Archive for the ‘Columns & Essays’ Category

I’ve been thinking about World War II a lot lately. I guess it’s a combination of things. Certainly the ongoing effort to raise the funds to replace the crumbling World War II Monument in my hometown of Wakefield, Massachusetts has served as a consistent reminder. The new granite memorial will be built on the same […]


If Martha Coakley had won the Massachusetts special election on January 19, 2010, do you think she would have embarked on a statewide post-election tour to thank the voters? We’ll never know of course, but I’m guessing she’d have been sworn in and shaking hands in Washington – not at the Kowloon in Saugus shaking […]


The result of the January 19, 2010 special election was supposed to be a forgone conclusion. In Massachusetts, the bluest of blue states, a Republican hadn’t been elected to a Senate seat in nearly 40 years, we were told, over and over. Once Martha Coakley won the Special Democratic Primary to fill the US Senate […]


Memorial “pavers” to go on sale They’ve already raised over $25,000 from voluntary donations and the sale of t-shirts and sweatshirts. Now, the World War II Memorial Committee is about to embark on a major fundraising effort that they hope will bring them much closer to their goal of $200,000 – the amount that they […]


Election Ennui

18Dec09

Congratulations to the voters of Wakefield, Massachusetts. One in four of you came out to vote in the recent special primary election to choose Teddy Kennedy’s successor in the US Senate. Wakefield’s 26 percent participation was nearly double the statewide turnout of 14 percent. Somewhere, the Founding Fathers must be beaming with pride. In the […]


Leigh Barrett stars More than a century and a half after its original publication, the emotional power of Charles Dickens’ holiday fable, “A Christmas Carol,” remains undiminished, and the current stage adaptation at Stoneham Theatre is a testament to the classic tale’s influence and staying power. The current incarnation of Stoneham Theatre opened its doors […]


Bad Signs

03Dec09

You might have spotted them in the last month or so, manning their little table in front of a local Post Office or some other busy public building. They have posters and signs depicting President Barack Obama – altered so that he is sporting a Hitler mustache. Charming. These are the Lyndon LaRouche loonies, and […]


Taxing Times

26Nov09

Wakefield, Massachusetts votes itself a new tax The 2009 Regular Town Meeting proved to be a taxing one – and not just for those who hung in for the entire three and a half hours. Town Meeting backed two new local taxes: one that will bring the tax on a restaurant meal in Wakefield to […]


Performance on Friday, November 21, 2009 in Cambridge, Massachusetts The line was already forming outside the First Parish Church as I cruised by at 7:15 p.m. in what I knew would be a vain attempt to find a parking space. I parked in a garage at the other end of Harvard Square and walked back. […]


Next Wednesday, Nov. 11, Wakefield, Massachusetts observes Veterans Day with ceremonies beginning at 11 a.m. in the Galvin Middle School Auditorium. While Memorial Day each spring focuses on honoring deceased veterans, Veterans Day is intended to honor and thank all US military personnel who served in all wars, particularly living veterans and those currently serving […]