Whale-Watching with Andrew

It does seem that Andrew Sullivan is the mayor of Provincetown, though his husband, Aaron, appears to be even more popular -- he's starring in two plays this summer alone. Provincetown is lively and high-spirited and rambunctious in part because it is extremely gay. (I have terrible gaydar -- at least when compared to my Jewdar -- but even I noticed that Provincetown makes Key West look like Colorado Springs. Maybe it was the shirtless muscle queens holding hands on Commercial Street that gave it away, I don't know).

But this post is not about gay Provincetown, it's about gay whales. No, strike that, it's just about whales. Aaron and Andrew and my family went out on a whale-watching trip, and it was awesome. I don't mean "awesome" in a juvenile way, I mean "awesome" as in, "if God did indeed create the earth, he did a bang-up job in the large mammal department."  We saw eight humpbacks and a bunch of minkes (as well as an enormous pod of dolphins). But the highlight for me was the finback whale, the second-largest living creature on earth, after the blue whale, which came so close to the boat I thought he would flip it over. It's impossible to describe the sight of a finback whale forty feet from where you stand. I'll say this -- you and your problems shrink in significance. 

I think it was Andrew who first observed that the presence of these whales, so close to Cape Cod, suggests that it is not too late for the planet. The fact that they still exist -- precariously, obviously -- means that humans haven't yet destroyed everything natural and beautiful  (though as Aaron pointed out, there's still time). These enormous and graceful creatures fill you with hope. I'll post pictures when I can figure out how Mrs. Goldblog's camera works.

And no, Andrew and I didn't discuss the Middle East. Provincetown seems very far from the Middle East.