I greatly enjoyed the Phillip Glass Violin Concerto on WSPR today. I called Merriam-Webster and asked for Mr. Bicknell and spoke to Ann Brown, who said he was "in a meeting but he received your material and thanks you very much." I said he is supposed to send me a thank-you note and she replied, "He will if he hasn't already." So are we going to have trouble with Bicknell?
I drove out close to 4pm and made copies. I then took a Coolata coin from Dunkin Donuts over to the Coin Exchange and gave it to the guy, but he had no new medals of interest. Then over to White and Sumner and into Radzicki's and we talked about the Iris painting which he said came out of a Springfield attic that contained many treasures. I also identified a yellow Tiffany bowl for them which turned out to be with $300.
There is no doubt that Mike Albano (who lacks the fine education I have) protests too much when he claims that his policy proscriptions are not political. Everything is political to him. Eamon called and said Nardi, who has two or three kids, is now living someplace in an apartment. He recalled visiting with the family many times in their house on Ardmore Street in the old days.
Eamon says Nader the Hatter is talking about buying a very expensive house in Florida and fixing it up to sell. Eamon said Nader often thinks up projects that never get completed. He told me he gave $700 towards a safety lock Nader invented and was going to patent, along with three or four other investors, but only he and Libby ever contributed and nothing came of it. That was when Nader went to Holland. When I told Eamon about the books I acquired that had once belonged to a nursing student, he said he once had an excellent nursing book, but gave it away to a woman who was going to nursing school. Eamon is very generous.
Intellectual capital counts and time off is better than money.
John Lovejoy is a former selectman from Wilbraham. TV guy Bill Putnam did a vanity book with a very fine publisher in New Hampshire that was both tasteful and snazzy. Devin R. Adams of Elm Street in West Springfield is a former employee of Jalbert Electric and I Like it Like That Bakery. His favorite writers are Stephen King and Carl Sagan.
First thing I left some magazines at the Cohn's with their cleaning woman. I never noticed before, but Mr. Cohn has a little desk by the kitchen table and obviously conducts business there. I stopped to see if they had any Valley Advocates at Louis & Clark, and for the second consecutive week they had none. I recalled to the clerk how Schermerhorn's stopped distributing them after they started attacking Matty Ryan and I said I hope they are not going to do the same. The clerk replied no, that they have always supported the Advocate. A woman in the her 30's in line behind me piped in, "It's my favorite paper!" I then went next door to the fitness place, which also had none, and the manager said the stopped carrying it because "it's not the sort of paper my customers read." That sounded like nonsense, but I said nothing.
Next I swung by Karen Powell's and dropped off some things. We chatted briefly at the her back door but her dogs would not stop barking. From there I drove to the 16 Acres Big Y mall, where the pizza parlor in the corner, which always had an enormous pile, had none. The manager said he didn't want them anymore because they made a mess of the place. Yet, there were other papers on the windowsill, including the latest BRAVO, the CANE report and Devine's newsletter. Finally, I went to Blockbuster Video where there was a large pile. I remarked to the clerk that I wonder if Albano people have been going around urging merchants to drop the Advocate. The clerk smiled and said that Blockbuster will always support the Valley Advocate.
I stopped by Gateway Hardware on Boston Road, but Tom McCarthy wasn't there. His place looks good and was not too badly affected by the road widening, which is virtually complete. As I left I grabbed a Caribbean Labor Day Parade poster. Then to Mrs. Staniski's, whose lawn was freshly mowed by the black man. She had a lot of books to return to me and she thanked her profusely for them, as they helped sustain her through the hot weather. Mrs. S. is a nice lady but aging rapidly. I gave her the McDonald's toy of Snoopy and Woodstock to give to Ann, who is still reading the Western Mass/Pioneer Valley anthology. Before I left, she gave me a bag of chocolate chip cookies she made for me and some hollyhock seeds she said came from The Colony in Kennebunkport, Maine.
From there, it was over to Eamon's where I left my bag for him in the chair next to the open garage door. Then came the difficult part of the day, when I went to visit Aunt Maria Giroux. I was there from 10:58 to 11:14am. The lawn was mowed and there was a white plastic chair by the front steps. The rhubarb patch is plucked nearly clean and no sign of activity in the shop. I went inside and found the place relatively picked up. Aunt Maria was sitting in her chair in the corner of the living room, looking at a new Panasonic TV. She has a new, white telephone with large numbers that Ruth got her.
Aunt Maria was friendly at the start. I gave her a poster of Vermont and two bottles of Mother's perfume. I put the five Swanson frozen dinners in the freezer and showed her the bag of canned goods I brought. She turned off the TV with the remote and told me about a girl she had come in and do some cleaning for $10, but she has since decided to do all the cleaning herself. When I asked her, "What's the state of your medical plan?" she snapped back, "None of your goddam business! Now, get out of here and take the stuff you brought with you if you want!" I said directly to her, "I want the IBM stock!" to which she shouted, "You are never going to get it!" Without further ado I departed. Aunt Maria has always been an attention glutton, getting people to dedicate large amounts of time caring for her. Spoiled brat is the bottom line.
