Dracut Musings

State parks galore

2011-04-28T16:25:00.004-04:00

Yes, I am obsessed but it's what I (and the kids) like to do. So we headed back to Central Massachusetts today to check out two more parks (but ended up seeing three). We first stopped at Moore State Park in Paxton. Oh man, you have to check this place out. It's an old estate that also once housed a saw mill (dating back to the 1740's). The grounds are beautiful and the centerpiece is a pond that feeds into a waterfall, down a stone mill foundation which makes three waterfalls. It is a beautiful site. You can do down a trail and onto the edge of the land to get a picture perfect view of the falls. The view is so nice they call it the Artist Overlook.

Above the pond is a big covered bridge with some chairs off to the side to sit and admire the tranquility. There are a number of walking trails but we stayed on the main road for the whole time. We took Kevin's tricycle and he had a blast riding around the park on it. Erin, of course, got filthy (but I had a chance of clothes this time). This has quickly become one of my favorite parks - I read that the flowers in bloom (rhododendrons and azaleas especially) are quite a site. I will be back.

From here we stopped by Rutland State Park in nearby Rutland which wasn't much - really just a big pond for people to fish and swim. We only stayed here for about 10 minutes. From here we went to Quinsigamond State Park in Worcester which is only the waterfront of Lake Quinsigamond where they have a lot of regatta races. It is right in downtown Worcester acorss from UMass Medical Center. Again, we just stayed here for a bit.

Not sure what tomorrow and Saturday holds but I will let you know!

Hiking and meltdown

2011-04-27T20:53:00.004-04:00

So I decided to take the kids to Douglas State Forest in Douglas today. I wanted to go here because within the forest, the states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island meet and there is a marker there. That sounded cool enough to check out.

We got there around 10:30ish. I put Erin in my new carrier and Kevin led the way "reading the map." We had to follow the Midstate Trail which is marked by a yellow triangle. Kevin was good at finding the trail markers but we eventually got off the trail. In looking more closely at the map, I realized that it would be much too far to hike this way and decided to abandon it. The kids played for a while near the lake and swamp where Erin got filthy dirty...and I didn't have a change of clothes. After a snack we headed out.

I decided to stop at the headquarters to see if there was another way to get to the Tri-state marker and the guy gave me a better way to hike. We went there and hiked...and hiked...and hiked. I could not find the darn thing and we just kept walking and walking. We did come to the border of Massachusetts and Connecticut and saw that marker which was pretty cool. We walked deeper and deeper into Connecticut and Kevin was losing it. I gave up and we turned around after about an hour and headed back to the car. Kevin had an epic meltdown and I carried him every now and then. I just let him plop down on the ground and I would keep on walking knowing he'd catch up. If I kept on stopping, we'd never finish.

After about an hour, we made it back to the car where I had to change Erin's mega poopy diaper and get poor Kevin a drink - he was so hot and red.

I checked out where the marker was when I got home and it looks like we were pretty close but I just misread the map. Oh well, I will check it out again sometime again, it's not too far away. But even though we didn't see the marker, we did see a deer along the path so there was some reward.

One small step...

2011-04-27T07:15:00.003-04:00

Look, I have no problems with unions. My father belonged to the Carpenters Union for decades and my mother always said that my sister and I would never have been able to go to the schools we did were it not for the union. But public employee unions have become so intransigent and refuse to make any sort of compromise, even in these tough fiscal times that even their closest allies (i.e. Democrats) are making changes, AFL-CIO be damned.

Last night the Massachusetts House voted 111-42 to strip public unions from their right to bargain on health care. As a compromise, the bill does allow the unions to discuss changes within 30 days of a proposed change.

Robert Haynes, the president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO warned Democrats:

“It’s pretty stunning,’’ said Robert J. Haynes, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. “These are the same Democrats that all these labor unions elected. The same Democrats who we contributed to in their campaigns. The same Democrats who tell us over and over again that they’re with us, that they believe in collective bargaining, that they believe in unions. . . . It’s a done deal for our relationship with the people inside that chamber.’’

Translation? We own you and you will pay.

Another reason to vote Republican in 2012.

History day

2011-04-26T17:11:00.005-04:00

I never watch Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" but I heard he recently did an episode on Boston so I watched it late last night on On Demand...what a great show, I will be watching it more now. My man Howie Carr was in it and most of the show focused on Southie. One place outside of Southie that he visited was a seafood place called Belle Isle Seafood which is in East Boston right on the Winthrop line. The highlight of this place is its lobster roll where you get 1/2 pound of lobster! I've been wanting to visit Belle Isle Marsh Reservation and this lobster roll looked too darn good so I decided to take a ride down to visit both places.

The restaurant is very small, there is a "bar" that seats less than 10 people. The lobster roll was $18.99 which included fries. Yikes, don't tell my wife. With tax it came to $20.32 so I didn't even have enough money to get a drink. The food came in less than 10 minutes and it was a heaping of lobster, so much that much of it fell out of the small hot dog roll. But man was it good - tons and tons of lobster that was so fresh and succulent. I took my time eating it and savored it. There was a couple there who must have also seen the show as I heard them mention Boudain's name. This place must be making a killing off the show.

Belle Isle Marsh is literally across the street from the restaurant but I didn't see any parking and it didn't look like much at all (I should have looked more closely at the website and the map before I left). So I decided to skip that and head to Lynn/Nahant Beach to get a stamp Kevin missed when we were last there. But at the last minute I decided to head over to the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site. I have my own stamp book of all the National Parks in New England and I figured since I was so close, I may as well stop in.

I grew up 10 minutes away from this park but I never once went there. It is located right off the downtown in Saugus and is a full recreation of a iron works site that was constructed by the Puritans in the 1600's. The only original piece is a small house where they believe the supervisor lived. I don't think they get many visitors as the lady working in the visitors center was talking my ear off! She was pleasant to talk to though. The grounds are beautiful and I was more impressed with the recreation than the actual history of the place. The angle is that this was the place were the Puritans became self-sufficient as they perfected making iron. The site itself was only in existence for 30 years or so and it was excavated and recreated in the 1950's. I watched an interesting 12 minute video and then walked around the grounds. It was nothing too exciting but the care and detail into which they did the recreations was amazing, especially the giant (and I mean giant) bellows.

From there I decided to take a ride over to Minuteman National Park in Lexington. I've been there a number of times but figured I'd go get the stamp. I watched their 25 minute movie/presentation and then took a ride over to the North Bridge area, about 10 minutes down the road in Concord.

I think tomorrow I will take the kids to Douglas State Forest which is located on the border of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. How cool does that sound?

History of state parks

2011-04-25T20:39:00.002-04:00

Speaking of state parks, the DCR will begin a series of monthly events to highlight the history and beauty of the parks. It begins in May with a lecture in Hull on the history and evolution of the state parks in Massachusetts. Then there will be a walk/talk at the Middlesex Fells in June; at Castle Island in July, and Stony Brook in August.

See more here.

State Parks in danger

2011-04-25T20:16:00.002-04:00

On April 16 I volunteered at Wachusett Mountain State Reservation as part of the state's Park Serve Day. It was an opportunity for folks to volunteer at a state park for a few hours and help get them ready for summer. I choose Wachusett as it's pretty close (less than an hour) and even though I've never hiked it, I am attracted to the mountain (whatever that means). Plus, Thoreau wrote about it!

I got there around 10am and the parking lot was packed! I was excited that there would be so many people helping out. The Revere High School softball team was there too and I thought they were there to help as well. Turns out that I was the only volunteer - all the cars were hikers! I spent the morning with two of the guys who work at the park (I forget their names unfortunately) helping them plant a garden next to the visitor's center. My first task was to nail in the spikes for the edging which didn't take too long. After that we dug holes for one tree, three bushes, and about 12 flowers. We then planted them and cleaned up - it only took us about 2 hours, if that, as I was back on the road by noon.

In talking with the guys, it seems that the only full-time workers there are them, another guy, and the supervisor. They said that there are a lot of budget cuts and that the revenue the parks get go back to the state's general fund, not to the parks directly. I said that it was too bad that all the money goes to the hacks and people in Boston and not to what the people enjoy (they didn't respond of course but they seemed to agree).

The state parks are exactly what the state should be spending their money on, in addition to things like education, social services, etc. Instead, the DCR budget may be slashed by $10m despite the fact that attendance at state parks is up 30%! If the cuts stay in place, parks will have to be closed and those that remain open will have staff reduced.

Kudos to the Massachusetts Stewardship Council which has come up with two ideas to help the DCR maintain some funding:

1. Allow DCR to keep 80 percent of any money it takes in, returning 20 percent to the treasury — a move that would give it an additional $2.7 million annually. Currently, it keeps just over 60 percent.

2. Fully fund the cost of the State House rangers. Lee said the DCR “continues to be asked to take on responsibilities for which budgeted funds are insufficient.’’ Staffing levels for State House rangers are determined by the Legislature, but the dollar amount designated for it falls short by $700,000.

Please contact your legislator and ask them to fund things we care about, not hack jobs.

New Hampshire State of Mind

2011-04-03T22:52:00.003-04:00

I spent a good chunk of my weekend in the Granite State. On Saturday, we had our annual Youth and Government at the State House in Concord. I am the advisor for our school's group and this year we had 12 kids take part. It's a 3-day program with one day in March and two back to back days in April. Unfortunately day two, which was Friday, was cancelled due to the snow so we just met this Saturday. It's a great program - the kids get total control of the State House, Supreme Court, and Legislative Office Building and participate in a mock government. They elect leaders and they write bills beforehand, debate them in committee, in the chambers of the House and Senate, they go to to the governor, etc. It's a blast.

Today, after Mass, Lynn and I took the kids to Odiorne Point State Park in Rye, NH. Within the state park is the Seacoast Science Center which had a big tank where the kids could touch and pick up starfish and other sea creatures. There were other hands on stuff like a boat they could climb in, a ship's control panel where you could "drive" a ship, and an aquarium of fish and crustaceans, including a blue lobster! We spent a good hour or so here and I had to literally drag Kevin out, he enjoyed it so much. We went to the playground for a bit and then took a ride down to Lynn's parent's cottage at Hampton Beach and a walk on the beach.

The state park itself is beautiful but we didn't check much of it out. It will be worth another ride soon.

Off to school

2011-04-01T20:15:00.004-04:00

Today I registered Kevin for Pre-K at Saint Louis School in Lowell. Yikes, how did that happen so fast? He's pretty smart if I say so myself so Lynn and I felt he needed a full-time program next year. Currently he goes to day care two days a week and his grandparents the other three days. The principal was very impressed with him, saying he had amazing social skills and was very smart.

Being a Catholic school teacher and a product of Catholic schools, it was important to me that he go to a Catholic school. Lynn is less concerned about Catholic vs. public for elementary school. Obviously cost is an issue but I believe in Catholic schools. It will be a sacrifice and I may need to cut out some things but it will be worth it. Going forward, we shall see. We own a condo now and buying a house is very high on our priority list too. I suppose I could compromise and have the kids go public K-8 and then to Catholic high school. Dracut is starting full-time kindergarten next year at no extra cost which is nice. I have no intention of teaching in a public school so they will obviously go to the same high school at which I teach since it will be free for them.

Either way, let the fun begin.

School Daze

2011-04-01T11:56:00.002-04:00

So sorry I have been off the grid this past month. To say it's been busy is an understatement. Just last week, I went to Quebec City for the installation Mass of Archbishop Gerald Lacroix, the new archbishop of Quebec and a graduate of my school. I went up with the principal and our communications director. We drove up last Thursday and after about a 6 hour drive, got there around 4pm. We stayed at the famous Chateau Frontenac! We rested up and cleaned up and then headed out to dinner at a place called Panache. It was AMAZING. They served the same thing to everyone - some nice meats, cheeses, pork with scallops, chicken and potatoes, and assorted desserts. They served each thing in different servings. Damn it was good. The next day we headed out to walk around Quebec City and to see the sights. I was in Quebec once, back in 1991 but I don't really remember it. We stayed at the same hotel actually but that's all I remember. The city is so beautiful, even in the winter. I've never been to Paris but I imagine that this is what it looks like. The Mass was at 7:30pm but we were invited to a special dinner at 4:30pm with the archbishop and other guests. The dinner was buffet style, very simple yet delicious. The Mass itself was almost all in French with some English and Spanish. I studied French in high school and college but it's been a while so I was only able to pick up on some words here and there. Either way, it was a beautiful Mass and it was evident that the people of Quebec love Archbishop Lacroix. We headed out around 9am the next day as our 10-year accreditation process began on Sunday and we had to get back to school to finish up some things. Thankfully some students came by to help with the cleaning as we finished up setting up rooms, bringing things to the hotel, etc. I finally made it home around 8:30pm where I was so excited to see Lynn and the kids. I missed them so much even though I was only gone for 2 days. Our accreditation visit went very well and we should hear the results in a few weeks. Now I have to finish grading papers as grades for third quarter close on Monday. Ahhhhhhh.

Still alive

2011-03-31T13:18:00.001-04:00

Yes, I am still alive. Yes, work has been insanely busy. Yes, grades are due next week. Yes, I am going gray. Yes, I would have it no other way.

Park Serve

2011-03-14T09:07:00.002-04:00

Every now and then Kevin will ask me, "Why do you always take me to state parks?" I say, "Because they're fun. Don't you like going there?" "Yeah" Kevin replies.

Since the parks have become such a big part of my recreational life, I decided to give back a little to them by volunteering at one on DCR Park Serve Day. A number of parks are having volunteer opportunities on April 16 to get the parks ready for summer. I am going to volunteer at Wachusett Mountain doing some general cleaning and planting flowers.

See the link here if you're interested in volunteering at one.

Maple sugar and marshmallows

2011-03-13T09:05:00.002-04:00

Before last year, I really had no idea how maple syrup was made or anything about the season for making it. I took Kevin to a sugar house last year in North Andover and was very intrigued. Maple sugar season is only a small window - March - so the opportunities to see it is limited.

