Solon Economou

Oriental in Orleans - Restaurant Review

Here I go again, probably going to tick some people off, but I have to tell it like it is.  I ate lunch Sunday at the Bangkok Cuisine Thai Restaurant on Route 6A in Orleans, and I have to give it a "thumbs down," although my two companions (both women-I can handle two-unless one is Monpo) gave it a somewhat mixed review.

I was wary when the hostess told me they were connected with the Thai restaurant at Patriot Square in South Dennis.  The appetizers I had in Dennis, along with a mediocre meal, looked, felt, and tasted as if they had come frozen out of a carton from some central distribution point and were simply micro-waved.  But I thought I'd give the Orleans location a chance--it is new and maybe they'd taken steps to keep the food consistent with the lovely décor.

First, they had no luncheon specials for Saturday and Sunday--a big mistake in my opinion--so we decided to order an appetizer, a salad, and an entrée between us in order to sample a spectrum of their offerings.  (No specials, no deal.  I like to get my money's worth.  Walter says I'm cheap.  Look who's talking.)

One of my lady companions ordered the Appetizer Platter combination for one, for $8.95.  The portions were skimpy for a combination platter, and they were so tasteless she couldn't figure out what they were supposed to be.  She gave it a "Thumbs down."

My other lady companion ordered the Yum King jumbo shrimp salad for $8.95, which not only looked good, but she judged excellent in both taste and presentation.  It had a generous portion of five good-sized shrimp.  She gave it a "Thumbs up."

I ordered the Ginger Mix Entrée with Pork for $9.95.  They wanted extra for a small side order of rice, which is practically a no-cost item.  No deal.  The entrée was nothing special, and the few small pieces of pork included had to be ferreted out in order to be eaten. I gave it a strong "Thumbs down."

We three did agree on one thing, though.  We all preferred the Hunan Gourmet III, also in Orleans, on Route 6A at the "Underground Mall," which we judged very good in every respect: variety, taste, portion size and value.  The Hunan Gourmet III has a wide variety of luncheon specials and house specials, even on weekends, and an excellent buffet every evening.

I like the evening buffet because of the variety (and, Walter, because I can go back for a second serving).  If you like the taste of the artery-clogging, blood-glucose-raising, gooey sweet and sour sauce, for example, you can just take a tiny portion and fill up on the healthier items.

If you haven't been to the Hunan Gourmet III, give it a try.  When in Orleans, that is my choice for Asian food.  I've never been disappointed there.

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Why we grieve at funerals

Allow me to get a little serious here and talk about death. 

"Why do the young die?" the Englishman asks Zorba in Nikos Kazantzakis's Zorba the Greek.

"Why does anybody die?" replies Zorba, never answering the question, because it is unanswerable.

I know we will all die, you, me, every one reading this now, no matter how young and immortal you may imagine yourself at the moment.  I can't answer why.  But I can certainly answer why we grieve, be the departed young or old.

Last week I attended two funerals in three days.  And the reason we grieve is because the good die.  Oh, the bad die, too, but nobody pays them any attention or cares very much.

Last week, Mac of South Dennis died.  I've known Mac for about ten years, since I washed ashore on the Cape.  Mac was a husband, father, grandfather and husband.  He was a lawyer, judge, and U.S. Navy veteran.  Mac was the good neighbor who invited me to join the Cape Cod Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America.

It seemed every time I worked on my lawn, Mac would drive by, and he'd stop, and we'd talk a while.  No more.  This year every time I work on that lawn I will think of, and miss, Mac. 

Also last week, Andy of Marshfield died.  I've known Andy all my life.  Our families were close, and Andy's sister married my first cousin.  Andy was also a husband, father, and brother.  And a U.S. Army veteran.

