Our Top 10 Cape Cod Wave Favorite Moments of 2014

It can be grueling writing some of the long stories that we do here at Cape Cod Wave. That’s why, as often as we can, we go see a sunset, a surfer,or a guitar player.

And while we have been able to create some viral stories, there were other moments that didn’t get as much attention from readers as they did from our own hearts. As you may have noticed, we write Cape Cod Wave out of love for this place. Every story, video, and photo that we give you has a bit of our heart in it. And of all those, these are the ones, in no particular order, that are closest to our hearts.

As you probably know, Cape Cod Wave is a multinational corporation. Getting all of the employees to weigh in was difficult. Somehow, we managed.

Brian Tarcy, Cape Cod Wave Editor & Janitor

Brian’s Favorite 2014 moments

Ukelele diplomacy

– Earlier this year there was a nationwide controversy about immigration that became a bit of a local issue when there were plans to temporarily house some immigrant children on Cape Cod. A group objected, and then another group objected to them. In the midst of all of this, I witnessed Paula Pace, carrying a ukelele, reaching out to those she disagreed with on the issue. Together they sang “Amazing Grace,” and it was the best moment that I saw on Cape Cod this year, in Ukelele Diplomacy Over Immigration – An Essay.

A. Murat Eren (Meren) Assistant Research Scientist at the Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology & Evolution at the Marine Biological Laboratory In Woods Hole.

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One of the most interesting people I have interviewed in decades of journalism was A. Murat Eren, the Question-Authority Shepherd At MBL – A Scientist’s Unique Story. Meren, as he is known, was a shepherd as a child, and later he worked for the Turkish government because he taught himself cryptography as an open source Linux advocate. After arriving in New Orleans and getting humiliated for his English language skills while trying to order food at a Subway Restaurant, the Turkish computer expert pivoted into biology and got a PhD, and then he created a new way – Oligotyping – to differentiate the concealed diversity in microbial populations. The common American mind almost cannot comprehend the path of Meren. This is probably my favorite Cape Cod Wave story.

– Frankly, I am not a big fan of street performers. I tend to walk by them as they often can seem cut from the same cloth, but one day last spring my entire perspective was turned upside down when I ran into and then shot a video of Will Harrington, Provincetown Street Performer. It was the day before his 18th birthday, and I got this video of him singing “Little Boxes,” the anti-conformity anthem of sorts by Pete Seeger. We shoot video of lot of great performers on Cape Cod. I didn’t expect a 17-year-old street performer to be my favorite.

John Waters wants you to start hitchhiking. He did, coast to coast.

— So legendary film maker and part-time Provincetown resident hitchhiked across the country at 66 years old and then wrote a book about it. We had to track him down, and when I landed and interview with him, I couldn’t wait to share my own hitchhiking stories with him. It felt like he expected as much, as he was gracious, smart and funny when he suggested that I hitchhike back to Falmouth. Of course John Waters Wants You To Hitchhike is one of my favorite stories.

Whatever happened to the Silicon Sandbar?

— I am very interested in business and technology, and the opportunities offered on Cape Cod. And I remembered from long ago when Cape Cod tried to market itself as the Silicon Sandbar. So I began to wonder what ever happened to the Silicon Sandbar and where does Cape Cod Technology stand today, in a story I am very proud of, Cape Cod Technology Starts It Up Again.

Laura M. Reckford, Cape Cod Wave Editor & Gofer

Laura’s Favorite 2014 Moments

Students in Karyn Phares’s art class at the Lawrence School work on the new pottery wheels at the school.

— There is nothing more inspiring than teachers. That’s why this story Full STEAM Ahead: Falmouth Education Foundation Funds Innovation about a teacher who is passionate about teaching and her eager students–junior high students, no less–is one of my favorites of the year.

A urine diverting toilet has two sections, one for urine and one for solids. Men have to sit down and aim the urine into the front section.

— Again: passion. This time, about toilets, eco-friendly toilets, that is. That’s is what drew me to write about Hilda Maingay. She is the authority on these toilets and believes they are the key to solving the Cape’s wastewater woes. She even did not mind that I wanted to title my story about her: A Sit Down with Falmouth’s Toilet Lady. Now that’s a good sport.

Rev. Fields baptizes Paul Rifkin, pouring a scallop shell of water on his head.

— Paul Rifkin is one of the funniest people I know and he doesn’t do anything halfway. So when he found religion, he went all the way. It was a full-on christening Cape Cod-style, with a scallop shell. My story about the service, An Unusual Baptism in Waquoit: One Way to Use a Scallop Shell, offers a poignant glimpse into what it’s like to believe.

— A kingdom in West Barnstable? Forsooth! These people take the Middle Ages seriously and have a lot of fun doing it. My “education” in the Barony of Smoking Rocks will not soon be forgotten. That’s what makes my story A Long Ago Kingdom in West Barnstable a favorite.

We passed the guy to get a close look. He was flying along!

— A little investigative journalism was called for when we saw a strange car-like vehicle on the Old King’s Highway the other day. I did some sleuthing and discovered it wasn’t a car, it was a bike! Writing Futurama ‘Car’ on the Old King’s Highway: A Cape Cod Wave Detective Story was just plain fun.