“Oh very young, what will you leave us this time?” [HN photo notes…]

“Oh very young, what will you leave us this time
You’re only dancin’ on this earth for a short while
And though your dreams may toss and turn you now
They will vanish away like your dads best jeans
Denim blue, faded up to the sky
And though you want them to last forever
You know they never will
(you know they never will)
And the patches make the goodbye harder still.

Oh very young what will you leave us this time
There’ll never be a better chance to change your mind
And if you want this world to see a better day
Will you carry the words of love with you
Will you ride the great white bird into heaven
And though you want to last forever
You know you never will
(you know you never will)
And the goodbye makes the journey harder still…”

~ Cat Stevens

HN PHOTO NOTES & MULLINGS ON THE MATTER:

ABOVE PHOTOS: So, HN met these congenial young “Ladies of the 21st Century” outside of a downtown Hyannis gin joint early this morning. The ball had just dropped, and they may have been on their way home for the duration, for all I knew. HN learned that they’re in their early twenties and I find that remarkable because they have never known a year that didn’t begin with the number “2.” My own daughter’s birthyear begins with a “1” and I soon learned even she is an entire decade older than these three fine lassies, with their hopes and dreams, and with hopefully decades of pleasant experiences ahead of them.

I felt my age as I briefly prayed for our Dear Lord to bless them with exceptional lives, filled with comfort and wisdom. I had left my eyeglasses in the car and was having trouble seeing the settings on my camera… and it was embarrassing because although they wanted their photo made, I didn’t want to hold them up during an evening they were clearly enjoying. One young lady saw me struggling and politely assured me, “Don’t worry, we’ll wait for you!” She was raised very well. And before parting, she reached out to shake my hand… and I made her promise to be safe on the roadways…

… and added under my breath with apprehension and a tinge of familiar sadness, as she skipped away with the other two, “I’d rather not happen to see you again this evening.”

It was shortly prior to midnight when the above scene on Winter Street was described to me as a “rolling domestic.” A couple had been reportedly fighting while driving. Their vehicle suddenly hopped the sidewalk before striking a fire plug and fence outside of the “St. Joseph House” for the homeless. The male half ended up being arrested on charges related to the “rolling domestic.”

As an aside note: the young police officer on scene happened to be the son of a woman I went to Barnstable High School with… back in the late 1970s, early 1980s… and he politely listened as I described my frustration with a piece of battery-operated technology I had been having trouble with prior to my arrival. He was polite. He listened. And even offered his condolences regarding the faulty strobe light purchased off Amazon over ten years ago, for just $15. He also inquired regarding the type of connection, hard-wired or battery… Which got me thinking. The light had been performing brilliantly until recently. And while encouraged by his polite kindness (which cost him absolutely nothing), I went back to my “Tiny Blue Shark” and fired up the light one more time. And after screwing around with the connections, while exposing the plastic technology to some rather vulgar, four-letter curse words, unfit for mixed company, a small 2025 miracle happened.

Like magic, the Amazon strobe began suddenly working again! (And I later apologized to the inanimate hunk of wired plastic for calling it a bad, four-letter word. We’re friends again, the plastic and I… and working through our strobe issues…)

And as I guided the tiny blue shark south on Winter Street, I remember thinking, “what a level-headed, well-educated young cop. He was clearly raised well.”

“Raise ’em right!” is something I’ve always professed.

NEXT STOP, MARGARITAVILLE!

(Where some people claimed there was a woman to blame!)

It was just prior to midnight when Barnstable Police officers and Hyannis Firefighters were dispatched to the popular “Margaritaville” Hyannis resort after a man had one-too-many “frozen concoctions” prior to being discovered lying on the floor… and he was becoming combative with concerned staff, according to radio transmissions. Other guests were mostly oblivious… or otherwise standing around watching, likely nibbling on sponge cake, when first responders encountered the gravity-challenged Parrot Head outside the hotel’s main ballroom.

Mr. Drunkypants (not his real name), was checked out by rescue and refused further care. He then gave officers a Parrot Head pinky-promise he would return to his hotel room for the remainder of the evening…

… and he was apparently successful in his arduous journey back to his room, in spite of a blown-out flip-flop!

No further details were available at the time of this report… and there is no official word on whether he ever found his long-lost shaker of salt. (Which is an often discussed and sung about issue among many struggling Parrot Heads.)

HN will provide official updates as they become available.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t point out we still have numerous homeless souls out all night struggling to stay warm and dry in downtown Hyannis… while the Commonwealth of Massachusetts forces its taxpayers to fork over hundreds of millions of dollars to take care of additional poor souls from strange, far-off lands… all while not adequately taking care of our own, already existing downtrodden… many of whom have already paid into the system. I find it truly mindboggling and absurd. Surely, we deserve more sagacious, younger leadership in this once great “Commonwealth” of ours! I say “younger” because I truly believe there are some exceptionally smart individuals out there who have common sense, despite never having known a year that did not begin with the number “2.”

“OH VERY YOUNG” (WELL-EDUCATED, AND RAISED WELL), WE NEED YOUR COMMON SENSE, NOW MORE THAN EVER!”

And, by all means, please be extra careful and safe in your travels…

… because I’d rather not see you out here while covering the nightly darkness and stark realities that, unfortunately, need to be reckoned with… and certainly not ignored.

Peace be with you… and God bless!