A frequent visitor to the Cape, Andy and I often ran into each other unexpectedly in the strangest places.  One evening I walked into a deserted bar for a drink and sat next to the only other guy in there.  We turned to look at each other--it was Andy.  I hadn't seen him in five years.  That's how it went.  I shall miss Andy now anywhere I have a drink on our little sandbar. 

Both funerals had military honor guards, and the buglers played that tune that always brings a tear to my eye--TAPS--no matter where it's played or why, at funerals, on Memorial Day, or Veterans Day.

We grieve for people like Mac and Andy because they were worthy, in Greek, axios, a word that holds much deeper meaning there than in any other language.  We know the world will not be as good or as kind a place without them.

So, like Zorba, we can't answer the question, "Why does anybody die?"  But we have no question as to why we grieve for them...and why we will always smile when we remember them.

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Heap big hypocrisy from Wampanaog

Are even our Indians afraid of Terrible Ted?
Local media, tribe and pols speak with forked tongues

Now that Blue H, the Hans Brinker-come-lately self-proclaimed Dutch deepwater turbine firm, has run off with its tail between its legs singing "Am I Blue?" our Indian friends, the Wampanoag, have come up with the latest "red" herring.

What hypocrisy is this latest attempt by wealthy oceanfront property owners to derail Cape Wind by using the WampanoagAn organization of 25 Indian tribes in 12 states (I must have flunked geography.  Which 12 states are those that surround Nantucket Sound?) has joined the Wampanoag to oppose the Cape Wind farm according to an Editorial in our daily newspaper.  The Wampanoag reasoning is that they are the "People of the First Light" and one of their oldest traditions is to give thanks to the dawn, with an unobstructed view of the first light. 

By the way, that is a tradition of many Indian tribes across the nation, giving thanks to the dawn for a new day and in some cases sprinkling corn pollen into the air as a gift to the gods.  (I just came back from sitting with the Navajo in Arizona.)

The pollution should take care of their "unobstructed view"

Unobstructed view?  Perhaps the Wampanoag are hoping the polluting effluent from fossil-fuel-burning power plants like the one in Sandwich will clear up their view.  If we don't "go green," you can bet we will be in for more and more pollution that will obstruct the sky itself, much less the view.

If the Wampanoag had bothered to travel with me to the Danish wind farms, they would have seen unobstructed views where offshore wind farms existed. 

At Horns Rev on the North Sea, a tourist who came there every summer for ten years never knew the wind farm was offshore.  There is "sea mist" where there is sea.  Everyone knows that.

At Nysted on the Baltic, where the wind farm is about the same size and distance from land as the Cape Wind farm will be, the turbines could be seen only on about half of the sunniest summer days.  Again, because of the invisible sea mist, the wind turbines are hardly ever visible if not invisible.  At dawn, with the morning sea mist, they will never be visible.  Dawn, my Wampanoag friends, at first light.

"They are all liars, you cannot believe anything they say."
     - Chief Sitting BullThis sounds more as if the moneyed people of the shore have, in their desperation, enlisted the aid of the Wampanoag, who are seeking approval for casinos which those same moneyed people have the power to influence.  What hypocrisy and what a shame is this latest attempt to derail Cape Wind by using the Wampanoag. 

Perhaps, with regard to the anti-Cape Wind people, the Wampanoag should heed the advice of the great Native American Chief Sitting Bull (on left), leader of the Sioux, when he said of the white man, "They are all liars, you cannot believe anything they say."
_____
Read the "Real story about our Wampanoags - the Praying Indians".  Far from needing an "unobstructed view", the Mashpee never fished on Nantucket Sound nor did they greet the Pilgrims and the Mashpee were not even a tribe until long after the arrival of the Pilgrims.

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Yarmouth Town Hall goes solar!

Some of the Cape's strongest renewable energy advocates gathered at the presentation earlier this week

  Note the solar panels affixed to the top of the Yarmouth Town Office.

Have you noticed those solar panels on the roof of the Yarmouth Town Hall on Route 28?  They consist of 60 photovoltaic modules which will be completed and fully operational by the end of this week.  It is Cape Cod's first voter-approved solar project.

