I live in the Village of Yarmouth and love everything about the Clam Festival, especially the parade. My love extends to the time-honored tradition of putting out lawn chairs along the parade route, and I don’t mind a bit that the chairs begin popping up weeks in advance of the event.

But I have a confession: I don’t love the practice of tying a rope between two street signs (or whatever else is handy) as a substitute for a colorful row of lawn chairs. There’s no charm to 50 feet of yellow poly rope left on Main Street to sag for weeks in the summer sun. Beyond the obvious aesthetics, the message of the rope seems off – possibly selfish in its overreach, less inclusive and neighborly. Kind of lame, really.

James O’Keefe
Yarmouth

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