I was going to take Kevin to a maple sugar demo at the Blue Hills in Milton but discovered one in Uxbridge at the Blackstone Heritage State Park. This is a unique park as it's a joint state and national park. It seemed more fun - a movie, tours, etc. I also figured there would be less people. So we headed down and got there around 11am. It was a beautiful setting. You park down the road from the site and as you walk down, you see many of their trees that are tapped. There was a lot of flow and you could hearing the sap dropping into the buckets. Once at the visitors center, they gave you a ticket and a time for a tour - it was very well organized. The tour began with a brief movie on maple sugaring, a talk by a ranger, and then walking over to tap a tree. The tree they tapped didn't have any sap yet but they had a big bucket of sap to give to the kids who had their own buckets.

We then saw a demo of how Indians made maple sugar - they would heat up water in in a hollowed out tree and reduce it down by putting hot rocks in it, a process that took weeks and weeks. We then saw a demo of how maple sugar is made today. After that we got samples and bought some maple candy. Kevin kept begging me for more maple candy and we both finished the box quickly. He later told me that I shouldn't give him so much sugar!

We ran into some folks from Lynn's side of the family while we were down there - her brother-in-law's parents Tom and Ruth. Their daughter and son-in-law, Amanda and Sean, live right near where we were and were coming down for a walk anyway so we hung around to see them and their new baby Mackenzie.

From here we took a ride to nearby Upton State Forest. I wanted to check it out because it was a CCC camp and they still have some CCC buildings up. One of the buildings collapsed during the winter and it was sad to see it destroyed. But there were about 3 other buildings. I didn't get out of the car, I just wanted to see them. I am very interstesd in the CCC and hope to go down again in the summer.

Then finally we all headed to Constitution Beach in East Boston for the monthly roasting marhsmallows on the beach. The DCR does this every month at a different beach in the Boston area. Last month we went to the one in Lynn/Nahant. This was a really nice beach - all new bathroooms, an awesome playground, a boardwalk...and it's directly across from the airport. It was so cool being so close seeing the planes taking off. Even better for Kevin, the blue line runs parallel to the beach so he saw a ton of trains. We are definitely going back here in the summer.

We stopped at my parent's house to feed the kids and to get them into their PJ's. We were back home around 10pm and I was dead asleep in less than an hour. I was up early to be on the radio from 6am-8am so it was a long but awesome day.

Into the woods

2011-03-08T06:45:00.002-05:00

This weekend was my long awaited camping trip with Kevin and my friends Dan and Bill in the Mohawk Trail State Forest in the Berkshires. Camping of course is a relative term - we stayed in a cabin but it was very rustic.

I met Dan at my parent's house in Melrose around 3pm on Friday and then got Kevin who was with my parents at a local restaurant. We then headed west on Route 2. We stopped for groceries and dinner in Greenfield, about 20 miles from the forest and arrived at the forest around 6:30pm or so. Let me tell you, it was dark. The Mohawk Trail State Forest is in the middle of no where on Route 2 with very few stores within driving distance. It's so dark I initially drove right by the entrance. Once we got into the forest, I wasn't sure where the cabins were and there was NO ONE around. There was a headquarters but no rangers. We saw some lights up a hill and drove up there and found our cabin but we needed a key. Luckily I found some fellow campers and they told us where to find the key (hanging outside the headquarters).

Using the light from my cell phone, I was able to find the keyhole and the lights inside the cabin...BRRRRRRR. It was so cold inside, about 30 degrees cold. Thankfully they left three bundles of firewood in the cabin but it took Dan a long time to get it started (it wasn't his fault, everything was just so cold it wouldn't heat up fast and we didn't have a lot of kindling). Eventually it got going but it stayed pretty cold throughout the night. Meanwhile, Bill was having a hard time finding the place and there was no cell coverage so I couldn't help him. I went out looking for him as we were able to get some texts through so I knew he was in the area. As I was out driving, he texted me that he had found the cabin. Phew. When I got back, I noticed Kevin was pretty cold so I put him in his PJ's and just laid next to him so he could warm up with my body heat. We both fell asleep soon thereafter.

I didn't sleep all that well and kept on waking up. Plus, the fire had gone out and I had to go to the bathroom but it was too cold to get up! We all began to wake up around 7am (well, Kevin woke up and got us all up) and I went out looking for more firewood. You have to buy the wood from the park ranger but he wasn't around. But we were freezing and needed something, anything. But there are no stores around so I couldn't find anything. By the time I got back to the forest, the ranger was there and I was able to get some wood. Dan and Bill had that thing roaring quickly and the cabin was warm the rest of the weekend.

Bill had brought some cooking stuff so Dan made coffee and we all had some muffins for breakfast. We then headed out for a little hike in the forest. The snow was still pretty compact but we (especially me) kept falling through it which made it a little frustrating after a while. Kevin was doing really well and seemed to be enjoying himself. We eventually made it into a clearing which, I assume, is a big open field in the summer. Kevin was getting tired and I was up to my knees in snow so we stopped while Bill and Dan went ahead. Dan came running back about 10 minutes later waving his hands saying "Go, go, there is a wolf or something back there." Now I know Dan and I knew he was messing with me but he was pretty convincing. Bill too came running like hell and did an Academy Award winning performance, constantly looking back, acting scared, etc. After a few minutes of running they fessed up. The whole time I knew it was a joke but with Kevin there I wasn't taking chances!

The way back was a little tougher as we had to walk up some hills but we made it. Once back to the cabin we had some lunch and then took a ride to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge and then to downtown Stockbridge for some coffee and cake. That evening Dan made a delicious dinner of steak, potatoes, and carrots on the hibachi. Bill had to leave that evening so after he left, we took Kevin for a car ride to get him to fall asleep. Dan and I then played some cards until we went to bed around 11:30.

The next day was packing up and cleaning and we were off by 8:30am. We stopped at two breakfast places but the first had a 45 minute wait and the second only took cash. Luckily we found another place that was more of a farm store but that also served hot breakfast. After we ate we were on our way.

It was a wonderful trip and it made me want to learn more about the forest. I guess it's stunning in the summer so I want to make it back there after the snow. I am not sure I would stay in the cabins in the winter again, at least with Kevin. It was a great experience though and I cannot wait to do more things like that in the summer.

Look in the mirror

2011-02-28T19:37:00.002-05:00

Today President Obama said that public workers should not have "their rights infringed upon", an obvious reference to the proposal in Wisconsin to eliminate collective bargaining. So, Mr. Obama, I guess we should expect a proposal from you to help federal workers by restoring their right to collective bargaining?

I didn't think so.

Typical double speak by a Democrat.

No, really?

2011-02-28T17:26:00.002-05:00

So Ted Kennedy rented out a brothel in Chile in 1961? You could have knocked me over with a feather!

Darn good vacation

2011-02-27T20:20:00.004-05:00

Alas, February Vacation has come to a close...and I have so much work that I didn't do! I should have corrected a ton of papers and planned a bunch of lessons but I didn't do a lick of work this 1week. Instead, I had a lot of fun with the kids.

On Wednesday I took them out to Bradley Palmer State Park in Topsfield for a snowman making event. The snow was too hard to make round ones so they made square ones. The rangers made a HUGE circle on a patch of snow and outlined it with the snowmen. There must have been 100 or so. Kevin was into it for a bit but quickly got distracted. So, we went for a walk in the carriage around the park. We came back when they were finishing up so we admired the snowmen, had some hot chocolate, and roasted a marshmallow and were on our way.

On Thursday I was going to take them to a talk on beach birds on Revere Beach but we got going too late. So we went to my sister-in-laws in Melrose instead so Kevin and Erin could play with their cousins Shannon and Keegan. We stayed there for a few hours and because it was a nice day, we still took a ride to Revere Beach and went for a brisk walk. I parked at the far end of the beach (the end heading towards Lynn) and walked up to Kelly's and then back. We then took a ride to Lynn/Nahant Beach because the last time we were there, I couldn't find the stamp box for Kevin's passport. Even in the daylight I couldn't find it so I reported it to the DCR! I reported a missing one at the state park in Lowell last summer and they put a new one up right away.

On Friday I met up with my sister-in-law again at Imajine (sic) That in Lawrence, a big indoor play place. The kids love this place and Erin is now old enough to enjoy it. She had a blast climbing their tunnel thing and going down the slide. We actually stayed here for four hours until it was time for Erin's 1-year check-up. She passed with flying colors! The doctor said she was perfect and for us to keep doing what we're doing. From there we went to my parent's house for Erin's birthday party. Our condo is too small to host big parties so my parents graciously offered their place. My father made his world famous pizza which was a big hit.

And yesterday topped it all off. I took Kevin into Boston for a ride to George's Island. I've only been to the Boston Harbor Islands once before and that was with Lynn in 2003 or so. George's Island was primarily a military site, most famously a prison during the Civil War. Among the prisoners was Alexander Stephens, the former vice president of the Confederacy. That blew my mind. Lynn dropped us off in Boston and the boat ride was about 20 minutes. Once on the island, we looked around the visitor's center which had cool exhibits and an 8-minute movie about the island. The movie was very well done, much better than your usual National Park fare. Kevin actually sat through the whole thing. We then toured the island and the fort. You could walk on top of the fort and get amazing views of Boston and the surrounding islands. It was pretty cold and windy and it wasn't unbearable. The thing that was unbearable was Kevin asking me to carry him all the time! We were on the island for about 2 hours and the "cannon" shot around 1:30pm calling us back to the boat.

Someone told me on the boat that Sullivan's at Castle Island was opening that day so when Lynn picked us up, I suggested we head over there. The line was out the door and straight down to the street. But the service at Sullivan's is super fast so I was only in line for about 15 minutes. We ate our food by the water and then played for a bit on the playground. We headed home around 3:45pm and went to our church for an event. Last night they began a series of monthly dinners and talks on parenting led by a woman from Lowell General Hospital. Between now and May from 5pm-7pm on the last Saturday of the month, the parish provides a free meal, free babysitting, and the free talk! Most of our friends were there and it was a pretty free ranging discussion, it was a lot of fun. The kids were in and out of the babysitting room running in and out but of course no one minded.

Sorry to see it all end but there will be more fun this weekend as Kevin, my friends Bill and Dan, and I head to the Berkshires for some camping!

More Democratic hypocrisy

2011-02-23T15:41:00.005-05:00

No one has ever accused the Democrats of being consistent. Within seconds of the shootings in Tucson, Democrats were falling over themselves calling for "civility" and an end to "hateful political speech." Sarah Palin was seen as the second coming of Adolf Hitler for her "rhetoric" and some even blamed her for the violence.

Now, we have Rep. Michael Capuano telling union workers "Every once in a while you need to get out on the streets and get a little bloody when necessary.”

What a hypocrite this guy is. After Tucson he said:

“Everybody knows the last couple of years there’s been an intentional increase in the degree of heat in political discourse,” he said. “If nothing else good comes out of this, I’m hoping it causes people to reconsider how they deal with things."

Surprised? Not me.

Obama wimping out

2011-02-23T09:15:00.002-05:00

Amazing column from the National Jounral on President Obama settling for the status quo and the same old same old rather than hope and change. See it all here but below is a taste:

President Obama has chosen to play the political equivalent of the prevent defense as his reelection campaign approaches by deferring tough decisions on entitlements.

His budget made no attempt to change the Medicare and Social Security programs, and barely made a dent in spending cuts.

His agreement to extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts in last year’s lame-duck session has been followed by an embrace of the protesters in Wisconsin, both of which are off key in an economic situation that demands sacrifice from all.

Obama said in his State of the Union address that he wants to “win the future,” but his policies remain stuck in a 20th-century mindset defending a strained government entitlement system and public-sector unions.

His own message was clear: Wait for Republicans to take the initiative, at their own political peril. And that they did. The contrast between the White House and GOP messages couldn’t have been more at odds with each other last week—one that is poised to set the tone for the 2012 presidential election.

SNIP

So the stakes in Wisconsin are high. Obama can’t win reelection in the Rust Belt by just winning over his labor allies and liberal activists. He needs to win back the independents that deserted his party in the last midterms.

It was very telling that the Democratic National Committee initially boasted of its work sending volunteers to protest in Wisconsin last week—with Organizing For America in Wisconsin ginning up the troops—and then, one day later, said they did nothing to encourage the demonstrations.

There was also the president’s own engagement, calling Walker’s plan an “assault on unions” to a Wisconsin reporter before radio silence descended on the subject ever since.

It’s a sign of the tricky balance the White House faces. The administration is keeping its fingers crossed, hoping the public believes Walker overreached in his desire to contain the unions’ influence. But Obama runs the greater risk of looking tone deaf by accepting the status quo of public sector workers’ benefits at a time when states are struggling to balance budgets and unemployment remains high.

That’s not a formula for winning back the center.

Public sector thuggery

2011-02-23T08:51:00.002-05:00

Michael Graham of 96.9 braved the 1,000 public sector workers (why weren't they working) at the protest on Beacon Hill yesterday. See his experience here but below is a taste:

What I found most significant was how little effort was spent on argument and persuasion. I don’t mean arguing with people like me. I mean there were virtually no signs making the case for public-sector unionization, or refuting the arguments that people like Gov. Walker are making.

The same with the speakers, like Gov. Patrick and Congressman Capuano. At a Tea Party rally, you hear speakers saying “ObamaCare stinks, and here’s why.” At this rally, all I heard was “Unions rule, and here’s what we’re going to do to anyone who doesn’t like it.”

Pure, brute political force. And in Massachusetts, that’s all that matters. Government union members showed up at Beacon Hill yesterday, not to make their case, but to make a threat.

“Politicians—do what you’re told. Or else.”

Washington's Birthday at State Parks

2011-02-21T17:09:00.003-05:00

So I couldn't convince Lynn to celebrate Washington's Birthday by checking out some Revolutionary War sites in Boston (BTW - we did get engaged at one, Dorchester Heights). So instead we decided to check out some state parks (gee, what a shock).