The panels comprise a 10.5 kilowatt photovoltaic system which will provide 13,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity to the Town Hall every year.  The system was installed under the direction of project manager Liz Argo of Orleans, Massachusetts state director for SolarWrights, Inc., of Bristol, Rhode Island.

The system will provide electricity directly to the Town Hall.  If more electricity is being used by the town offices at any one time, additional electricity will be provided by the electrical grid.  If less electricity is being used than generated by the photovoltaic modules, the excess will be sold to the grid.

The effort was ramrodded by Peter White of Yarmouth, former candidate for Congress, running against Bill Delahunt.  Peter's grassroots efforts placed an article on last May's town meeting ballot where the town voted to appropriate $50,000 for the solar project.  This amount was matched by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative's Small Renewables Initiative grant, making the project possible.

The presentation last night at Yarmouth Town Hall comprised a gathering of some of the Cape's strongest renewable energy advocates.  Peter is advocating solar energy for all Cape towns.  Liz has been a long-time supporter of renewable energy and  was on the Denmark trip with me in 2005 visiting Denmark's famous offshore wind farms.  And Bob Chew, president of SolarWrights, and his wife, Beth, have long practiced what they preach by installing a photovoltaic system on their own house.  They haven't had an electric bill for years. 

There must be something about the air in Yarmouth that is inspiring people to promote clean, renewable energy projects.  In addition to this solar project, Christy Mihos has installed wind turbines on his store there.  If you'll pardon the pun, as far as generating electricity from renewable energy sources goes, Yarmouth has truly seen the light.

Above images right (top): Peter White; (bottom): Bob Chew and Liz Argo. All photos by Solon Economou.

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The Cape Cod Times is read by people who...

I was so inspired by the Blogfather's post, "These newspapers are read by people who...", that my mind drifted back to a column I had written while a columnist for the Cape Cod Times.  I offered a prize (dinner for two--out of my own pocket) for the best answer as to "The Cape Cod Times is read by people who ...."

Below is an excerpt:

The Cape Cod Times is read by people who...

Well, I need your help on that one.  I'm in a quandary.  I've ground away with those stripped gears in my head to come up with something really clever, but nothing was good enough.  So I'm leaving it up to you readers to tell me who reads the Cape Cod Times.

The prize is dinner for two--for you and your guest--with me at a mutually agreed upon time and place here on Cape Cod.  In addition, at that dinner we'll discuss a subject of your choosing, on which I'll present your viewpoint in a future column. 

The contest is open to any resident of the universe.  For impartial judging, I will strip your identity from your entry and submit it to three judges. 

One is a flaming liberal in Chicago.  The other is a ranting conservative in Virginia.  Both are regular Cape visitors.  The third is the rational, logical, fair and balanced me.

Submit your entry to me by e-mail on my web site.  I will publish the most interesting entries in my column in which I announce the winner.

I know you can do better than I on this.  Some of you never fail to tell me that every time I write a column.  Now here's your chance to prove it.

READERS: Please write your answers as a comment below, or email me at capecodder1@hotmail.com so we can arange a date if you are a winner.

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Vermont Air National Guard grounds Fenway pilot

Gee, it took the Vermont ANG a couple of days to figure out how to punish the pilot who pulled that manuever over Fenway Park in Tuesday's opener.  From what he did, I'd guess he's their best pilot.  I'm surprised Monpo isn't up there picketing Vermont ANG Headquarters right now.

At the end of the playing of our National Anthem by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, three F-16 fighter planes roared over Fenway, wingtip to wingtip, at about 1,000 feet.  A fourth F-16, trailing the pack, hit the throttle and raced under the other three F-16s.  He then made a loop over them and took his place in the formation.

