So I can now say I have been to Provincetown Massachusetts.
Plunked out on the very tip of Cape Cod, Provincetown has a rather, , , resplendent, albeit quirky reputation of being both beautiful and fabulous.
And I'll give it that. It is freaking beautiful out there.
The shops, the restaurants . the beach. In many ways it really is the sparkling vision one conjures in their head when they envision a sea side town on the Atlantic coast.
For those unaware I have a sense of humor that can be described as "indelicate" and the best of time and down right grody more often than not. I tend to find humor in everything around me and am inclined to enjoy it with little regard for whose feelings may be aggrieved.
That being said, I knew full well I was going into town where it was based to favor restraint as I could only imagine how touchy the residents would be. . You down't go strolling down Yawkey Way in a Yankees hat and you don't
stroll across P-Town snickering at every crazy flamboyant thing you see. . they are going to be legion and a man can spend his entire day cackling like a hen.
I say that. . but when the first thing I saw entering town was a sandwich-board advertising and upcoming appearance by Bruce Vilanch I knew I would have an uphill battle.
I'll just say it. . everything in this town in a hilarious double entendre. Sure,
John's Footlong is subtle enough.
Big Daddy Burritos? now that is starting to get a little on the nose. . . so to speak.
As I stood gobsmacked however in front of the window of
The Provincetown Fudge Factory my companions practically begged me not to utter the comments that we all but bursting from my lips. . not the least mature of witch, a musing on the staffing of the packing department.
Before I can bother sorting out my opening line I glance across the street to one of the stranger sights my eyes have ever seen.
Several old men dressed in what can only be described by this layman as pink Little Bo Peep outfits completes with matching pink parasols.
Now. . this of course was strange enough but the
icing on the cake was the hard right they all pulled and matched into the Unitarian Church just in time for Sunday services.
That, Ladies and Gentlemen. . was a head scratcher if ever there was one.
Side Note: if you want to feel out of shape just take a stroll down Commercial street. I swear at one point I thought I had walked into a street theater production of Frank Miller's 300. A wall of chiseled abs and well oiled beards from sidewalk to sidewalk.
I don't know when it changed, or if my shock pallet was finally blown out, but at some point all the sassy glitz and glamour of the place wore off and when that happens it's almost magical.
All the jokes and giggling fall away and you find yourself left standing in what can only be described as one of the most beautiful places Cape Cod has to offer. It's glaring and it is cliche to be sure but it is also genuine and unapologetic in the way it carries itself. And honestly. . It all kind of works. It's warm, it's friendly and it has become A place I can not wait to see again some day.