There was a program at Dunn Park in Gardner that we wanted to check out. It was a nature walk discovering the signs of spring. That wasn't until 2pm but the kids were going crazy and we knew we had to get out early. So we decided to leave around 10am and check out some additional parks before Dunn. Our first stop was Lake Dennison Recreation Area in Winchendon. There wasn't much to see as this is mostly a beach area. During the winter it seems the only thing to do is snowmobiling. The most exciting part of this park was standing outside the car with Lynn and then turning around to see her laid out flat on her stomach. She slipped on a huge patch of ice as soon as she got out of the car. I expressed my concern for a minute before breaking out in laughter. Kevin scolded me saying I shouldn't laugh at mommy as "it hurts her feelings." But it was just too funny to hear her get out of the car and then turn around and see her laid out flat.

I would get my comeuppance at our next park, Otter River State Forest which is right down the road from Lake Dennison in Baldwinville. This park is pretty desolate this time of year and we were the only people there. We just walked down a long road that leads to the campground area and, I assume, Otter River. It was a complete sheet of ice covered in snow - I fell about 3 or 4 times and Kevin fell just as many. Lynn was pushing Erin in the carriage so she was able to keep her balance. We walked about 1/4 mile in and found the stamp box and headed back. It was a nice, brisk walk.

From there we made it to Dunn State Park for the 2pm program. We got there early so we ate lunch in their visitors center which is warmed by a fire place. Kevin and I spent some time on the ice until he fell and bumped his head! The kids weren't really into the talk but we did spend some time on the hike. It was getting cold and Kevin was just playing in the snow so it was time to go. It was nice, however, spending a good deal of time outside enjoying the crisp air.

I think we're going to do a bunch more parks this week. I really want to be outdoors as I've been inside too long. Tomorrow I think we will stay local and head to Harold Parker State Forest in North Andover for some "winter fun." On Thursday I have to decide between snowshoeing in Weymouth or learning about birds on Revere Beach. Hmmmm.

Day with the boy

2011-02-20T20:22:00.003-05:00

Had a wonderful day with Kevin today. We both went to the 10am Mass where he was relatively well behaved. He would only go downstairs for the kid's liturgy of the word if I went with him and carried him down. I refused to carry him downstairs so we just went back to our pew where he let me hold him for a good 10 minutes or so. After Mass, however, he ran like hell downstairs to make sure he got a donut. I always feel like a slob being the first one there so I always let him run ahead and I walk slow so I don't look like I am hurrying too!

It was nice chatting with folks who all have kids around the same age as Kevin. There are about five of us couples who are friendly, are around the same age, and who have kids. We all go to the 10am Mass and often catch up at coffee and donuts.

After Mass Kevin and I headed West to Holyoke. Our first stop was the Holyoke Heritage State Park. The highlight here is a merry go round that is over 80 years old. I get the impression that it was part of a local amusement park that closed and is now part of the state park. It actually moved pretty fast for a merry go round - we went on it twice. I didn't have any cash and you could only use your debit card if you spent $10. Kevin had his heart set on some popcorn so I bought $9 in snacks, spent $2 for the ride, and $1 for the popcorn. The snacks will come in handy over the week.

After this, we headed over to Mt. Tom, also in Holyoke. There was supposed to be a talk/hike on discovering signs of spring but it turns out that it is next week. I am not going crazy - it is listed as today on the DCR calendar so they made the error. It wasn't a big deal - Kevin had fun walking on Lake Bray, part of the state park. After last week's ice skating fiasco at a real rink, it was fun to be out on ice on sneakers. Kevin loved it and we could have spent hours just walking around.

Since I now had time, I decided to check out one more state park. I discovered that the Norwottuck Rail Trail was nearby so we went there. This is a 10 mile trail than spans the Connecticut River over an old train bridge. The bridge is 1,492 feet long and Kevin loved it. We walked across the bridge and Kevin spent time on the other side poking holes into the snow. The little things in life...

The trail is part of the Connecticut River Greenway - a span of a number of parks from the border with Vermont/New Hampshire to Connecticut. We visited one of them last year - Mt. Sugarloaf which has AMAZING views of the river valley.

This took us to about 4:30 and most parks are closed by this point so we headed home. It was an awesome day to be outside - cold yet crisp. I certainly want to check out more of Mt. Tom, perhaps even climb it.

Heading to Holyoke

2011-02-20T07:57:00.002-05:00

I have spoken of the DCR's passport program a number of times. In sum, you visit a certain number of state parks in a region and collect a stamp from each one. Once you visit all of the ones that are part of the program, you get a free t-shirt. Kevin got one for the Northeast Region earlier this fall.

Now during February Vacation week, if you visit five of the parks in a region during this week you get the t-shirt! So Kevin and I are going to head out to Holyoke today to visit a couple. Why Holyoke? Mt. Tom, which is one of the passport parks, is having an event at 3pm where they look for signs of spring. Sounds cool to me. Before that we'll go to Holyoke Heritage State Park where they have a merry go round. We may try to see one more but I am not sure we'll have time.

Pictures to follow on Facebook.

February Vacation!

2011-02-19T20:38:00.002-05:00

February vacation began yesterday at 1pm! Actually, my last class ended at 12:30 or so and I did have a meeting until 2:15. But, it was a lunch meeting so it was all good. I had to leave and take Erin for her one-year check-up. I met my parents as usual and made it to the doctor's office with a few minutes to spare...only to find out that her appointment is next week!

Today was a relatively quiet day. Both Lynn and I needed oil changes on our cars so I went down first to Blanchette's. Blanchette's is owned by a parishioner of our parish who is also one of the parish cantors. They only do oil changes on Saturdays so it's pretty busy and the wait can be well over an hour. But I like to support a fellow parishioner. Plus, he has free coffee and donuts! Lynn came down about an hour after I was there to drop her car off. We then took a ride to the library for a bit. Kevin was spoken to from the librarian about running and being loud...in the children's room. I will concede he shouldn't run but being loud?? It's not like he was screaming.

This afternoon we took a ride to Boston to see Lynn's mother who is at the Faulkner Hospital for a minor illness. After our visit we headed home but stopped at a used book store in Salem, NH. We then decided to get some pizza at Sal's, also in Salem.

I am not sure what tomorrow has in store. Walden Pond is having a neat event about identifying animal tracks - we may check that out. It should be a big week for State Parks - I will keep you posted!

Family weekend

2011-02-14T09:04:00.002-05:00

It was a nice weekend with different segments of my family. My parents hosted a birthday party for me and my mother on Friday. My birthday is the 11th and hers is the 4th so we just usually combine our celebrations. It was small - just my parents, my sister, Lynn, Kevin, Erin, and my uncle Johnny. We got Chinese food and had an amazing cake from Market Basket.

On Saturday night, as I mentioned earlier, we all went to Lynn/Nahant beach for marshmallows and hot chocolate. On Sunday we all went to the 11:30am Mass together. We just started going together again a few weeks ago as Kevin is getting better behaving. Actually, it's now Erin who is getting to be a lot of work! She just wants to move and move and move. Gone are the days where she would just let us hold her. We usually go to the 10am Mass and during the readings and homily, all the kids go downstairs for activities. Kevin will only go if Lynn goes with him - someday he will go alone!

I was nervous going to the 11:30am Mass as they don't have the kids' thing but lo and behold, they did this weekend! Our parish has this program called Generations of Faith where every few months they have a meal and talks on various topics. They are designed for all ages with meals and Mass shared together and then breaking up into age specific activities. This recent one was after the 11:30am Mass so they moved the kids' thing to that Mass. So Lynn and Kevin went downstairs for it.

After Mass we headed to a DCR skating rink in Brighton for an open skate. Now I haven't been ice skating in about 20 years (if not more) and Lynn hasn't been in 10. What were we thinking?? I went first with Kevin and he was terrified. I decided to go alone and it was just horrible. All I did was hold on to to the boards. The problem was my skates were too loose - they have to be tied very tight. My ankles killed as a result and I looked like a fool. Lynn took a try too and she looked just like me. $10 down the tubes for skate rentals!

After this, we took the long way home. Kevin loves Boston so we decided to take a little ride through it. We drove up Beacon Street in Brookline, onto Commonwealth Ave, up Beacon Street past the State House, through Downtown Crossing, past Faneuil Hall and then onto 93.

We stopped at Toys r Us in Salem, NH as Lynn had a store credit and they had a buy one get one free sale! I think I had more fun than Kevin looking at all the toys.

All in all, a fun weekend.

Today's agenda

2011-02-13T08:50:00.002-05:00

I've got cabin fever bad and am always looking for things to do. So after Mass, later this afternoon we're all going to Brighton for an event at the Reilly Memorial Skating Rink. They're having outdoor hikes around (I assume) the reservation there and ice skating. They also said they'll have DCR Park Passport Discovery Program, whatever that means.

Sounds fun to me.

By the fire

2011-02-13T08:15:00.003-05:00

Every month during the winter, the DCR has a campfire at one of the North Shore beaches for roasting marshmallows. We missed the first two and we wanted to go last night. So we packed up the kids and headed down to Lynn/Nahant Beach.

Lynn is not easy to get to and I had no idea where I was going (thank goodness for the GPS). But we got there no problem and arrived a little after 6pm. It was pretty darn cold as you would expect (windy) but the fire kept us warm. People were huddled on one side of the fire as the wind on the other side was blowing the smoke in your face. Poor Kevin didn't have mittens but he did pack away a good number of marshmallows (I did too!) and some hot choclate. We stayed for about a half hour or so as that was enough.

This state park is a Passport park but I could not find the stamp box. We drove around twice looking for it to no avail. Next time.

After we left, we wanted pizza so we headed to Pisa Pizza in Malden. My father makes pizza on occasion and he gets the dough from this place. Lynn's brother-in-law piratically lives there, he loves their pizza so much. It is good, I've had it a number of times too. The kids were pretty good and Erin knocked back some meatballs and pizza - she has quite the appetite.

It was nice to get outside even though it was pretty cold. I can still smell the fire on my clothes, such a good smell!

All quiet

2011-02-09T13:20:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the lag folks. Life has been pretty quiet lately but work has been keeping me busy. We started our second semester a few weeks ago but it's been stop and go because of the March for Life (which over 100 of our students attended) and the snow. This has been a quasi-normal week with only a delay so far. It looks clear for the foreseeable future. Luckily we have about 8 days built into our schedule so we should be OK.

We're now in that time of year when weekends are so boring, especially Sundays. It's too cold to go outside and there's not a whole lot of indoor activities, especially for kids. There is an outdoor and fishing exhibition this weekend in Worcester - I am considering taking Kevin on Saturday. I am not much of an outdoorsman but we are going camping in March and I'd like to do more of it over time. So maybe I will learn something. Since I am big into state parks and hiking too, it would be interesting to learn about some hiking stuff.

On Saturday night we're going to Nahant for the monthly campfire and marshmellows on the beach. The DCR holds them once a month in the winter on a beach but we've missed the last two. I am looking forward to this one.

Last one standing

2011-02-01T18:07:00.001-05:00

Pretty cool story on the final American World War I veteran. He turned 110 today! See the story here.

Kerry on Mubarak

2011-02-01T12:43:00.003-05:00

For once I agree with Sen. John Kerry. Today he called for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to "step aside."

Agreed. The United States needs to be on the right side of history here. It is so amazing to see the people protesting in Egypt. They can't see or hear us thanks to the government shutting off the internet but we see and hear them. You can't stop freedom.

See the story here.

Train show galore

2011-01-30T08:06:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I took Kevin out to West Springfield for the annual train show at the Big E (here is my account of our trip to this show last year). This is an enormous show which takes up four buildings on the property. It is made up of collectors, running model trains, hobby shops, etc. We got there around 12:15 or so and I immediately sought out my friend Jay and his wife Pam. They are very active with the Berkshire Scenic Railroad Museum in Lenox and they had a display at the shop. Luckily there was a program book saying where every vendor was so I found them right away. I went to college with Jay and have stayed good friends with him through the years but I don't get to see him as much since he lives in the Berkshires. Jay is a train addict and he just got a job working for Amtrak out of Albany so he is in his glory.

I spent about 10 minutes chatting with Jay as Pam brought Kevin around and showed him some things. We then went on to check out the rest of the exhibits. Kevin spent time playing in the kid's area, we took a ride on a kid's train, and we just walked around taking in the sights. The show is so big it can be very overwhelming for kids but Kevin was pretty good. We stayed until 3:30 or so and then headed out.

We were near some state parks so I thought we'd go see some but they were already both closed to cars for the day: Robinson State Park in Agawam and Chicopee Memorial State Park in Chicopee. So we headed back on the Mass Pike but to go to Boston. We were meeting up with Lynn and her family for dinner at Doyle's in Jamaica Plain. A good way to end a good day but I was so tired when I got home. Between being with Kevin all day, driving all over creation, etc. I fell asleep very easily around 11pm.

Obama and abortion

2011-01-23T12:25:00.002-05:00

Today President Obama affirmed his belief in a woman's right to destroy human life in her womb. He said:

Today marks the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that protects women's health and reproductive freedom, and affirms a fundamental principle: that government should not intrude on private family matters.

I am committed to protecting this constitutional right. I also remain committed to policies, initiatives, and programs that help prevent unintended pregnancies, support pregnant women and mothers, encourage healthy relationships, and promote adoption.

And on this anniversary, I hope that we will recommit ourselves more broadly to ensuring that our daughters have the same rights, the same freedoms, and the same opportunities as our sons to fulfill their dreams.

He doesn't believe that government should intrude on private family matters? News to me.

DeLeo = Hack

2011-01-23T12:14:00.003-05:00

Despite his rhetoric as of late (which sounds more like a death bed conversion) Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo has been exposed as just another Beacon Hill hack who exists solely to get his family, friends, and donors jobs with the state, namely the Probation Department. The agency's reward for hiring DeLeo's flunkies? A huge budget increase while DeLeo was chair of the Ways and Means Committee.

The Globe reports today that under DeLeo's chairmanship, the budget for the Probation Department received MORE than it requested! This is because DeLeo had 12 friends and family hired in the agency (as well as other state agencies).

I loved this part:

DeLeo faced no opposition in his bid for a second term as speaker this month, and members did not openly question his plan to end patronage in Massachusetts government. But one ex-legislator who lost his reelection bid in November said many of his former colleagues are puzzled by DeLeo’s new emphasis on reforming Probation.