A dazzling maneuver, crowd-pleasing to say the least.  But it was the 1,100-foot altitude that got his superiors' knickers in a knot.  They claimed such maneuvers were unsafe and unauthorized at altitudes below 5,000.  Ooooh, instead of just shutting up and giving the pilot a pat on the back and whispering, "Good one, but don't do it again," the Vermont ANG is grounding him until he undergoes "remedial training."

Remedial training?  What remedial training are they possibly capable of providing him? With a maneuver like that, he's got to be their best pilot already! 

I've seen F-16 pilots (and F-15 pilots), don't ask me where, pull off these maneuvers practically 50 feet off the ground.  Our pilots are superbly trained and have unbelievable presence of mind and control of their aircraft.  Any nation second to ours in air capability is so far behind that you might just as well not even count it.

This action by the Vermont ANG was a typical CYA action.  Sounds like the timorous  covering their butts because of the brave.  Whom are they trying to impress?  Not me.  Our National Anthem ends with "the home of the brave."  They should have just shut up, saluted the flag, and then enjoyed the game.  Those wings are for eagles, not chickens.

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Sheena rides a limo

A primer in traveling with your pet.

It would not be surprising if Pamela Anderson or Paris Hilton were riding a limo, but my riders were infinitely more beautiful than both.  They were my friend, Kathy, and my PMMC (partial Maine coon cat), Sheena.

Why the limo?  We took Sheena to Arizona and back for a few weeks, and, since Plymouth & Brockton bus lines will not accept animals, even one more refined than they, I hired a limo to bring us back to the Cape from Logan Airport. 

For those of you new to the pet travel game, here are some pointers, all of which I had to learn as I went along, not having any idea of the ground transportation rules, the airline rules, the brain-dead TSA rules, or animal behavior on a long trip.

First, make sure your pet has had all its shots and bring the papers with you.  We kept ours in the side pocket of the approved airline carrier we bought at PetSmart.  The airlines say you need them, but no one asked for them.  Don't take a chance.

Second, forget the buses, as noted above.  Try to get a ride to Logan (as we did on the outgoing trip), but if you can't, line up a limo a couple of days in advance. 

Not all limo services are created equal. 

I called Town Taxi from Arizona for a Logan pickup, since they advertise "Service to Logan and Green Airports" in the Yellow Pages.  (I copied the Hyannis limo Yellow Pages and brought them to Arizona.)  Maybe service "to," but not service "from."  They said they "can't pick up passengers at Logan" (Didn't pay the right fees?) and suggested I call a Boston company.  Yeah, right. 

Then I called Cotuit Taxi.  Top notch service. They sent a luxury town car to pick up the feline princess and her human party, and Mark, the driver, took excellent care of all of us.  Cotuit Taxi earns my recommendation.

Limo service one-way costs $140 at most companies. 

Not all airlines are created equal.

Not all airlines will take your pet onboard.  For example, we flew American Airlines, which did, but Southwest, my favorite airline till this trip, won't.  So make sure your airline will take pets.  And, you have to "reserve" a place on your flight for it before you actually buy your tickets, because they will allow only so many pets per flight.

We had no problem with American Airlines.  They were helpful and courteous when they saw us with a pet carrier and even expedited our way to the ticket counter.  They earn my recommendation.

The pet fee at AA was $80.  You have to go 90 minutes in advance to the airline ticket counter, even if you already have your own ticket, to pay the pet fee. 

If you add that all up (80 plus 140 plus tip plus 80), it turns out that Sheena cost more than my airline ticket.  She thinks that's the way it should be for a feline princess.

Now to my favorite people, the men and women of the TSA.  We learned ahead of time that we had to remove the cat from her carrier and carry her through the metal detector.  Do they think she's carrying hand grenades under her fur coat?  Has anyone tried to hold onto a cat that decides to do the "kitty cat wiggle"?  Did they want us to close down Logan with a runaway Maine coon cat?

