Cod on the Cape

Many years ago, Bruce and I were on Cape Cod, Massachucetts for the first and only time of our lives. We had the notion that Cape Cod is famous for its seafood, so we set out to find a good seafood restaurant. We didn't have any Zagat travel guides, so we did the next best thing... we asked a distinguished-looking old guy who was pumping gas next to us at the gas station.

Bruce asked him if he could direct us to a good restaurant for seafood. The man nodded enthusiastically, and proceeded to relate the directions... "blah, blah, blah, blah, Coonamessett Inn." Bruce shook his hand, said thanks, got in the car, drove away, looked at me and said... "Ok, what did he say??" I didn't speak Cape Codian either, so neither of us had a clue as to where this place was, except that it 'wasn't far'... and the man's hand signals sort of went straight, then left, then right.... How hard could it be?

Two hours later, we still had not found anything remotely resembling an Inn. We were starving. So, we did the next best thing, stopped at McDonalds and ate fish sandwiches (maybe they were cod). At least we had seafood on Cape Cod.

We left McDonalds, and went two blocks,...and... yep! big as life, there it was... the Coonamessett Inn!

We weren't hungry any more, but... well... we probably wouldn't get back to Cape Cod, and this place was famous, so we went in, and ate ANOTHER meal! And, it was very good. And memorable.

To this day, the words Coonamessett Inn speak to me of perseverance. Too often, I grow weary, and I'm tempted to tolerate second best rather than take a deep breath, trust God, and lay claim to His promises for me. When Bruce and I have faced situations that have tested our patience or endurance, one of us has reminded the other not to settle for processed fish sandwiches, but to ride it out another few blocks to get the fresh sea scallops and lobster. We use the simple catchphrase, Coonamessett Inn.