“It certainly has raised eyebrows,’’ said former Representative Matt Patrick, a Falmouth Democrat. “He’s claiming he didn’t know what was up [at the Probation Department]. It just raises questions: How is that possible?’’

Don't blame me. I voted Republican in 2010. Don't say we didn't warn you.

See the great Globe article here.

Trip to the brewery

2011-01-23T09:04:00.002-05:00

We had a snow day on Friday and I left the house once...for 2 minutes...to just move my car so the plow could clear out our spots. I didn't even change or take a shower. Yup.

So on Saturday I was determined to get outside and do something, anything. I searched high and low for something fun to do but couldn't find anything. It was too cold and snowy to hit a state park and I didn't want want to go to any kid's place. I also wanted to take a ride somewhere, anywhere. So we decided to check out the Wachusett Brewery in Westminster, a few miles down the road from Wachusett Mountain.

I've actually driven by the brewery before...literally. You would never know it was a brewery, it's just an office park type building. I had my GPS and I was wondering where it was. This was last summer and I decided not to go in as I had the kids and I wasn't sure there was much to see or do.

Anyway, we got there around 3:15 and had plenty of time until the 4pm tour. We took a ride over to the mountain where Lynn ran in to the visitor's center to look around (I've been there before) and then looked at all the skiers and snowboarders at the ski area. We headed back to the brewery where you could hang out in the waiting room, eat some pretzels, and try a sample. I tried the Green Monsta and Lynn had the Winter Lager, both which weren't bad. As we headed into the tour area, the guide stopped us and said, "Before you go in I need you to know that if your kids make noise, it's OK, that's what kids do." That was nice of him.

He actually had Kevin be his helper, holding up some things to show people. The tour was about a half hour. I couldn't really pay much attention as we had the kids but it was neat to see all the contraptions. After the tour we had another sample (I had the Quinn which was great and Lynn had the Larry).

I am not much of a beer expert or anything. I was more interested in learning about a local business and hearing about them thrive. Take a ride out sometime - they're off exit 25 off of Rt. 2.

Looking out for the Kennedy's

2011-01-23T08:33:00.004-05:00

When I first began teaching AP US History, I had my students read "Thirteen Days" by Robert Kennedy. The book recounts the Cuban Missile Crisis and portrays the Kennedy's as firmly in control and as strong negotiators. I asked my students if the fact that the book was written during the height of the Vietnam War tarnished the veracity of the book at all. That is, was Kennedy trying to portray himself as the anti-Johnson, someone who could solve problems by talking and not fighting?

Looks like my premise may be right as today's Boston Globe reports that the Kennedy family is blocking the release of Kennedy's papers from his time as Attorney General. As the article points out:

Some historians attribute the family’s guarded attitude to a desire to protect Robert Kennedy’s image as a champion of civil rights and social programs, and a man who emerged, in the years after his brother’s assassination, as a strong opponent of the Vietnam War. The boxes, they say, may contain evidence of Robert Kennedy the ruthless anticommunist who broke laws in the quest to take out Cuba’s leader, and perhaps other abuses of power.

Kennedy's son Max, who controls access to the papers, told the Globe:

“There are many requests to see them, and frankly, many of those requests come from people with poorly-conceived projects. It is my responsibility, as custodian of the papers, to grant use responsibly,’’ Max Kennedy wrote in an e-mail. “That does not mean that every book must be cloyingly positive; I do not think that for a moment, and I would be doing a disservice to my father if I acted that way. But I do believe that historians and journalists must do their homework, and observe the correct procedures for seeking permission to consult the papers, and explain their projects.’’

Please. Just another example of the Kennedy's trying to protect their fake, manufactured image.

Looking out for nobody

2011-01-21T18:23:00.004-05:00

Once again, the buffoons we call the Massachusetts Legislature proved they are nothing more than hacks who look out for themselves and who could care less for the taxpayers and transparency. Just weeks after giving the three felonious former Speakers of the House standing ovations, the House of Representatives voted no on:

1. Requiring roll call votes on tax increases
2. Posting committee votes on-line
3. Eliminating the useless and unnecessary position of Speaker pro tempore

These people are so corrupt, I can't take it anymore. I have no use for anyone who voted no on these three measures. I doubt there is even a roll call vote on these. Considering the House and Senate haven't even posted a single Journal for the year, I am not holding my breath.

Blessed Pope John Paul II...to be

2011-01-12T09:27:00.002-05:00

Rocco over at Whispers in the Loggia is reporting that Pope John Paul II will be beatified, perhaps as early as October! The last step is for Pope Benedict XVI to accept the findings and that will be that!

I remember there was speculation that Benedict would bypass the entire process and declare John Paul a saint at World Youth Day in 2005. I was at that event and as we listened to his homily it sounded like he was going to do it. I kept on looking at my friend's Bill and Andrew an we were all thinking the same thing. Imagine if he did that? The place would have erupted. Alas.

Anyway, see the story here but below is a taste:

Thanks in part to the waiving of the traditional "five-year rule" to open the cause on the part of the then newly-elected Benedict XVI, the process bringing the church's greatest saintmaker in history to the penultimate step to sainthood in his own right has reached the milestone with a speed matched by but one other figure: Mother Teresa of Calcutta -- of course, celebrated in life as a saint -- who was raised to the altars by John Paul six years after her 1997 death, but whose required miracle for canonization remains pending.

My man Norman

2011-01-10T08:03:00.003-05:00

Thanks to Mass Moments, we read that on this day in 1977, my favorite artist Norman Rockwell was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Ford. Ford said:

…. As we move from the Bicentennial Year into our third century, America must remain a place where men and women are encouraged to create, to innovate, to explore, and to set the very highest standards, whatever their vocation….

Artist, illustrator and author, Norman Rockwell has portrayed the American scene with unrivaled freshness and clarity. Insight, optimism and good humor are the hallmarks of his artistic style. His vivid and affectionate portraits of our country and ourselves have become a beloved part of the American tradition….

In closing, let me voice our country's deep gratitude and great appreciation, not only to you but to all those who helped you achieve what you accomplished. Each of you has friends, coworkers, teammates, families who share in your achievements and in our pride today….

See more here.

Some things never change

2011-01-09T21:17:00.002-05:00

Today's Lowell Sun has an article on the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's speech to the Massachusetts Legislature prior to being sworn-in as president. This part of the article cracked me up:

Kennedy's father Joseph feared his son might have used up all his best lines before his inaugural. In Ask Not: The Inauguration of John F. Kennedy and the Speech That Changed America," historian Thurston Clarke writes that a reporter said to Kennedy after his Boston speech, "Imagine wasting a speech like that on a bunch of clods when you must give an inaugural address in less than a week."

The legislature as a bunch of clods! The more things change...

What liberal media?

2011-01-09T20:41:00.002-05:00

Remember when Maj. Nidal Hasan allegedly killed 13 people at Ft. Hood in Texas? He is Muslim, was linked to Muslim extremists, and yelled "Allahu Akbar!" when he allegedly killed his victims. The media fell all over themselves saying we shouldn't "jump to conclusions" vis as vis Hasan and any Muslim extremism motivation.

Jump ahead to yesterday's rampage in Arizona and immediately the Right's "rhetoric" is blamed. Byron York has an amazing column on this topic here. Below is a taste:

"We can't jump to conclusions," Army Gen. George Casey said on CNN November 8. The next day, political analyst Mark Halperin urged a "transparent" investigation into the shootings "so the American people don't jump to conclusions." And when Republican Rep. Pete Hoekstra, then the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, suggested that the Ft. Hood attack was terrorism, CNN's John Roberts was quick to intervene. "Now, President Obama has asked people to be very cautious here and to not jump to conclusions," Roberts said to Hoekstra. "By saying that you believe this is an act of terror, are you jumping to a conclusion?"

Fast forward a little more than a year, to January 8, 2011. In Tucson, Arizona, a 22 year-old man named Jared Lee Loughner opened fire at a political event, gravely wounding Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, killing a federal judge and five others, and wounding 18. In the hours after the attack, little was known about Loughner beyond some bizarre and largely incomprehensible YouTube postings that, if anything, suggested he was mentally ill. Yet the network that had shown such caution in discussing the Ft. Hood shootings openly discussed the possibility that Loughner was inspired to violence by…Sarah Palin. Although there is no evidence that Loughner was in any way influenced by Palin, CNN was filled with speculation about the former Alaska governor.

Going camping

2011-01-09T08:43:00.002-05:00

I've been wanting to go camping in one of the cabins at a state park for some time. However, from Memorial Day to Labor Day you have to stay for 7 days and they're always booked months and months in advance. Some of the cabins are open year round, including at two state parks in the Berkshires. Surprisingly they're all booked up in weekends in January and February but there was an opening the first weekend of March at Mohawk Trail State Forest and I grabbed it.

I am going to take Kevin as well as my friend Bill and his future step-son Noah. This website has pictures of the park - go to the 59th picture titled Mohawk Trail State Forest Cabin 002 to see our cabin!

This should be amazing. It will still be cold and we won't be able to do a ton of hiking but I've wanted to stay in the Berkshires for a long time and this should be a great experience.

Day at church

2011-01-09T08:02:00.002-05:00

The other day I mentioned that I wanted to become more involved at my parish, Saint Francis, again. I was very involved when we moved to Dracut in 2005 but lately with the kids and school, I haven't been going there except for Sunday Mass. This year I want to do more.

So yesterday I went to the monthly Men's Breakfast. I've only been to the breakfast twice before - I always forget about it or I don't feel like getting up that early on a Saturday (it begins at 7:30am). I got there yesterday around 7:15am and a little while later we had a tasty breakfast of pancakes and sausages with coffee. After we all ate, the deacon, who runs the breakfast, gave a nice talk on lectio divina. I am pretty familiar with lectio as it's a monastic practice and I learned it while a student at the Benedictine run Saint Anselm College. We read the gospel for this Sunday over and over again and many of us had different takes...it was very helpful.

After it was over I chatted for a bit with the deacon and two other guys and then went to leave. On my way out I noticed a book on a table called "The Jesuit Guide to Nearly Everything" which was the book the parish book club was going to discuss after 9am Mass. I hadn't read the book but having gone to a Jesuit high school, I thought it may be interesting. It was too ironic - the Men's Group discussed something from my college days and now the book club was discussing something from my high school experience! I decided to stay for Mass and then the book discussion. I didn't have much to offer as I didn't read the book but it was nice to hear other people's thoughts.

Later that evening we all went back to the church for a spaghetti supper to benefit the kids who are going to the March for Life in a few weeks. It was a good crowd....so good that they ran out of spaghetti twice! We were in line the second time they ran out so I let Lynn and Kevin have the last helping. They made some more so all was well! Our friend Rebecca and her daughter Julia (aka Kevin's bud) went too (Rebecca's husband Dave had to work so couldn't join us). The kids had fun playing and running around, coloring, etc. Our pastor sat with us too. He just became our pastor back in June and I've only talked to him once or twice so it was nice to chat with him.

Today I will take Kevin to the 10am Mass (he does well with me for some reason) and we'll probably go to the coffee and donuts they have after Mass. All in all a good weekend at the ol' Church.

Two mirrors

2011-01-09T07:59:00.001-05:00

Yesterday's shooting in Arizona was horrible. But now everyone is blaming the heated political rhetoric on the right (i.e. Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, etc). I don't deny that they can be inflammatory but the left is just as bad. Now the Left is wringing their hands calling for a change in our political discourse. Hmmm, where were they during the presidency of George W. Bush when he was called a Nazi, Broadway plays about his assassination were in vogue, and the Senate Majority Leader referred to him as a "loser?"

Get yourselves a mirror.

Get thee to a history class

2011-01-06T18:35:00.002-05:00

So some guy is advocating that we abolish the United States Senate. One of his arguments to do so is:

Because senators represent states, and not people, it is one of our few political institutions that does not honor the principle that each citizen has equal political rights. In the Senate, some are more equal than others.

The people of Wyoming make up 0.2% of the population but have 2% of the senators. The people of California constitute 12% of the population but also have 2% of the senators. Residents of the District of Columbia have no senators at all. There is nothing fair or just about such a system. It’s a relic of history.

Um, yeah buddy that was the whole freakin point of the Great Compromise. The number of seats a state gets in the House of Representatives is based on population whereas each state gets 2 senators no matter how big or small.

Sigh.

Clueless

2011-01-06T17:39:00.002-05:00

President Obama praised outgoing Press Secretary Robert Gibbs for working for him for a "modest salary." Gibbs' modest salary? $172,000.

This is the same president who called those who make $200,000 rich.

Which way is it, Mr. President?

Get what you pay for Part IV

2011-01-06T17:22:00.002-05:00

For the second time in a year, a Democratic member of the Massachusetts Senate has been sentenced to prison. First it was former Sen. Anthony Galluccio who liked to drink and drive and now it is former Sen. Diane Wilkerson who has a bad habit of taking bribes and stuffing the cash in her bra. Wilkerson was sentenced today to 3 1/2 years in prison for corruption.

This comes on the heels of two convicted felons (former Speakers Flaherty and Finneran) and one soon to be felon (former Speaker DiMasi) getting a standing ovation from the pathetic legislature at yesterday's swearing-in ceremonies. It is also a few weeks after former Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner was sentenced for taking bribes.

What do all these people have in common? They all have D's after their names.

Don't blame me...

Get what you pay for Part III

2011-01-06T09:36:00.002-05:00

From Rep. Angelo Scaccia yesterday as he convened the House of Representatives on Beacon Hill:

“Protect your members,’’ Scaccia said. “Shield them, as much as possible, from the outside world. . . . This institution is being battered from all sides, within and without, and we have to follow that leader.’’

Shield them from the outside world? These people are insane and delusional.

Get what you pay for Part II

2011-01-05T23:06:00.002-05:00

Major unemployment. $1.5 billion budget deficit. The economy falling apart. And this is what our esteemed legislature feels the need to work on.

Get what you pay for

2011-01-05T22:57:00.003-05:00

So the state legislature was sworn in today. I guess by tradition, former Speakers of the House are invited back for the first day festivities. So in the midst of a Probation Department scandal, Parole Board problems, numbers of politicans going to jail, who was in the House of Representatives today? Convicted felons Tom Finneran and Charlie Flaherty and alleged felon Sal DiMasi. When they were introduced, the hacks gave them a standing ovation!