I called the TSA in Washington, D.C., and talked to a character code-named "Alonzo" who asked for my name, blood type and size of underwear before he'd talk to me.  He told me that their asinine procedure was "policy," the answer given by all bureaucrats who make and enforce stupid rules without having a rational reason why.  After my parting remarks to "Alonzo," I'm surprised I'm not on the no-fly list along with Ted Kennedy.

So my friend Kathy bravely volunteered to carry Sheena through Checkpoint Alonzo.  This was a wise decision, as Sheena would have picked up my warlike vibes as soon as I saw a TSA employee and probably would have bolted, causing me to chase her, close down the airport, and get shot.

Recommendation:  Let a woman handle your cat if possible.  Cats seem calmer with women.

Most amazing: animals travel better than people.  We brought a small plastic bag of food for her and a small dish for water, which we could slip inside her carrier, and we lined the bottom of the carrier with two or three of those absorbent pads used in hospitals for incontinence.  Sheena went the whole 15 hours or so door-to-door, each way, and held her water for the whole trip.   

There you have it.  If you will be taking your pet with you by air and have any questions, e-mail me any time at capecodder1@hotmail.com.  I'll be glad to pass on what I've learned. 

If you have traveled with your pet and have further suggestions, such as motels that take pets, or travel out-of-country, please let us all know. 

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Brother, can you spare a dime?

Unfunded D-Y lacrosse team needs your help!

   ^{Left to right: Players Robert Boucher, Cameron Haskins and Mike Costello.}

The Dennis-Yarmouth School District lacrosse team, about 30 of our best local athletes, have found themselves unfunded this year, the only such team on the Cape & Islands.  Someone somewhere in the great hoodoo-voodoo school system, probably getting an exorbitant salary to drink coffee all day, has decided they are the lowest on the totem pole (an apt expression since lacrosse was originally an Indian game) and has cut off their funds.

Just as an aside, I have never played the game myself.   I thought I was already ugly enough without getting hit in the face with one of those sticks.  But these boys are tough and will not be deterred.  They are raising the funds themselves. 

They and their coach, Tom Campbell, have already got two games under their belts and are looking forward to completing the full season.  They need $8500, about half of which they have already raised.  D-Y plays other Cape & Islands teams, and teams from as far away as Quincy and Plymouth. 

Players Robert Boucher, Cameron Haskins, and Mike Costello  explained the money is needed for equipment, travel, referees, grounds keepers, etc.  They were getting good local support at Patriot Square, but more is needed.

You can send donations by check to:

Dennis-Yarmouth Booster Club

c/o Debbie Ream

72 Main Street

Yarmouth Port MA 02675

Please help.  You don't have to spend all your mad money to do it.  Checks for $2, $5, or $10, for those who can afford it, will do, and will be greatly appreciated by these enthusiastic players.  Do it now before you forget.  It will be a disgrace to allow this local high school lacrosse team to remain unfunded.

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No Cape Wind yet; but a lot of gas and hot air

You've all seen the news--National Grid, which owns Keyspan, which serves Cape Cod (I am a customer) is proposing to raise  gas bills by a whopping 28%!  See story below.  You can bet higher electric bills are already on the drawing boards and coming soon to a meter near you!

Grid files request, owns KeySpan which serves Cape Cod

National Grid yesterday said monthly gas bills will rise 28 percent for its 590,000 Boston Gas customers, including 21,600 in Central Massachusetts if proposed rates are adopted by the state Department of Public Utilities.  The utility, which entered the natural gas business in Massachusetts by purchasing KeySpan Corp. last year, joins other energy companies in filing for rate hikes for the six-month period starting May 1.

 National Grid has approximately 820,000 natural gas customers in Massachusetts after acquiring KeySpan Corp. last year.

When Abengoa Solar, the company building the Solana concentrating solar power generating station near Phoenix, announced their electric rates would be 20% higher than the current rates from using natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy, the people were nearly dancing in the streets.  Twenty percent higher!  That's good?  You bet it is, because that's essentially where it'll stay.  The sunlight is free.

