Former Mayor Dora Sullivan sent an email to Town Council, which she wanted to be read into the public record. Below is the text:
Good evening Honorable Mayor and Council persons. I have lived here for the past 25 years.
I have witnessed it all. From the pain and loss of dear friends and loved ones to a community that rallied together when someone could not afford to cover the expense of a funeral for someone they loved. Many things have changed in our small community which of course is understandable. What I have never witnessed was bullying. Someone so angry that they believe they can be the police. What would make someone chase after someone yelling and screaming about what the rules are. You are not the police. If there is a problem, then report it. I would hate to think that after all the many years of Cape Charles being a lovely welcoming place to visit and live that we would be thought of a town where if you do something wrong you become publicly humiliated and bullied. What purpose does that serve? What taste does that leave? We are better than that!
Thank you,
Dora Sullivan
Councilwoman O’Brien agreed. She stated during Town Council comments that Council needed to pay attention to what Sullivan was saying, “We’ve had some outrageous behavior from citizens when enforcing the Town’s rules. We should ask the public to contact the police or staff at Town Hall if they saw anything that needed attention. It should never be incumbent on a citizen to enforce the rules of the Town and this issue needed to be addressed so Cape Charles did not become a Town of angry people”.
The total lack of self-awareness on display here should not come as a surprise to anyone. Did either of these two stop and reflect on why citizens might be just a little pissed off? Why do you think they might be pushed to the limit of patience? What would drive a local to confront someone? What could possibly be fomenting this anger? Which way did he go?
This is the Cape Cape Charles modus operandi. Rather than addressing the problems their lunatic policies have created, they instead try and deflect, and throw it back in your face, “Our low-bandwidth, poorly designed, ill thought out policies are not the problem…it’s YOU!”
Summer used to be our best season, but instead, we can’t wait for it to be over so that the town is not such a cesspool of humanity. By September, the last nerve has been worked over pretty well.
I meet a lot of tourists and really like most of them, but it only takes a few to ruin everything. Some of the stuff I see on golf carts is mind-boggling. It seems every day, I see people holding babies leaving the CC Brewery, driving carts right down Stone Road, ignoring the cart path and forcing traffic to weave around them, or even coming to a stop until they can pass them. The other day, I saw a golf cart so far up the road, I swear they were coming back from Food Lion.
This is just the tip of the iceberg.
If you do feel the need to confront someone over their moronic behavior, try and make the encounter constructive–try to be nice.
Example: “Hey dude, speeding through the park on your golf cart, and doing donuts in the soft areas is fun, I get that. I’m most totally with you, but, if the cops see you, you will definitely get a ticket.”
But that’s me, you do you.
Despite the inner joy and peace, that we all seek, it seems pretty natural to throw an insult or two at these people. In some cases, it may be quite necessary. What is wrong with pointing out that what someone is doing is dangerous and idiotic? It’s not like the town is doing anything about it.
If you see somebody doing something stupid, what are you supposed to do–get out a pad and take their names down like a pathetic dweeb? Being a snitch may come naturally to folks like Sullivan and O’Brien, but it’s abhorrent to most of us.
What if it’s at night and you see something completely obnoxious and illegal, then what? Call the police, really?
Citizens have had it and are finally standing up for themselves, and the town has the nerve to tell them to sit down and shut up, that they have no rights. Former town officials stupidly chide, “We are better than that!”
Lady, put a cork in it.
The people in charge, the ones that are supposed to be answering to YOU, have forsaken you. This disregard and vulgarity began years ago (not mentioning any names). They just want you to sit there and take it while they destroy your lifestyle–all while making it more and more expensive, more and more unbearable to live here. The smart ones have left and moved to Florida.
Reminder for the remaining inmates: The election is this fall. It’s your prison, build wisely.
What an excellent article.