They just keep laughing and laughing at you people. They don't care about you nor about what you think. They just keep on scamming the people and doing whatever the hell they want. These people are so corrupt and devoid of any common sense.

Furthermore, when Speaker Robert DeLeo called for reform and an end to patronage and no new taxes, no Democrat applauded.

Don't blame me, I did not vote for a single Democrat in November.

PC run amok

2011-01-04T17:13:00.003-05:00

Now this is going too far. A new edition of "Huckleberry Finn" will not use the "n" word but rather replace it with "slave."

In other news, Michelangelo's "David" will soon be fitted with pants. Darth Vader's color will be changed to blue so as not to offend black people, and the Bible will have all sex scenes cut out.

Parish life

2011-01-03T17:53:00.002-05:00

We are undertaking some pretty exciting initiatives at my school and today the principal announced the changes to the faculty. Essentially, we are going to be introducing a service learning program in which every student will have to design some service project over the course of their four years. They will be assisted by faculty and staff in small group meetings.

I was part of the team that helped with the idea which came from our desire to build relationships and community in the school and to help the students develop their faith lives. It's no secret that fewer and fewer people are going to Mass and our students are no different. This will be an opportunity to reach them as, for many of them, we are the Church.

It makes me realize that we all crave community and relationships. How many of us know our neighbors? Take an active role in a community group? How many are invested in our parish? I've had a bigger desire to get more involved in my parish community. I was pretty involved when we first moved to town in 2005 but with 2 kids and a busy job, I've dropped off lately. But now I am making more of an effort to get involved in the community life. For example, we have a Men's Group that meets once a month for breakfast, fellowship, and Mass. I've been twice in the years we've had it but now I am going to make an effort to go every month. This Saturday our parish is having a spaghetti supper - I love those. Later this month we're having a dinner night with music from our parish show group, next month a ham and bean supper, and the following a Mardi Gras Monte Carlo night. The last one doesn't appeal to me a ton but I am glad they're doing it. Even though I may not go, it's nice to know it's going on.

Howie's predictions

2011-01-02T09:41:00.003-05:00

Howie Carr rings in the new year with some predictions for 2011. You can see them all here but below is a taste:

Like his predecessors Shannon O’Brien and Joe Malone before him, Typhoid Tim Cahill will spend hours wondering why he ever gave up the best job he could ever hope to have, state treasurer, to end his two-bit career in a kamikaze run for governor.

Many of these thoughts will occur to Tim as he’s working at his new job in the Dreaded Private Sector — raking leaves.

Best bet for legislative redistricting: Therese Murray, the Senate president, will see to it that the town of Sandwich is removed from her district, because that’s the home of a lot of Republicans, one in particular — Tom Keyes, the selectman who came thisclose to defeating her last November.

Best bet for Congressional “contraction” (as LeBron James would say): Barney Frank decides to retire, his district is dismembered, and none of the other posturing popinjays have to run against each other in a Democrat primary.

Second best bet: John Tierney decides to spend more time with his family.

Third best bet: The Legislature combines the western districts of John Olver and Richie Neal, because it makes the most sense, and is less likely to lead to anyone’s indictment in 2012.

More, more, more...

2011-01-02T08:56:00.003-05:00

While Gov. Patrick and state officials are calling for "shared sacrifice" remember it was the state legislature who accepted a pay raise last year. Now it looks like the legislature may get a pay decrease - but only by about 0.5%.

And the Globe and others are actually talking like this is a big deal. These people make over $60,000 a year, they get a per diem for driving to work, they get extra pay for leadership or committee chairmanships, etc, etc, etc. One clueless hack actually said this in the Globe article:

“Every year when it goes up, people are calling on you to give it back,’’ said state Senator Kenneth J. Donnelly, an Arlington Democrat. “If you gave it up [two years ago], are you going to get a rebate?’’

Who the hell voted for this guy?

Good hiking weather

2011-01-02T08:29:00.004-05:00

As I mentioned yesterday, we all went for a First Day Hike at Breakheart Reservation yesterday afternoon. Breakheart is on the Fellsway in Saugus right near Rt. 1. When I lived in Melrose, I must have driven by Breakheart a million times but I'd never been there until last summer - it is so nice there. They have a beautiful cabin-like visitor's center, walking trails, a pond, and a playground.

We got there around 11:45am and there was a good crowd already there, around 50 people. They had a number of different hikes you could take - we took the easy one which was just a paved loop around the property. I think it was about 2 miles in total with some hills so it made for an invigorating walk (I wouldn't call it a hike). Before we walked, we enjoyed some hot chocolate and sat by a fire. After the walk, they served free clam chowder from Kelly's Roast Beef.

Kevin was a trooper but I had to carry him on some parts. He would say at times, "This is hard for me." Erin was happy as ever in her carrier that was strapped to Lynn.

They had some flyers about other DCR events in the winter - walks along the Charles River in Boston, hot chocolate and roasted marshmallows on the beaches, etc. However I really want to take Kevin and spend a night or two in one of the cabins at either Savoy Mountain State Forest in Florida or Mohawk Trail State Forest in Charlemont. Lynn is reluctant to let me take Kevin this time of year but I think it would be awesome. We all hiked Savoy Mt. back in the fall - it is in the middle of nowhere and on a dirt road. Maybe I will wait until March when it's less wintry and desolate but the cabins seem to be in use every weekend so people do stay there, I won't be alone! I would probably ask my friend Bill to come along too - he's more of an experienced outdoorsman than me!

First Day Hike

2011-01-01T10:01:00.002-05:00

My sister Meaghan's birthday is December 29 and today we're having her birthday party at my parent's house in Melrose. Before we go, however, we're going to head to Breakheart Reservation in Saugus for a First Day Hike. 14 state parks are having special hikes today to mark the New Year. If we didn't have a party to go to, I would have gone to the hike at Purgatory Chasm in Sutton - that place is amazing. I took the kids there over the summer and LOVED it. It's so unique (as is its name).

I will post pictures to Facebook for those of you who are friends with me there.

Happy New Year!

Off to a good start

2011-01-01T09:55:00.002-05:00

It looks like the New Year is off to a good start with one less hack on the state payroll. Embattled Probation Commissioner John O'Brien resigned yesterday at 5:30pm (nice news dump time). The Probation Department has been riddled with scandal after it was revealed that the place was a dumping ground for hacks and relatives of legislators.

If there is any justice in the world, lots of people will be going to jail in the new year. Just remember voters of Massachusetts - you get what you vote for.

See the Globe article here.

Why I admire Bobby Hurley

2010-12-30T10:56:00.003-05:00

I never heard of Bobby Hurley until March when the movie about him and St. Anthony's School premiered on PBS. Frankly, I hadn't thought much of him since until I read the other day that his team was playing in Newton this week. But even though I just heard of him and haven't given him much thought until this week, I still greatly admire him for what he does for Catholic education. Yes, he is an amazing basketball coach but if he coached at a public school, frankly, I would not be as interested. He is committed to the school, not the team per se.

Case in point. I am reading the Adrian Wojnarowski book "The Miracle of St. Anthony" and I was just reading a section about a basketball clinic he was running. It said:

On his way out, the clinic organizer asked Hurley to whom to make out the check for his appearance fee.

Bob Hurley's answer never changed, becayse the money went where it always did.

"Saint Anthony High School," he said.

He's the real deal.

Seeing a legend

2010-12-30T08:56:00.003-05:00

Erin and I headed to the St. Anthony's-Catholic Memorial game at Newton North High School around 4pm yesterday and got there around 4:45. There was already a big crowd when we got there for the 5:30pm game and it only got more packed. Once the game was underway, there was hardly a seat in the house with hundreds of people standing in the back.

The St. Anthony team was very professional during warm-ups, doing drills, stretching, defensive drills, etc. CM, however, was just shooting around. The guy behind me asked his son which team was being more effective. His son asked, "What does effective mean?"

The game was surprisingly even in the first half with CM playing strong defense and St. Anthony's missing a ton of easy lay-ups and free throws. St. Anthony's had a small 6 point lead going into halftime. The half ended with St. Anthony's being called for two straight fouls - one offensive and then another on the next play on defense. Bobby Hurley was not happy and gave the refs a piece of his mind as they headed to the locker room. Everyone was watching him as he talked to the ref near center court.

St. Anthony's dominated the second half with CM unable to keep up. They were crisper with their shooting, they were hitting the easy shots, and they controlled the boards (they made three offensive rebounds on one set alone). CM was getting tired with St. Anthony's seeming to have more stamina. They also had more height and CM just couldn't match up with them. In the end, St. Anthony's won by over 20 points.

Like I said, the place was packed. In front of me were a bunch of students from CM. CM is in West Roxbury and is an all boys school (they're actually the rivals of my alma mater BC High). They were taunting the St. Anthony's team during the game which is par for the course (it reminded me of when I was in school). However, it was a little uncomfortable at times to see a group of white kids from a wealthy school in white West Roxbury taunting a group of black kids from a poor school in black Jersey City. They were fair weather fans anyways - they left after the third quarter.

Anyway, I am so glad I went. We saw some great basketball as well as a legend. I said to the kids behind me that they can always say they saw the best high school basketball coach in history. Me too.

Photo from Boston Herald article on the game. See it here.

Gender Reversal?

2010-12-29T09:11:00.002-05:00

Lynn happened to get four free tickets to today's Disney Princess on Ice show in Providence from someone at work. She is going to take her two nieces...and Kevin. Princess on Ice is not really for boys but he doesn't know the difference really yet. There will be plenty of boys there I am sure.

So I am going to take Erin with me to the St. Anthony's-Catholic Memorial basketball game in Newton. Kevin's going to a Princess show and Erin to a basketball game? Too funny. I would love for Erin to get a full sports scholarship to a Division I school so this may be the first start to that!

A Democrat I can finally agree with

2010-12-28T22:36:00.002-05:00

"My biggest beef is that this is part of what's happened in this country," [Pennsylvania Gov. Ed] Rendell said in an interview on 97.5 radio in Philly.

"I think we've become wussies. ... We've become a nation of wusses. The Chinese are kicking our butt in everything. If this was in China do you think the Chinese would have called off the game? People would have been marching down to the stadium, they would have walked and they would have been doing calculus on the way down."

- Gov. Ed Rendell after Sunday's Vikings-Eagles game was postponed due to snow

Hurley coming to Massachusetts

2010-12-28T22:22:00.002-05:00

Back in March I blogged about a school in Jersey City, NJ called Saint Anthony High School. The school is small (about 200 students), is housed in a building built in 1917, has little to no amenities, and is on the brink of closure every year. About the only thing keeping the school alive is its legendary basketball coach, Bobby Hurley. Hurley has coached at the school for over 30 years and has won over 900 games, over 20 state titles, and a handful of national titles. This past April he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, only the third high school coach in history.

Hurley's success on the court and his efforts to keep the school opened were documented in a book "The Miracle of St. Anthony" (which I picked up today at the library) and a movie "The Street Stops Here" (which I saw in March). As a Catholic school teacher, Hurley is an incredibly inspiring figure.

I was alone today so I decided to go out for breakfast after I went to the gym. I stopped at the store to pick up a Boston Globe (which I never do) so I would have something to read. I couldn't believe it when I read that Hurley's team is coming to Newton tomorrow to play Catholic Memorial in a tournament game! I would never have known if I didn't pick up the paper. Anyway, I am definitely going to the game. This guy is a legend and his team is amazing. I cannot wait.

See the Globe story here.

"First Family"

2010-12-27T23:42:00.002-05:00

My favorite American history writer is Joseph J. Ellis. He writes mostly about the Revolutionary/Founding Era with his most famous book being "Founding Brothers", a phenomenal book of five short stories from the Founding Era. I got it as a Secret Santa gift when I worked at Sun Life Financial and have read it about five times. I also assign it as summer reading for my AP US History class.

Ellis' newest book is "First Family", a look at the relationship between John and Abigail Adams. I was a little disappointed when I heard this was going to be his latest book as Adams has gotten a lot of play lately. Not only that, the Boston Globe gave the book a tepid review when it came out last month. Either way, I love all things Ellis writes and I asked for it for Christmas and got it.

I won't get a chance to read it for a bit but was excited to read that the New York Times gave it a positive review:

There have been numerous collections of John and Abigail’s wonderfully candid and witty letters, of course, and several biographies of Abigail, including Phyllis Lee Levin’s “Abigail Adams,” Edith Gelles’s “Portia: the World of Abigail Adams” and, most recently, Woody Holton’s “Abigail Adams.” But Mr. Ellis — the author of an astute 1993 portrait of John Adams (“Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams”), as well as of books on Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and other members of the Revolutionary generation — uses his easy familiarity with the era to invest his portrait of the couple with authoritative historical perspective. We may not learn anything appreciably new about the Adams family, per se, but in “First Family” Mr. Ellis employs his narrative gifts to draw a remarkably intimate portrait of John and Abigail’s marriage as it played out against the momentous events that marked the birth of a nation.

I'll let you know what I think when I get a chance. I can't wait to read it.

Shared sacrifice?

2010-12-27T23:13:00.002-05:00

There was a neat segment in Ken Burns' amazing documentary on World War II ("The War") that discussed the sacrifices Americans made during the war. From saving bacon grease, to rationing food, to recycling aluminum, to buying war bonds, to serving - everyone played some part in the war effort.

Today we're fighting two wars and there seems to be no real talk of shared sacrifice. In fact, when some politicians, including the recent Debt Commission, make suggestions about raising the retirement age or raising the gas tax, the proposals are DOA. Now, I am not about to advocate for massive tax increases but I have been thinking...part of the reason we have such massive deficits is because of the amount of money we're spending on the wars in the Middle East. By some estimates, we have spent well over $1 trillion on the wars since 2001.

I wonder if we're all doing our part to help pay down a deficit that is high in part because of the men and women fighting to protect us from harm. See more on this here.

