Archive for the ‘Humor’ Category

Right on the heels of the plastic bags crisis, the latest issue to rock Wakefield is what name we should use for the town’s executive body. For the past 370 years, “Board of Selectmen” has done quite nicely, but no more. The position contains the word “man” (and in the plural, “men”). In 2017, this […]


Let me be the first to say it. Hot enough for you? I know, it’s barely 70 degrees, but after the February weather we had earlier this week, today feels like Death Valley. It doesn’t get reliably warm around here until the summer solstice. Then it’s summer until about the Fourth of July, and it’s […]


“Wakefield has such a pretty downtown,” my friend in the passenger seat said as we drove past The Rockery on the right, with its rows of bright red and white tulips leading up to the Hiker Statue. It was a few weeks ago and the fountain hadn’t been turned on yet. “That’s not what our […]


By MARK SARDELLA You needn’t be a Chekhov scholar to enjoy Christopher Durang’s “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” currently on stage at Quannapowitt Playhouse in Reading. Durang’s comedy may have been inspired by Chekhov, but it is 180 degrees from the dark, despairing mood that permeates Chekhov’s plays. In fact, it’s hilarious. Wakefield […]


By MARK SARDELLA Bank robbery isn’t as easy as it looks, especially when things don’t go as planned. That’s the lesson that two brothers learn early on in John Kolvenbach’s comedy The Bank Job, currently at Gloucester Stage. Fourteen million dollars is a nice haul, but it won’t do you much good if your escape […]


Zoned out

20May17

I know some people don’t like me to write about marijuana, but the subject has been in the local news a lot lately and it’s kind of my job. So this constitutes a trigger warning for those delicate flowers of the Cannabis Community whose heads tend to explode when I write about pot. (Rest assured […]


Long before it became part of my job, I would attend practically every Town Meeting. It wasn’t out of any sense of civic duty. I’ve always found Town Meeting to be great entertainment. That has led some to suggest that I seek professional help. Last week’s two-part episode did not disappoint. If you’re one of […]


Most people think Wakefield is a pretty nice town. We have two lakes, a beautiful Common and a walkable downtown area with some great restaurants. We have easy access to public transportation and are near two major highways. Oh, and we are one of the few places outside of big cities that still has a […]


Bag the ban

30Mar17

It was only a matter of time. A small group of our fellow citizens has decided that they know better than the rest of us and want to dictate how we can carry our shopping purchases out of a store. Ten citizens have signed a petition to place an article on the May 1 Annual […]


The older I get, the more I hate winter. I hate Old Man Winter almost as much as CNN hates the President of the United States. I have no proof, but I’m convinced that winter is a Russian plot to turn the United States into Siberia.