Archive for the ‘Columns & Essays’ Category
Have We Forgotten 9/11?
In a column earlier this year, I apparently offended a few people when I offered the following observation. “For too many Americans the emotional memory of the horror and outrage of 9/11 has faded.” On the eighth anniversary of September 11, 2001, it seems an appropriate time to address the matter of how we remember […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, News, Opinion, Politics | 3 Comments
Tags: 9/11, American Airlines, New York City, September 11, terrorism, terrorist, terrorists, United 93, World Trade Center
Rating Summer’s Performance
Season Fails to Meet Expectations Welcome, Summer. Thanks for finally putting in an appearance here in the northeastern United States. Now that you’ve deigned to show up, step into my office. As you know, it’s time for your annual performance review. And you might want to loosen that tie, because things are going to get […]
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Tags: August, cold, Daily Item, dog days, heat, hot, Item, July, June, Labor Day, microburst, performance review, rain, season, September, solstice, spring, summer, temperature, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, weather, winter
Cool Squirrel on a Hot Day
They say you should take it easy when the summer heat gets unbearable. This black squirrel is cool in more ways than one. First of all, he has a blond tail, a very eyecatching trait. Second, he is apparently seeking relief from the summer heat by stretching out on the cool metal of this fence […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Nature & Wildlife, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: black squirrel, blond, blonde tail, cool, heat, hot, nature, rodent, rodents, squirrel, squirrels, summer, tail, Wakefield, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Massachusetts, wildlife
Peace Loving Criminals
Vandals Deface World War II Monument in Wakefield, Massachusetts I considered ignoring the recent spate of vandalism that has seen the World War II Monument on the Common desecrated and the bandstand marred by graffiti. The pacifist criminals spray painted “War is not the answer,” and a peace symbol on the World War II monument. […]
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Tags: Daily Item, desecration, History, Item, Memorial Day, vandalism, vandals, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Massachusetts, war veterans, World War II, World War II Monument
Pleasure Island Remembered
Legendary Wakefield Amusement Park Opened 50 Years Ago Writing about my recollections of Pleasure Island on the occasion of its 50th birthday forces me to acknowledge that I am at least as old as the park. So let me stipulate up front that I was but a wee lad, still wet behind the ears, when […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, History, Humor, Profiles, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Woodstock Meets Facebook
As soon as Swine Flu became the trendy disease of the week, you had to know that it was only a matter of time before it got its own Facebook page. Significantly, Swine Flu’s less hip cousin, influenza, isn’t on Facebook. (No, you can’t catch Swine Flu from the Internet.)
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, History, Humor, Opinion, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: Daily Item, Facebook. MySpace, flower children, hippie, hippies, Revere Beach, Swine Flu, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Massachusetts, Woodstock
Oh, wow, man. Bummer about the new bylaw banning public consumption of herb. Dude, it’s another attempt to snuff out our Constitutional right to toke up anywhere, anytime. I’m pretty sure it’s in the Constitution, because George Washington grew hemp on his farm, man. And he was, like, the father of our country and stuff. […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, Opinion, Wakefield | 7 Comments
Tags: ballot question, bong, bongs, bud, bylaw, cannabis, Colonel Connelly Park, Daily Item, decriminalization, election, ganga, hemp, joint, joints, marijuana, Massachusetts, pot, reefer, referendum, smoking, Town Meeting, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Massachusetts, weed