Another book in the books

2010-12-27T09:56:00.002-05:00

I was able to read one of the books I got for Christmas in less than an hour! Impressed? Well, it was only 42 pages or so - Bill Bryson's "African Diary." I discovered Bryson earlier this year when my friend Dave Sullivan told me about his book "A Walk in the Woods." The book chronicles Bryson's hike of the Appalachian Trail. To say it's perhaps my favorite book is an understatement. The second I finished it, I wanted to read it again. It's just that good...and funny.

I decided to get all of Bryson's books - the subjects of which range from travel books, to science, to an autobiography, to a biography of William Shakespeare. I have been reading his book on Australia but with two kids and school, it's been tough to read much of it at a time. I got the last few that I didn't have as Christmas presents thanks to my parents, including the one on Africa. Bryson traveled to Kenya in 2002 for CARE and he donated all the royalties from the book to CARE. It was brief as I said but it whetted my appetite to learn more about Africa.

I have become more and more interested in Africa, especially since I am teaching a class on Comparative Government next semester and one of the countries we have to cover is Nigeria. I know so little about Africa (like most Americans) so I am reading and watching all that I can. I did take a class in graduate school on Colonial and Modern Africa which was quiet fascinating but I have so much more to learn.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T09:08:00.002-05:00

Another Christmas Day in the books. Of course the Christmas season extends until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (January 9 in 2011) so Merry Christmas to all.

As has become our custom, we all went to the 6pm Mass at our parish on Christmas Eve. In the past this Mass had been somewhat quiet but this year it was pretty packed (especially with many people I didn't recognize as is usual on Christmas and Easter!). Luckily our friends the Sullivans were there and sat behind us. It's always nice to see some familiar faces on Christmas Eve. Kevin was a handful of course but it was a lovely Mass. Afterwards he and his friend Julia Sullivan looked at the creche on the altar, took some pictures, and caused mayhem. Kevin brought Jesus a brownie for His birthday. Lynn told him to give it to Jesus (aka the creche statue outside) but he went running up to our pastor and said, "Here you go Jesus."

We got home around 7:30 and had a late dinner all around. Lynn and I make some seafood on Christmas Eve - shrimp, steamers, and scallops. It wasn't as formal this year as Erin was up late but it was still tasty. After dinner Lynn asked me to step out of the living room as she had to wrap my presents. I went into our bedroom where I unintentionally fell asleep right away. So that was that!

Christmas morning was presents galore. Kevin got some neat stuff as did Erin (thanks to Lynn). I got some kitchen stuff, the new Ina Garten cookbook, and a Massachusetts Trail Guide book from the Appalachian Mountain Club. We got to my parent's house in Melrose around 11:45am where there were even more presents. Kevin got a huge fire station from my sister Meaghan, some fire boots, a big truck, etc, etc. I got a bunch of books I asked for - namely all the Bill Bryson books that I don't own, Joseph J. Ellis' new book on John and Abigail Adams, and David McCullough's biography on Teddy Roosevelt. My sister also got me a pass to the Massachusetts state parks! That will get a lot of use.

There was a good crowd of people there, including Lynn's parents, some cousins of mine, and uncles. We headed over to Lynn's sister's house (also in Melrose) around 6:30pm and stayed there for a couple of hours. The kids were dead asleep shortly after we got back on the highway. I myself fell asleep on the couch around 10:45pm as we were watching "Elf" (love that movie). Today will be a quiet day with the approaching blizzard. I am going to Mass at 10am (I am going to take Kevin myself to see how he does alone with me) and that's about it. We have good sledding land here so there will be lots of that today! Enjoy.

Cash only

2010-12-24T10:14:00.003-05:00

I know, I know. Been a long time.

For the first time since before I had credit cards, I did not use my credit card once this Christmas shopping season. I was able to use the debit card for everything. In the past, I've dug myself a deeper and deeper credit card hole but spending a lot at Christmas and charging it all. This year I wised up.

Looks like a lot of people around the country are doing the same. See here.

I am going to try and be smarter with my credit card this upcoming year. I certainly don't use it a lot but every month, I charge $29.99 for my gym, $25 for the local paper ($15 plus $10 for a tip), and about $30 for Fast Lake (aka tolls). I can shift my gym membership to my checking account, move to the e-edition of my paper which is about $7, and not take the toll road to work. I only take the toll road (Rt. 3) if I am running late and on the two days when I have to pick the kids up from daycare in Lowell. By accident, on my way to pick the kids up the other day I spaced and missed the exit for Rt. 293 which takes me to Rt. 3. So I went another way (Rt. 93 to Rt. 495) which, I think, is about the same distance. I am going to measure it out sometime and if it is the same (or around the same) I am going that way for now on. That should save in the long run.

I was talking to a single parent from my school the other day who struggles mightily but still sent a number of kids through my school. It has not come without much sacrifice for this parent (they have no gas for example and have to use a toaster oven to cook). Now while I am not in that sort of situation at all it really put things into perspective for me. Kevin may be starting pre-K in the fall which won't be cheap. We want him to go to a Catholic school but even if he went to a public school, you still have to pay for pre-K. Tuition runs about $3,000 but then you have to pay for the after-school program (I would not be able to pick him up until 3:30 or so). So, we have to be smart financially. I am going to talk to our bank next week about refinancing our mortgage which may help in the long run too.

We shall see.

Free t-shirt!

2010-12-07T11:36:00.002-05:00

Last summer I discovered the DCR's Passport Program. I've talked about it before - essentially you visit a certain number of state parks in a region and you get a stamp in a passport book at each one. One you visit all of the parks in a particular region, you get a free t-shirt.

I took the kids to tons of state parks over the summer and on Veterans Day we visited the last two we needed for the Northeast Region - Cochituate State Park in Natick and Hopkinton State Park in Hopkinton. There are twelve participating state parks in the Northeast region, the furthest west being Willard Brook in Townsend, the furthest east being Halibut Point in Rockport. My favorite, however, was Walden Pond in Concord with Halibut a very close second. I think Kevin liked Walden too but more for the swimming (I like the history there).

Anyway, I took Kevin to the regional DCR office in Carlisle last night for his free t-shirt. As we got out of the car, a ranger was just pulling in and I told him to tell her he got all his stamps (I didn't want to be the one to ask for a free t-shirt). She was all excited and asked him if he wanted his t-shirt. She took us into the office where he got a shirt, a really nice tote bag with a picture of Walden Pond's stamp on it (like the ones you can get at supermarkets now), and a poster of all the park's stamps. The people were incredibly nice and were so excited that we took part. They said very few people take part in the program anymore. Kevin had fun pointing out his stamps to the people and telling them about his trips.

The t-shirt is kind of big (they gave him the smallest one they had) so he will have to grow into it. But, we hung up his poster in his room under the map of state parks and we will certainly use the bag. My next conquest will be either the Central or Western region. We only have a few more to visit in the Western region but it's so far away. There are a lot more parks in the Central region and it's much closer so I think we'll focus on those.

Holiday or??

2010-12-01T16:11:00.003-05:00

Boston Globe is reporting that Gov. Deval Patrick and Mayor Thomas Menino will attend the lighting of the menorah on Boston Common today. My question is, will they refer to it as the "Holiday" Menorah like they do the "Holiday" Tree?

Mr. K

2010-11-29T21:17:00.003-05:00

One of my biggest obsessions growing up was something called the Letter People. They were 26 blow-up dolls, each having to do with the letters of the alphabet. The consonants were male and the vowels were female (with Mr. Y looking somewhat androgynous). They each had a trait that corresponded to their letter. For example, Mr. B had was made up of "beautiful buttons", Mr. L was a "luscious lollipop", etc.

We had the Letter People in kindergarten with a new letter introduced each week. I LOVED them and always dreamed of owning them. I did own Mr. T and Mr. N for a bit but they were beat-up a little and I think I ended up throwing them away.

Now the Letter People are politically correct with the males and females being equally divided and some traits changed. Mr. D is no longer about "delightful donuts" but does a "dazzling dance." Mr. X is no longer "all mixed up" but "different." Ugh. They also changed the look of them. BORING.

Anyway, I check Ebay for these old school ones all the time and I found a guy who was selling some smaller versions for $8 each. I bought Mr. K today for Kevin. He also had Miss E but sold it before I could buy it for Erin. I cannot wait for Kevin to see it! I'll keep looking for more.

DiPaola

2010-11-29T20:56:00.004-05:00

I was shocked to hear about Middlesex County Sheriff James DiPaola taking his life this past weekend. My mother called me on Saturday night to see if I had heard and I literally gasped. Such sad news and one never knows what goes through the mind of someone who takes his own life.

DiPaola was on Howie Carr's show last week in which he tried to explain himself. Now that he has killed himself, Howie has a post mortem. See it all here but below is a taste:

Pols don’t kill themselves, but sometimes cops do and in the end, whatever he did in those final years, for better or for worse, DiPaola was a cop.

He still remembered his starting salary on the Malden PD — $119-a-week. On my show, to describe his pension grab he kept using phrases like “perfectly legal” and “totally legal.” He got sloppy, too, obviously. If the allegations against him on Fox 25 are correct, he was laundering campaign funds in front of multiple witnesses, his own employees. Not a smart move for anyone, but especially for someone who runs a jail.

There’s an old saying about being a sheriff in Massachusetts. “You have to deal with the dregs of society . . . and then there are the inmates.” And so DiPaola blamed his ethical woes on “disgruntled employees and inmates.”

DCR Package

2010-11-29T20:47:00.002-05:00

Last month during a visit to Mt. Greylock, I asked one of the rangers for a sticker for Kevin's state park passport book. The good man tore his truck apart looking for one to no avail so he promised to mail one to Kevin. We got it today...along with a button, a t-shirt, and a nice note. What an awesome gesture.

I can be tough on government but the DCR is one state agency I love and wholeheartedly support. A big thank you to the ranger!

Dark night of the soul

2010-11-29T11:48:00.002-05:00

So it appears I got whatever was ailing Erin and was deathly ill on Saturday night. Around 9pm or so I started feeling queasy and, well, you can use your imagination for the rest. I ended up spending all day Sunday in bed. God love Lynn, she took care of the kids all on her own yesterday. She took them shopping, to Mass, and to an indoor play place in Lawrence.

I stayed in bed until 2:30pm or so. I was falling in and out of sleep and I was having weird dreams, namely about the Middle East (I watched a movie the night before on Saddam Hussein so that must be why). I got up and moved to the couch where I watched football and fell asleep some more. I then went back to bed around 4:30pm and stayed there for a few more hours. Kevin was so cute, he kept checking in on me, bringing me juice (aka Gatorade) and asking if I was feeling better. I began to feel better around 7pm after some popsicles and a piece of toast and was up and about for a few hours.

Around midnight Kevin began knocking on his door saying he threw up in his bed. Ugh. He obviously woke Erin up so she was screaming as Lynn cleaned up Kevin. We put him back to bed only to have him throw up again, and again! I moved him to the living room couch as we had no more bed sheets for him. And then a few hours later, Lynn got sick.

Phew, brutal night for everyone.

Another one in the books

2010-11-27T08:47:00.002-05:00

Another good Thanksgiving. Lynn picks the kids up on Wednesdays so I usually stay late at work to get stuff done. We got out of school this Wednesday at 1pm so I had extra time to get a ton done. I corrected 5 or 6 sets of papers, two exams, homework, quizzes, etc. I also got to plan out next week's lessons and make copies of stuff I need for Monday. I left around 7pm very satisfied!

On Thursday we all headed to my parent's house in Melrose for Thanksgiving dinner. I was going to take Kevin to my school's football game in the morning but Lynn thought it would be too cold for him (I also thought about going to my alma mater, BC High, for its game). Lynn said I could go by myself but the kids were too chaotic so I didn't go (I'm no fool).

We headed down to Melrose around 12:30 and stayed there until 7pm or so. It was a quiet crowd for dinner (6 adults) but more people showed up later in the day. I made cranberry fruit conserve and gingerbread cupcakes, both Ina Garten recipes. The cranberry fruit conserve was really good but the cupcakes were too dense (recipe called for a cup of molasses and that's all you could really taste). I threw most of the cupcakes away at the end of the evening.

Yesterday, as I always do, I went up to visit the Nelson Family in Brookfield, NH. I went to college with Bill and Andrew and we're also close to their parents Bill and Joan. Bill is Kevin's godfather and Andrew is Erin's. Before we went up though I took Erin for her 9 month check-up. As part of it she got her flu shot and some blood drawn - some tears and drama but all was well.

We got to the Nelson's around 1pm and I began feeding Erin right after that. However, after some milk and turkey she began throwing up...and up...and up...and up - 5 times total! I called the doctor and they said I should give her 1oz of plain pedialyte every fifteen minutes. Bill ran out to the store to get some but all they had was orange flavored. I gave her that...and she threw it all up. So Bill and Joan went out again to another store to get the plain variety - she took that with no problem. God bless Bill and Joan - they don't live near many stores and they drove all over to find it and they even paid for it. I owe them! It was nice to catch up with folks. Andrew came home from the seminary for the weekend, the local priest was visiting, as was Andrew's sister and niece from Vermont. Their niece is 8 years old so Kevin had a blast playing with her all day.

We headed back home around 7:30pm and were home by 9pm. Erin seemed better and both kids slept well past 7am today. Right now Lynn is putting the Christmas tree together and later we're going to Lowell for some annual events they have the Saturday after Thanksgiving, namely a parade. I also think I want to check out their hot chocolate competition. Not too sure what's on the docket for tomorrow, I need to find something fun to do.

More on DiPaola

2010-11-22T08:52:00.001-05:00

So not only was Middlesex County Sheriff Jim DiPaola trying to collect both his pension and his salary at the same time, it turns out he also pockets campaign donations and has sheriff employees drive him home after he gets drunk.

Get this part from Channel 25:

He described another scene inside Ristorante Saraceno in Boston's North End that took place during annual dinners hosted by the sheriff.

"When the bill comes the sheriff tells one of his confidants, usually on the right hand side of him, "Here's the bill, here's how much everybody owes." He gets up and leaves the table, and before he returns to the table that person will tell everybody sitting there that they owe $70 a piece or I need $75 dollars a piece. He collects the money, the sheriff comes back, he gives the sheriff the money, the sheriff pays the bill with his campaign credit card."