Rates won't be rising 28% every six months, as they could otherwise and as  they could here in New England where we devour fossil fuels for electricity like gluttons devour ribeye, where we complain about the cost but don't show the initiative and intelligence to take matters into our own hands and end the ridiculous stonewalling over the Cape Wind farm.

Those that argue over the insanely diverging electric rates we hear about Cape Wind have totally missed the picture.

1) The Cape Wind rates will have to be competitive. 

2) They well essentially remain at the same level because the wind, like the sun, is free.

Information received today from my contacts at Emerging Energy Research paint the following picture on a global scale about offshore wind energy utilization.

As you can see, the "progressive" United States is abysmally  behind Europe.  And, of course, Cape Cod isn't even on the map because of the wrong-headed and irrational opposition to the Cape Wind project.

Offshore development activity will continue to be concentrated in Europe, with this region accounting for over 70% of the total global installed base through the period, according to EER. Nonetheless, starting in 2010 the industry will begin to transition toward more geographically diverse growth, with operational projects expected in 11 European markets and five markets in North America and Asia by 2020.

Exhibit: Offshore Wind Power Net Capacity Added by Region, 2007-2020 (MW) - Base Case Scenario

Source: Emerging Energy

Just how far behind do we want to fall?  Just how long we will we allow the gas and hot air of the special interest groups to work against the common weal?  How long do you want to pay for endless, unaffordable rate increases from fossil-fuel generated electricity?  Your choice.

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Child abuse horror in Middleboro: Where was DSS?

One of the saddest rides in my life was over the Sagamore Bridge to Middleboro a few years ago when I drove to the pet cemetery to pick up the cremains (I hate that term--but it saves a lot of description) of Kukla, my Maine coon cat and companion of 17 years.

That's why I can't begin to understand the barbarity of people who abuse children and the continued callousness of the Department of Social Services, which often does nothing to prevent it and doesn't get involved until it becomes a police matter.

Sex offenders and the judges who release them and child abusers and DSS personnel who fail to take timely action are right at the top of my writing "hit list."   Of course, DSS personnel categorically claim they have too many cases and are overworked, and that may often be so, but you can judge for yourselves in this particular case.

A man in Middleboro has been charged with repeatedly burning his girlfriend's 7-year-old son with cigarettes on his genitals, hitting him with a belt, and urinating on his head while he took a bath.  The man was charged with child abuse, mayhem, and indecent assault.  He is accused of disfiguring the boy by repeatedly burning his genitals.  You can decide for yourselves the punishment merited by an animal like this.  I personally would like to "render" him to the Saudis for proper "treatment."

The boy's mother was also charged with reckless endangerment and assault and battery by trying to cover for her boyfriend and telling her son not to tell what happened to the school nurse.

How does the DSS fit in?  The man was arrested after officials at the boy's school filed a THIRD report with the DSS.  The man had previously been reported to the DSS by the boy's school in December and again on March 4.  THREE reports over a period of four months while the kid was being tortured before the DSS did anything.

Is here any reason that the DSS wasn't on this case the first time to come to the poor kid's aid?

Heads ought to roll at the DSS.  There is no excuse for this.  DSS negligence amounts to child abuse in itself.  No amount of rationalizing or whining by DSS personnel can be acceptable.  Judges like Judge Moses, who go easy on these lowest of scumbags or release them altogether, and DSS personnel who don't bother to aid helpless kids till it's too late are in my sights.  Fair notice.

Where is the outrage?  Our judicial system and social services need severe overhauling with butts kicked right out the door, and charges brought if criminal negligence can be proven. 

I am sick of stories like this one.  The perpetrators of these crimes against children are heinous enough.  The "good" citizens who enable them are right up there with them.  Where is their conscience?  Where is justice?

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