Archive for the ‘Columns & Essays’ Category
Ghosts of Pleasure Island
The dry summer of 2010 lowered the water levels of the ponds at Edgewater Office Park in Wakefield, Massachusetts, revealing 50 year old artifacts from the Pleasure Island amusement park (1959-1969) which once sat on the site. Pleasure Island opened on June 22, 1959. It was built on 80 acres of swampland just off Route […]
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Farewell Esther, and Thanks
On August 19, 2010, a crowd gathered at the First Parish Congregational Church in Wakefield, Massachusetts to say a final goodbye to a woman who spent decades looking out for the weakest of God’s creatures. Esther P. Nowell died August 8, 2010 at the age of 92. She was the founder, prime mover and force […]
Filed under: Cats, Columns & Essays, Community, Opinion, Profiles, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: animal, animal rights, animal welfare, animals, cats, Daily Item, dogs, Esther Nowell, Esther P. Nowell, First Parish Congregational Church, humane society, leg-hold trap, leg-hold traps, Mark Sardella, P.A.W.S., PAWS, Protection of Animals in Wakefield Society, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts
When most people think of Oscar Wilde’s plays, the one that often leaps to mind is The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde’s lighthearted comedy of manners. So it’s refreshing to see the Gloucester Stage Company present one of Wilde’s darker, more complex works. Not that An Ideal Husband isn’t funny. It’s Oscar Wilde after all, […]
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Tags: Achilles, acting, actor, actors, actress, actresses, An Ideal Husband, Angie Jepson, Brendan Powers, Carrie Ann Quinn, comedy, Daniel Morris, David Remedios, drama, Fragonard, Gloucester, Gloucester MA, Gloucester Massachusetts, Gloucester Stage, Gloucester Stage Company, Julia Noulin-Merat, Karen MacDonald, Kenneth Helvig, Lewis D. Wheeler, Marsha Smith, Molly Trainer, olay, Oscar Wilde, plays, playwright, Reviews, stage, stages, The Swing, theater, theater review, theaters, theatre, theatre review, theatres
All aTwitter
As recently as a few weeks ago, my resolve was holding firm. There was no way that I would ever be on Twitter. About a year ago, I finally caved to virtual peer pressure and signed up for a Facebook account long after most of my eventual FB friends had been updating their statuses for […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, Opinion | 2 Comments
Tags: Anneli Rufus, Beta, Betamax, blog. blogs, blogging, cable, cable television, cable TV, Comcast, computer, Daily Item, dial up, dialup, electronics, flickr, hermit, hermits, high-speed Internet, home computer, home electronics, Internet, journalist, loner, loners, Luddite, modem, MySpace, Party of One, Party of One: the Loners' Manifesto, PC, personal computer, social media, technology, Twitter. Facebook, VCR, VHS, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, web, writer
Parade of Pols
Maybe I’m the only one, but I like seeing the politicians in the Wakefield (MA) July 4th Parade. The marching bands are great, and they provide an element of entertainment relief in what would otherwise be an endless stream of pols. But the main reason I go to the parade every July 4th is to […]
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Tags: 4th of July, 4th of July Parade, Alley Oop, Anthony Guardia, Bill Hudak, candidate, candidates, clown, Craig Spadafora, Daily Item, David Lucas, Donald Wong, election, elections, Eric Estevez, Fourth of July, House of Representatives, Independence Day, Independence Day Parade, JFK, John F. Kennedy, John Tierney, July 4 2010, July 4th, July 4th Parade, July Fourth, Katherine Clark, Massachusetts, Massachusetts Senate, Michael Day, Monica Medeiros, Parade, parades, Paul Brodeur, politician, politicians, Richard Tisei, Scott Brown, Senator Scott Brown, Steve Grossman, US Senate, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Independence Day Parade, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts
“You too?”
“You too?” That may have been the most frequently uttered greeting among survivors at the American Cancer Society Relay for Life held last weekend at the Beasley Oval behind Wakefield High School. Survivors were easy to identify at the Relay by their purple t-shirts. All other Relay participants got white t-shirts when they checked in. […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, Opinion, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: American Cancer Society, Daily Item, Mark Sardella, relay, Relay for Life, survivors' lap, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts, Wakefield Relay for Life
The Better Part of Valor
At least two candidates for State Representative are happy that they kept a safe distance away from any and all podiums on Memorial Day in Wakefield. Two others are probably now wishing they had. At the time, getting up and speaking at an event that was likely to draw town officials and the media probably […]
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Tags: Anthony Guardia, Bill Walsh, Daily Item, Donald Wong, Eric Estevez, holiday, Katherine Clark, Mark Falzone, Mark Sardella, Melrose, Melrose MA, Melrose Mass, Melrose Massachusetts, Memorial Day, Monica Medeiros, Northeastern University, Paul Brodeur, Politics, Richard Tisei, state representative, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts
My Commencement Address
I read with interest an article in last Friday’s Boston Globe about the intense competition faced by schools at this time of year as they try to land the most in-demand commencement speakers. My interest turned to eager anticipation when I got to the part where it said that some high-profile commencement speakers, like Rudy […]
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Mark Sardella 