Archive for the ‘Columns & Essays’ Category
Name shaming
Wakefield’s inexorable slide from a proud, blue collar, working class town to the precious PC world inhabited by communities like Cambridge, Concord and Lexington accelerated just a bit this month when the Board of Selectmen decided that it would, after all, like to change its name to one that does not have the word “men” […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: Ann Santos, Board of Selectmen, Brookline, definition, dictionary, Ed Dombroski, election, gender neutral, History, Humor, man, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Mehreen Butt, men, name, Opinion, PC, Peter May, political correctness, Politics, Rena M. Colson, sex, Steve Maio, Tony Longo, Town Meeting, tradition, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, women
No win zone
Sometimes, the people in charge of things just can’t win, especially in the age of social media, where everybody’s a pundit. Recently, town officials announced several more initiatives to try to revitalize the downtown. Of course, it’s never enough. Or is it too much? Either way, the town is sure to get slammed for doing […]
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Tags: Board of Selectmen, business, business district, commercial property, development, Dog Park, Dollar Tree, downtown, economic development, Facebook, Malden, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Melrose, merchants, parking, police, pundits, Ralph Waldo Emerson, schools, signs, social media, taxpayers, traffic, Twitter, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, zoning
Food for thought
My horoscope for Saturday, Aug. 19 said that I would be faced with a difficult choice. As always, it was correct, which is why I base all major decisions on the stars. Everything good always happens on the same day. My dilemma on Saturday was whether to grab my Louisville Slugger and my mask and […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: America, Boston Common, Charlottesville, counter-protest, demonstration, fascist, Festival Italia, food, Free Speech Rally. Boston, Ku Klux Klan, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Nazis, new england patriots, police, protest, rally, riot, social justice, Tim Carter, United States, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Weeded out
The good news for the Cannabis Community is the Massachusetts Legislature finally finished tinkering with the law making recreational marijuana legal and Gov. Charlie Baker has signed it. The bad news is the first pot shops won’t open for another 324 days. But who’s counting.
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: Attorney General, Boston 25 News, Boston Herald, business, Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome, Charlie Baker, chronic, CHS, Colorado, doctors, ganja, hash, hemp, Jeff Sessions, joint, law, legalization, legislature, marijuana, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Maura Healey, pot, Question 4, Town Meeting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, weed
Our beautiful Lake
At long last, I’ve seen the light. I’m admittedly a slow learner, but it has come to my attention that some readers find my weekly entries in the space needlessly caustic. Some might say “snarky” or even “mean.” I was deeply troubled when I learned of this. The knowledge that my writing may have caused […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, Humor, Nature & Wildlife, Opinion, Photography, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: apology, civil rights, civility, column, constructive, diversity, hate, human rights, Humor, inclusivity, Lake Quannapowitt, marijuana, Matk Sardella, mea culpa, multiculturalism, Opinion, Politics, pothead, reefer, sarcasm, satire, sensitivity, snark, sustainability, tolerant, uplifting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, weed, white privilege
Let it rain
‘The Rainmaker’ at Gloucester Stage By MARK SARDELLA GLOUCESTER – I almost didn’t go to see The Rainmaker when it opened at Gloucester Stage last weekend. But I’m very glad I changed my mind and went to see this classic American play by N. Richard Nash. Written in the early 1950s, The Rainmaker is easily […]
Filed under: Art, Columns & Essays, Opinion, Reviews, theater | Leave a Comment
Tags: Brian Homer, Dave Rich, David DeBeck, drama, drought, Gloucester, Jessica Bates, Joe Short, Mark Sardella, N. Richard Nash, Norman Jones, play, review, Robert Walsh., Sean McCoy, The Rainmaker, theater, theatre Gloucester Stage, Wakefield Daily Item
A hero in the family
By MARK SARDELLA The long July Fourth holiday weekend was a source of fun and enjoyment for most of us. For one local family, it also produced an authentic hero. Broadway resident and Wakefield High School teacher Erin Chrisos, her husband Steve and their two children, three and-a-half-year-old Noah and one-month-old Fiona were on vacation […]
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Tags: 9/11, Batman, Biddeford, choking, Erin Chrisos, Family, first responders, hero, Maine, Mark Sardella, officer, Old Orchard Beach, police, Sgt. Thomas Flynn, vacation, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Police Department
Parade of days
A thought occurred to me while anticipating the Wakefield July Fourth Parade. As important as Independence Day is, it overshadows other early summer observances that just don’t get the respect they deserve. It’s like having a birthday on Christmas. Nobody notices. Well, I’m here to right this wrong, because fighting injustice is what I’m all […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: air conditioning, Canada Day, Cinco de Mayo, Climate Change, CNN, dog days, fake news, Fourth of July, Global Warming, handshake, holidays, Humor, Independence Day, July 4th, nudism, Opinion, Parade, Politics, Tom Brady, US Constitution, voting, Wakefield MA. Massachusetts, Wikipedia
Mark Sardella 