston's examiner.com!