My conscience is clean. I voted for no Democrats this election except for Secretary of State Bill Galvin. I left the DiPaola race blank...guess I knew what I was doing.

Get what you pay for...

2010-11-21T09:07:00.004-05:00

Since the voters of Massachusetts overwhelmingly elected Democrats to state office, here is what has happened:

1. Many companies announced they were laying off workers.

2. The state released a report showing patronage and fraud of epic proportions at the Probation Department caused by the Democratic Legislature.

3. The Democratic governor proposed giving illegal immigrants access to in-state tuition at state colleges.

4. The sleazy Democratic Middlesex County Sheriff announced he was going to take advantage of a loophole in the law and collect his pay and pension at the same time (he has since changed his mind).

Nice job voters...and it's only been a few weeks since election day.

Spin cycle

2010-11-09T17:41:00.002-05:00

I like EJ Dionne. He's a big liberal but I enjoy reading his stuff and watching him frequently on "Meet the Press." But today's piece on how the Democrats and Nancy Pelosi lost the House because Pelosi was "effective" is a laugher. She also blames us dumb voters for just not understanding the wonders she did for us.

Pelosi also blames the Republicans for making her a target and a caricature. Um, remember the way you guys treated George W. Bush?

Anyway, see it all here but below is a taste:

But Pelosi's rule on the gender issue is: "Don't underestimate, don't overestimate, just move on from it." So identity politics is absent when she's asked point blank why the Republicans attacked her so fiercely.

"Because I'm effective," she answers matter-of-factly. "It's why they had to do it. They had to put a stop to me because we were effective in passing health-care reform, which the health insurance industry wanted to stop; Wall Street reform, which Wall Street wanted to stop; [reforms of] students loans for taking the money out of the banks and giving it back to the taxpayer and to families."

And in what might be read as a reminder of why she should remain as leader, she adds: "I'm one of the most effective fundraisers that the Congress has had . . . because I believe in something."

Her analysis of why the party lost the House is compact. "Nine and a half percent unemployment damaged the majority," she says. "What made a difference in the election is the fact that they said we are spending money, and where are the jobs?" While she believes that what Democrats did on health care, education and Wall Street reform was ultimately about fixing the economy, the party has to think "shorter term" in putting "jobs, jobs, jobs front and center." That's her battle plan.

Post mortem

2010-11-07T09:19:00.001-05:00

Sorry for not posting some thoughts after last week's election. I can't say I was surprised by the results. In fact, I predicted that the Democrats would win every seat except for the Auditor's race (I got that one wrong). Nationally, it was just as the pundits said it was, Red all the way.

Howie Carr's column today looks back and asks "What if..." He says the results were bad but it could have been worse. See it all here but below is a taste:

But enough of the recriminations. Let’s look at the small silver linings in the ominously large dark cloud. The GOP picked up 17 seats in the House, increasing their numbers (pending recounts) to 32. Nothing’s more local than a state rep’s fight, and the Republicans hunted down the weakest sheeple in Speaker DeLeo’s herd.

Unfortunately, in the Senate, the GOP will never get another perfect opportunity to eliminate the vivacious Therese Murray, who limped home with 52 percent of the vote. With redistricting about to begin, the Senate’s Miss Congeniality will dump Sandwich (hometown of her hard-working opponent) and the other Cape towns, after which she will annex most of Sen. Kennedy’s Brockton district. Tough luck, Tom.

Finally, Worcester County, where it was still Jan. 19 for the Republicans last Tuesday. They won the sheriff’s race, with a large assist from the Democrat, Tom Foley, who announced that he’d be keeping his $111,920.04 state pension in addition to the sheriff’s salary. The Worcester GOP held on to the outgoing reps’ seats, knocked off an incumbent rep and won the open Governor’s Council seat.

So it could have been worse. Thin gruel, I know, but the Republicans have been counted out before (think 1986) and somebody’s always come along to rebuild the party. Now comes the Rick Pitino question: Is there another Ray Shamie ready to walk through that door?

Butterflies

2010-11-02T18:00:00.002-04:00

Again, there are still 2 long hours to go and this is Massachusetts, the home of the Democratic machine and SEIU. But this post from Michael Graham at National Review Online has me getting very cautiously optimistic:

The turnout story so far in Massachusetts: surging turnout in congressional districts like the 10th (Perry vs. Keating) and the 4th (Bielat vs. Frank). The passion over Congress is so high that it appears the governor’s race is essentially just coming along for the ride. That’s very unusual in a state where the only elected Republican is usually the governor.

This reversal is actually good news for Charlie Baker, who’s been in a close race but has yet to pass Gov. Deval Patrick in a single published poll. Patrick needs turnout in the cities, but the most competitive and high-profile races are in the ’burbs.

Right now, it looks like Baker’s going to ride into the Corner Office on the backs of the GOP congressional candidates.

Looking good?

2010-11-02T17:29:00.001-04:00

Reports are saying that turnout is high in the suburbs but low in cities like Boston and Springfield. That is fantastic news for Republicans and, if those numbers hold, it may be a long time for Democrats. But, I never take anything for granted. Work is over and many people will go voting now.

Stay tuned.

The last refuge

2010-11-02T12:45:00.002-04:00

Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson makes a pretty serious charge of racism against those who are critical of President Obama. He cites the "vitriolic attacks" against him and the rhetoric by some that we need to "take back" our country.

Robinson obviously has a short memory lest he forget the "vitriolic attacks" against George W. Bush. He was compared to Hitler, a Broadway play about an assassination of him was written, people called for his arrest as a "war criminal", his intelligence was lambasted, his religious faith was mocked, and he was called a drunk and cocaine addict (among other things).

Tell me, were the people who said all these things racists against white people? Were they anti-Southerner? Were they anti-religious?

You know they've run out of arguments when they drag out the whole racism card. It is such a lazy argument.

See the whole column here but below is a taste:

I have to wonder what it is about Obama that provokes and sustains all this tea party ire. I wonder how he can be seen as "elitist," when he grew up in modest circumstances -- his mother was on food stamps for a time -- and paid for his fancy-pants education with student loans. I wonder how people who genuinely cherish the American dream can look at a man who lived that dream and feel no connection, no empathy.

I ask myself what's so different about Obama, and the answer is pretty obvious: He's black. For whatever reason, I think this makes some people unsettled, anxious, even suspicious -- witness the willingness of so many to believe absurd conspiracy theories about Obama's birthplace, his religion, and even his absent father's supposed Svengali-like influence from the grave.

Obama has made mistakes that rightly cost him political support. But I can't help believing that the tea party's rise was partly due to circumstances beyond his control -- that he's different from other presidents, and that the difference is his race.

See a nice rebuke on the column from National Review here.

God I hope so

2010-11-01T23:27:00.001-04:00

For once, I hope Chris Matthews is right:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Get thee to a history class

2010-11-01T23:18:00.003-04:00

Leave it to a Democrat to not know his history. Some state senator named Hank Sanders from Selma, AL did a robocall for the Democrat running for governor there and said this:

"I say hell no!" he continues. "I ain't going back to the cotton fields of Jim Crow days. I'm going forward with Ron Sparks, Jim Folsom and others who will do right by all of us."

Gee, Sen. Sanders, then you better vote for the GOP because it was the Democrats who supported slavery. It was the Democrats who instituted Jim Crow laws. It was the Democrats who led the filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It was the Republicans who fought against slavery. It was the Republicans who led Reconstruction. It was the Republicans who fought Jim Crow.

No one ever accused the Democrats of letting facts getting in the way of a good lie.

How I am voting

2010-11-01T18:33:00.003-04:00

I've made my predictions, now how I am voting tomorrow:

Governor: Charlie Baker (R)
Attorney General: Jim McKenna (R)
Secretary of State: Bill Galvin (D)
Treasurer: Karyn Polito (R)
Auditor: Mary Connaughton (R)
US Representative: Jon Golnik (R)
State Senate: Jamison Tomasek (R)
State Representative: George Boag (R)
Question 1: Yes
Question 2: Yes
Question 3: Yes

Think people miss him?

2010-11-01T18:18:00.001-04:00

Check out the ovation George W. Bush got last night at Game 4 of the World Series. See it here.

My predictions

2010-11-01T17:23:00.002-04:00

Here are my predictions for tomorrow's election:

Governor: Deval Patrick (D)
Treasurer: Steve Grossman (D)
Attorney General: Martha Coakley (D)
Auditor: Mary Connaughton (R)
Secretary of State: Bill Galvin (D)
National House of Representatives: All Massachusetts seats won by Democrats
Dracut State Senator: Barry Finegold (D)
Dracut State Representative: Colleen Garry (D)
Question 1: Yes
Question 2: No
Question 3: Yes

I really, really hope I am wrong about all of these Democrats winning (although I can stomach Galvin winning and I don't mind Garry). But the good news is, nationally it should be a rout. Election Day is one of my favorite days of the year. I order Chinese food, get some beer, and enjoy the night. I can't wait.

It's all about the kids, right?

2010-10-28T23:00:00.002-04:00

So it seems the Chelmsford Teachers Union hasn't had a contract for 16 months. So, to send a message to the School Committee, the teachers are refusing to post assignments on the school's intranet site as well as refusing to organize field trips. Thus, a planned trip to Quebec is in danger.

This despite the fact that the teachers make on average $64,915, up over $12,000 in five years. What a bunch of selfish, self-loathing, hypocrites. They claim they're all for the kids but not unless their pockets are getting lined. And in the end, they take it out on the kids themselves. Now you know why I teach in Catholic schools...and why I am voting yes on questions 1 and 3.

Vote yes on 3

2010-10-28T08:57:00.001-04:00

Question 3 on Tuesday's ballot asks voters if they want to reduce the state sales tax from 6.25% to 3%. There are ads all over TV saying the sky will fall and children will be reduced to eating sawdust for lunch. But the reality is, the state has plenty of money, they just choose to spend it on hacks and pensions.

Margery Eagan of the Herald agrees:

I’m voting for Question 3 because I’m tired of bleeding-heart do-gooders begging for legitimate programs but lacking the courage to say why their programs are always threatened. It’s to scare people. It’s also because funding Beacon Hill, friends of Beacon Hill, and certain wired unions matters more to Beacon Hill than any program. Otherwise, when times get tough, legislators would not take a 5 percent pay raise (they did) or keep their outrageous per diems (gas money to drive to work).

It’s small change but a huge symbol. It says it all, actually.

The reason we’re broke has to do with government patronage, pensions, health care and early retirement. The lucky ones make it to 80, even 90. And in between they go back to work at second or third government jobs and collect still another government salary on top of the pension they’re already collecting.

Our fearless leaders tell us voting yes on Question 3 is totally irresponsible. OK. They want responsibility from voters? Let them show some first.

Open minded...unless you vote Republican

2010-10-24T14:00:00.002-04:00

Liberals fall all over themselves to demonstrate their tolerance and open minds...except to Republicans. Take the union worker whose son is in the Navy and serves on the USS George H.W. Bush. He wore a sweatshirt and hat about the ship to a job at an Obama rally and he was told to take it off or be fired. He refused as it wasn't a political statement, just a shirt and a hat upon which his son serves our nation. Either way, he was asked to leave.

Now, to their credit the union is now eating crow but this is just another example of liberals preaching to all of us about we need to accept the views of others...but they won't do the same.

Shocked, shocked I tell ya

2010-10-24T13:04:00.003-04:00

What a surprise - the Boston Globe today endorsed every single Democrat running for the House of Representatives in Massachusetts. If they do the same with the state races, then they can no longer say they don't carry water for the Democratic party. They preach that there has to be balance in politics but all they do is endorse Democrats. They are pathetic and so predictable...and moving more and more to irrelevancy.

Lots to do

2010-10-20T22:15:00.003-04:00

I thought with the summer over that events at the state parks would slow down. Nope - lots still going on. The following event this Saturday night at Harold Parker State Forest in North Andover especially caught my eye:

The full moon has been a vital and revered part of many cultures for centuries. The significance of each full moon, every 28 days on average, was important in tracking the seasons and important events during the year. Come and view the full moon in this informative and fun program, appropriate for children. Learn the names of the moons for different cultures and their origins. The program begins ½ hour before moon rise. Program includes explanation of moon phases and moon cycle, viewing of the Full Moon with binoculars, as well as night time activities. All children must be accompanied by an adult. We'll have a fire and roast marshmallows. Come and join us! Meet at the Headquarters at 305 Middleton Rd. Call (617) 828-1728 for more information

Kevin loves science (although he doesn't know it's science), including space, telescopes, binoculars, the Museum of Science, etc. In fact, he wants to be a diver for Halloween. Not a fireman, not a movie character...a diver. Anyway, he will love this event (as will I). The roasting of the marshmallows is the icing on the cake. We were doing this last Saturday up at my friend's John's house and Kevin was loving it.

This one at Upton State Forest also caught my eye:

Registration 12:45, Hike 1:00 PM Join us on this free, moderate, two-hour+ hike as we discover places within Upton State Forest used or built by men of the Civilian Conservation Corps. Will include interpretation of the Camp and site, water holes, stone steps, picnic area and vista site. Our destination is Dean Pond, created by a dam impounded by the CCC enrollees. Hear stories told in interviews. Learn about the legacy left to the MA park system. Short option offered. Heavy rain cancels. Dress for the weather. Wear appropriate shoes. Don’t forget water, sunscreen and insect repellant. Liability waiver required for all, parent must sign for children under 18. Out of consideration for those fearful of or allergic to dogs please do not bring pets. Discovery hikes sponsored by Friends of Upton State Forest and Upton Open Space Committee. Questions: friends@friendsofuptonstateforest.org or 508-529-6610 Notification of cancellation: uptonopenspaceevents@charter.net

I am very interested in the history of the CCC and would KILL to go to this one. We shall see.

Defending the hacks

2010-10-20T19:00:00.002-04:00

One of the most despicable members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives is James Fagan of Taunton. This was the guy who, during a 2008 debate on Jessica's Law, said:

"I'm gonna rip them apart," Fagan said of young victims during his testimony on the bill. "I'm going to make sure that the rest of their life is ruined, that when they’re 8 years old, they throw up; when they’re 12 years old, they won’t sleep; when they’re 19 years old, they’ll have nightmares and they’ll never have a relationship with anybody.”