Personally, I do not mind their saying, “something is amiss.” I DO agree with your premise is that the problems aren’t all that simple. And to the most fundamental, if those who are elected to office don’t get what is transpiring to your liking, time to get new representation. Glibness (and PC) is a bad perspective. If the Great Unwashed have been invited to the party, it is time to encourage them to, if not take a shower first, at least put on some perfume to mask some of their smell, analogy speaking. If all the Town and/or the Eastern Shore does is to open the doors and hold its collective noses, you get untrained dogs running roughshod over your home and belongings. Not every mutt comes with a “civil” gene. Time to take notice of who needs remedial training and how to effectively administer it.
Anger won’t solve anything. Resolve to do better moving forward can, if you know what makes mutts tick. My mantra in training both my dogs and my children is, “restraining is NOT training.” A “leash law” doesn’t work with oblivious pet-owners. It definitely won’t work with the mutts who peruse the summer season in the Eastern Shore.
“cesspool of humanity” “natural to throw an insult” “pathetic dweeb” bless your heart….so angry and bitter… perhaps you should seek an appointment at Rivershore for some Xanax before that last nerve gets worked over 🙂 In the meantime, try minding your business.
Note: God bless.
You are not from around here, are you?
I always wonder why we bother to have rules when nobody, generally starting with public officials who exempt themselves from having to follow rules, bothers to obey the rules with no penalty forthcoming.
Makes the concept of having rules rather silly.
Dora Sullivan was the problem. So stick a sock in it Dora!
Cape Charles is NOT the place it used to be. Alot of good people left, only to be replace with rude self-centered people.
I too have witnessed crazy behavior from visitors in Cape Charles. I had the driver of a bright red corvette aim his car at my old truck, then shoot me the half peace sign for being in my lane at the harbor. And the golf carts are everywhere!
I had one pull out in front of me at the brewery. If I hadn’t hit the breaks the whole family would have been injured. Then the lady on the back of the golf cart made some unlady like jesters at me. And yes I was following the new speed limit.
I did notice that there was no police report this time. Wasn’t there going to be strict enforcement on the golf carts this summer?
The police are no where in site.
Everytime I need police assistance, my call was redirect to the sheriff’s department, not Cape Charles police.
Town people do have a right to be upset, but it is best to report it to the sheriff’s department. No one needs to get hurt by showing your anger.
I no longer live around Cape Charles and I avoid it during the summertime when I visit friends there.
No sense in complaining to the town council, the town got your money and can careless about who lives there.
So I laugh when I read stories like this.
The inmates have the asylum.
And Cassie, from a true Southern. Bless your little heart.
I have been here since 2004. I do miss the Cape Charles from back then. I realize there have been many improvements to support the growing interest dare I say it, “in our town”. It just seems to me, that all hopes and ideas are to make this a thriving tourist destination. We were not looking for a tourist destination when we decided to retire here. Just a nice quiet place, away from the tri-state are (NY,NJ and CT.) We were really hoping to leave all that behind. Just seems to me that the Town has little or no interest in the locals, or full time residents without a business or B&B in town. All decisions seem to be based on tourism. We are a very small town, can barely handle the volume of tourists now. There should be a lot more thought into parking, water issues. The continued smell of sewage at the corner by the pier, porta-potties in the street, golf carts everywhere running stop signs, underage drivers. We have to find a much better balance for the needs of residents and tourists. Want revenue from smaller tourist population, charge for parking. Sell beach passes. After all most of the tourists come from places where this is the norm. I don’t know what the answer is but I avoid going into town during the summer at all cost.
Note: Thank you for the eloquent, well-thought-out comment.
Agree with every point you made, Roe!
As I posted on another topic, if you believe all mutts have a civil gene and they don’t need to be trained, you get a trashed home if you let them in without consequences. You don’t have to arrest or fine the transgressors, but you DO have to give them a sort of instant feedback to teach them what works and what does not. What is needed is a helpful kind of remediation to make sure they know what is expected in a civil (if not downright foreign) environment.
Get together during the off-season (the second week of September?) and set up some parameters and how to get the message out there. Tourism isn’t a bad economy per se, but an unfettered one can, and I guess IS, a tough way to live.
Good luck going forward.
What the Come-here’s have done to my home brings tears to my eyes when I look at it, kind of like the fake, Scicilian Indian Iron Eyes Cody used to cry on the Do Not Polute commercials from the 70’s when he saw trash.