Now he has come out passionately defending the hacks the right to have 13 holidays a year. 13! How many paid holidays do you get? I am guessing 9 if you're lucky. But Fagan sees no problem with state employees getting 13 days off, including Bunker Hill Day and Evacuation Day. Add this to their sweet pensions, insurance for life, vacation days, sick days, etc, etc, etc.

During his defense of these holidays in a recent debate, he got his history all messed up. He called the Battle of Bunker Hill the first battle of the Revolutionary War and said Henry Knox was the first "treasurer." For the record, the first battle of the war was Lexington and Concord and Knox was the first Secretary of War.

Get this guy out.

Day in the country

2010-10-16T22:36:00.002-04:00

One of my colleagues lives in Bristol, NH, a town north of Laconia. He invited us up to his place today for a sort of Harvest Festival and to enjoy the fall in the North Country. John lives on a hill called Peaked Hill and the colors and the views of the surrounding area are stunning.

We made it up there around 1:30pm. It was actually kind of cold and windy but it was a great fall day. He had tons of food (including very meaty and tasty pork ribs), lots of land, and a great fire pit for making smores. We left around 8pm and were home before 9:30pm. We all had a great fall day, the kind I live for.

Tomorrow I am going to the Patriots game with my friends Dan and Dave. Dan has season tickets and he invites me every now and then. I am going to get up early and go to the 7am mass at St. Michael's in Lowell and then get Dan at his place in Southie. We'll then drive over to Dave's house in Roxbury and we'll take his car to Foxboro.

Fun times.

Say again?

2010-10-16T22:14:00.002-04:00

I was reading an article tonight on President Obama's visit to Boston and read this at the end:

Afterward, Obama traveled to West Newton for a fundraiser at the home of Caritas Cristi CEO Ralph de la Torre that raised about $900,000 for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. It is charged with electing party members to the U.S. Senate.

The president is counting on a Democratic Senate to pass the remainder of his first-term agenda. Both it and a Democratic House are in jeopardy in next month's midterm elections.

Meanwhile, de la Torre has been counting on local Democrats from Attorney General Martha Coakley on down to back the $895 million proposed sale of six Caritas Catholic hospitals to Cerberus, a for-profit, private equity firm.

Um, am I the only one concerned about the head of the Catholic hospitals in Boston raising money for Democrats?

Into your hands...

2010-10-15T20:49:00.002-04:00

Please pray for the repose of the soul of the father of one our students. He tragically died of a heart attack the other night coming home from hockey practice. He leaves behind his wife, seven children (most of whom went to my school), his parents, and many other family members. I taught two of his children over the years but unfortunately never met him.

May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

21 years later...

2010-10-14T10:26:00.001-04:00

Nice story in the Globe about a Massachusetts man who hiked the Appalachian Trail over a period of 21 years! Each year, Jim Haskell would hike 100 miles. This piecemeal hike of the AT is called Through-Hiking. Lynn and I talked briefly about maybe Through-Hiking the Massachusetts portion of the AT (about 90 miles) when the kids are older.

Anyway, it's a nice story, you can see it here.

Blowhard, my name is Tierney

2010-10-13T14:49:00.002-04:00

Get a load of U.S. Rep. John Tierney in this "debate" with his Republican opponent Bill Hudak. Granted Hudak is a wingnut but Tierney comes off as a rude, boor here.

Keller's take

2010-10-13T10:00:00.001-04:00

Jon Keller of Channel 4 has a fantastic take on the governor's race as the countdown to Election Day begins. You can see it all here but below is a taste:

Candidate Patrick - then as now - promised to eschew partisanship, to be governor of "all the people," but in hindsight it seems Democratic dominance became his political security blanket. After all, the Patrick organization still had all those e-mail addresses from the superlative 2006 organizing effort (even though the campaign website, touted as a key portal for "reinventing" the way government interacts with citizens, was left fallow until recently), his pal Barack was in the White House, and the Massachusetts Republican Party was hapless and broke. What, me worry?

But then Scott Brown broke that spell. In the middle ages, the death of a local prince would often touch off a period of unrest and rebellion among the peasantry. It seems Ted Kennedy's passing was one of those moments. The grotesque charade of changing the succession law, and the crude nature of the anti-Brown campaign made the surviving members of the Democratic establishment look weak, scared and dirty. It was brave and polite of Patrick to stand at Martha Coakley's side as she delivered her concession speech, but it wasn't politically smart. I bet more than a few TV viewers saw that image and made a mental note - you're next.

Almost there

2010-10-12T17:28:00.003-04:00

Now the fun begins. Election Day is three weeks away and if the polls are to be believed, it's going to be ugly for the Democrats. I don't think it will be as bad here in Massachusetts, however. Some pre-game thoughts:

I predict that Deval Patrick will hold on to the corner office and all 9 incumbent Democrats running for the House will re-elected. Jeff Perry will most likely be the sole Republican victor, picking up the open seat in the 10th CD. I think Steve Grossman will win the Treasurer post (shudder) but Mary Z. Connaughton will pull off the Auditor's race. Martha Coakley will be re-elected Attorney General easily. I hope I am wrong about all the Democrat victories. I did say that Coakley would beat Scott Brown so I have been wrong.

Locally, I think Barry Finegold will win the open state Senate seat but boy do I hope Republican Jamison Tomasek pulls off an upset. I've met Tomasek and he's a good guy and will do a hell of a job. I believe that long-time state Rep. Colleen Garry will get be re-elected, beating Republican George Boag and Incumbent Matthew Sheehan. I like all three and really wouldn't mind any of them getting elected.

Berkshire fun

2010-10-11T09:00:00.003-04:00

Yesterday we took a ride to the Berkshires to see the sights and sounds of fall in one of my favorite areas in the state. We got started later than I planned and we took about a 30 minute rest for food and changing in Greenfield so we didn't get to our first location until noon. We first went to Savoy Mountain State Forest in Florida. We stopped at a trail that I heard about, Busby Trail, and decided to hike it. I didn't plan on doing much hiking but in talking to people there the views at the top were worth the hike. So we went for it. I was nervous driving into this park as we were on dirt roads and there was no one around. But there were a number of cars at the trailhead and a lot of people out hiking.

I didn't have my cell phone so I don't know how long it took us to get to the top but all told, it took us 3 hours to hike up, spend time at the top, and then hike down. Kevin kept stopping, getting distracted, wanting to be carried, etc, etc. But all in all, he was a real trooper. The hike wasn't all that bad but as you got closer to the top it got very steep. Luckily there were rock formations that were just like steps so you just walked up. Once at the top the views were indeed stunning. Right across the valley was Mt. Greylock and below us was the town of Adams. All around us were the hills and mountains of the Berkshires - amazing. I will admit that I was very nervous as there's not a lot of room at the top and if you went over the edge, you were going all the way down. I would have been fine alone with Lynn but with Kevin I was very scared. So I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have but I did like it a lot. I found this picture on-line of some family who hiked to the top in the 1970's - gives you a sense of the views. According to the trail map the elevation is 2,566 feet which is a decent hike for a family with 2 little ones.

From here we headed around the mountain to Mt. Greylock. We had just been there in August but Kevin never got his stamp for his passport book. So since we were here we figured we'd get it (I realized the stamp box was right in plain sight so I could have gotten it last time, I thought it was inside the visitors center which, because we were there late, was closed last time we were there). We got the stamp and then drove up to the top. It was much more crowded than the last time we were there but this time, Bascom Lodge was open (last time there was a wedding taking place so it was closed to the public). There isn't much to it - a big open area, a room in the back with tables, bedrooms upstairs, and a dining area. Lynn fed Erin while Kevin and I walked around. After, we all walked to the lookout, directly across from where we were earlier in the day! It was pretty windy and cold so we didn't stay too long. Kevin and I were sitting on the slope admiring the view of the east end but Lynn wanted to head out. Lynn and Erin went back to the car while Kevin and I meandered back. We walked on the Appalachian Trail for a few seconds and checked out a shelter that hikers can use in case of emergency. I saw a ranger on our way down and stopped for a sticker for Kevin's passport book. He didn't have one but he said he'd mail one to Kevin this week.

We took a different road to the bottom, this one to North Adams and Rte. 2. It was getting dark by this point so we decided to begin making the way home. There was a 99 restaurant right where we stopped earlier in Greenfield so we stopped there for dinner (we were all starving as we completely missed lunch, all we ate during the afternoon were Cheez-its and apples). Thankfully the food came very quickly and Kevin was on his best behavior. I inhaled my food, as did Kevin (well, most of his) and he topped his meal off with an ice cream sandwich.

We got home around 10pm and I fell asleep on the couch a little while later. We didn't see as much as I wanted but I was very happy that we did a nice hike, it was very rewarding.

Today I am going to take the kids to Hopkinton State Park and Cochituate State Park. I wouldn't normally be going there but Kevin needs stamps from these last two parks to get a t-shirt for going to 12 of the participating parks in the DCR's Northeast Region! To be fair, he only saw 11 of them. I went to Lawrence Heritage State Park alone with Erin - it's a history park so he wouldn't have liked it. Lynn, I think, is going to stay home and do some stuff around the house.

I have a ton of work to do tonight, I can't believe how many papers I have to correct. Thankfully we have testing on Wednesday so I can get a ton done then too. Tonight I also have to watch "Meet the Press" for my Government class (they watch it every week and we discuss it on Mondays) as well as the first episode of "God in America", a 3-part series on the history of religion in the United States.

Week from heaven

2010-10-09T08:26:00.003-04:00

What a great week. From Sunday to Wednesday, I was part of a team visiting Arlington Catholic High School as part of their decennial NEASC accreditation. I got to my hotel in Burlington on Sunday around 3pm and met the team about an hour later. The team was a mix of teachers and administrators from private (mostly Catholic) schools from all over New England. At 5pm, we were driven to the school for a tour and a wonderful dinner of steak and scallops in the gym. The guy sitting next to me didn't like scallops and gave his to me! After dinner we went back to the hotel for a meeting and then off to bed by 11:30pm or so.

We had breakfast each morning in the hotel (I ate at 6am before taking a shower) and then carpooled to the school at 7am. We then spent the entire day at the school meeting teachers and students, sitting in on classes, going through their documents, etc. We would also spend time writing individual reports and working with others on our observations. We spent Monday and Tuesday night going over our reports and thoughts. On Wednesday morning we wrapped up the reports, went over them one last time, voted on our recommendations and we were done by 11:45am on Wednesday.

While I can't say much about my thoughts and vote as the reports haven't even been presented to the school or NEASC, I can say that I had a wonderful experience at the school and everyone was very welcoming and generous. I grew up in nearby Melrose so it was a sort of homecoming with the thick, thick Boston accents, talking to folks from Medford and Malden, etc. There is a Social Studies teacher there named Mr. Flaherty and he joked with the kids that I was his long lost son and he's been looking for me for years. He told them that I stopped talking to him after he suggested I become a teacher. Too funny. I had a wonderful conversation with him during the week. He spent 40 plus years in Boston and Belmont public schools and came to AC after he retired.

It was back to work on Thursday. It was nice to know that people knew I was gone, kids I don't even have in class were asking where I was. My first and last period classes clapped when I walked in the classroom.

We had no classes yesterday but rather we all went to St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Dover, NH for a conference on Catholic education. The speaker was Sr. Clare Fitzgerald, SSND who, at 84, is one of the most dynamic and powerful speakers I've encountered in a long time. She spoke for 2 hours on the role of Catholic schools and their "story." She was simply amazing - funny, insightful, inspiring, thought provoking, etc, etc, etc. The bishop said mass after her talk and joked, "Now, I am fully aware that I am following Sr. Clare Fitzgerald..." I guess Sr. Clare spoke to the teachers about 10 years ago and those who were there said she was still incredible.

Lynn has been working a ton of overtime (until 9pm) so it's been me and the kids every night. Last night I took them to the Topsfield Fair. I hadn't been in a long time and enjoyed it a lot more being with little kids. It took forever to get in - me must have spent 30 minutes on Rt. 1 waiting in line. It was tad expensive - $8 to park, $12 admission (kids were free), $1.25 per ride ticket (and most rides required 3 tickets), and then food. Kevin rode a couple of roller coasters, spent a long time on the jumpie thing, we all rode the carousel, and we walked around enjoying the sights, sounds, and animals. There was ever a tractor pull which Kevin loved.

I ran into my junior high study skills teachers who was there with the junior high on their annual trip there. I remember going there with the school in 8th grade and was thinking of it as I saw the young kids walking around in groups.

Today we're going to our parish for the annual Harvest on the Hill festival and then to Melrose for Lynn's nephew's birthday party. Tomorrow we're going to the Berkshires to see the foliage and then on Monday I want to visit 2 state parks in Metrowest so Kevin can finish one section of his stamp collection for his passport book. Once you visit the participating parks in a certain region, you get a t-shirt! We're almost done with the Northeast region - they have 12 parks you have to visit. One of the parks is Salisbury Beach and we've been there a number of times but I never got the stamp. So on my way home from Dover yesterday I stopped at the beach to get the stamp. I think I like this as much as Kevin (if not more). After tomorrow's visit to the Berkshires, we'll be close to getting all the stamps from the Western Region. There are a ton more we have to see in the Central and Boston Regions and we haven't even gone to the Southeast Region. Lots to do!

Do as I say...

2010-10-07T08:51:00.001-04:00

Once again folks we have a Democrat who thinks you and I should pay higher taxes but who cheats on her own. Step right up Suzanne Bump, the Democratic nominee for Auditor. It seems that Bump is receiving a property tax break on both of her homes, one in Great Barrington and her condo in South Boston. Both municipalities offer tax breaks to people who consider the homes their primary residences. Only one problem - primary means one and so how can Bump claim to have two primary residences??

Tisk, tisk. The Democrats are against the sales tax rollback and the lifting of the sales tax on alcohol, right? But of course, when it comes to their taxes, well, who are they to pay??!?

See the story here.