From there I drove over to the Old Country Buffet and dined for $6.50. When I paid, I told the lady that I used to dine at their restaurant on Boston Road all the time and I'm mad they closed. She replied, "I am too." On the way back I stopped at the former Valle's Steak House on West Street, where I addressed the Rotary Club in 1976 and where Mother and I once took Aunt Maria for Thanksgiving dinner. I learned that it is now Razzl's Night Club, a very large and fine facility for that sort of thing.
When I got home I called Maureen Turner and left a message saying that I think the Advocate may be being boycotted and wishing her a nice Fall. Eamon called and read me the editorial in today's paper criticizing Tim Ryan and Bill Foley for opposing the baseball stadium. Eamon called it "one of the meanest editorials" the paper has ever printed. Eamon's cousin Tux Sullivan, who has written two books on baseball, thinks the whole stadium project is laughable and so does Spellacy, who calls it "a joke." Eamon then recalled the time Carol Malley Schultz came by the Ryan headquarters on Sumner Avenue, the only person from the paper to do so, and expressed shock that Charlie intended to criticize the newspaper coverage he was getting. "You're going to take on the newspaper?" she exclaimed, as if they were above all criticism. After he hung up I called Tim Ryan and left a message of support with his secretary, who thanked me.
Lovely day.
Arrogance and Ignorance are twins running in a viscous circle.
Paul Caron's office is at 535 Main Street in Indian Orchard. The members of the Springfield Baseball Corporation include Cheryl A. Rivera, Peter Picknelly, Michael J. Graney, Allan Blair and Tom Russo. Ronald F. Goulet is President of the North End Community Center. Angelo Della-Ripa is the proprietor of Razzl's Night Club in Springfield.
First thing, I cooked up a mess of broccoli and stewed tomatoes. Paul Caron sent a letter endorsing Jack "Righty" Keough for State Representative, stating, "I feel that Jack Keough is the right candidate for the job of serving as your next State Representative." Eamon called and said his cop friend Spellacy told him to "wear your bullet proof vest if you go downtown at night." He should know.
We discussed Armory Street School and I suggested the building looks in too good shape to tear down. "No doubt about it," Eamon replied, and suggested the problem is the failure to maintain the schools properly. If he was running things, Eamon would privatize the custodial services because a private firm would supervise them better. He says there are five or six custodians per school with no accountability or supervision. He claims that many custodians "don't know what they're supposed to be doing."
Reached Tom Devine, whom I have not spoken with for some time. I mentioned my visit to see the the Twig Painter and the photos of nude people on the wall, but told him I didn't look close enough to see who was in them. He replied that "it's just as well you didn't look too closely." Tom told me he has copyright papers from Doyle, but hasn't read them yet. I suspect Tom is quite close to Doyle so I asked him if Doyle is still friends with Tom McCarthy across the street, and he said yes. I wondered why Doyle seems less interested in me after the mailings he sent and Tom replied, "Maybe because he's afraid you'll embarrass him." So, by being way-out I have caused some people to pull their heads in.
Tom says he gets the impression that "Mayor Albano likes you," but I said that may no longer be true. I also told him how there seems to be an organized effort underway to get merchants to boycott the Valley Advocate and Tom said, "I wouldn't be surprised." Devine wanted to talk about the mean editorial in the paper, he feels the stadium project will fail and cited Mo Turner's article suggesting that the city did not follow instructions and wrongly classified Northgate as a blighted area. Tom says he sometimes exchanges e-mails with Mo Turner but was vague when I pressed him for details. I asked if he thought Mo was well off, but he refused to speculate except to say she is from Long Island, which is an expensive area. I told him I don't care if she has money, I want someone who can bear my child. Maureen Turner remains a research project in progress.
Nice day, but the drought continues.
My friends at Colby had a little ditty about the now deceased Chairman of the Classics Department Archibald Allen:
The Archangel came down from heaven
and stated with miles in view
"Smile and the world smiles with you
Frown and you'll never get into grad school
Eamon claims to be able to to recognize which unsigned editorials are by McDermott or David Starr, based on their writing styles. Over 100 displaced by the Holyoke fire. Northeast Utilities claims they had a profit for a change, 14 cents per share. Jeremy in the comic ZITS has a hippie van. B. John Dill is the President of The Coleman Group.
Dined today on cornflakes, three peaches, a plum, broccoli and hot dogs. I drove out and made copies at Breckwood and put a few letters in the Louis & Clark mailbox. Then I drove to Forest Park and put out the major mail there. The antique shop up the street is asking $5 for old road maps. Since I have several hundreds of them, my collection must be worth thousands of dollars. The Clock Mill was closed for vacation. Dined at 16 Acres Burger King on a 99 cent coupon (a big burger, not a little one) and took pictures of the construction work at the library and the awnings in front of the Goodwill.
I set out for a tag sale at the corner of Puritan Road and Puritan Circle. The sale was unremarkable except for one thing, a box of fundamentalist religious tracts. They were about converting Jews, converting Muslims, Billy Graham, you name it. They had belonged to Rick W. Lidwin of 16 Oliver Street in Chicopee Falls, who had printed his name with mechanical precision on a number of the items. I took all the controversial ones, they are wonderful. I also spotted a sale on Balboa, where I bought a Sealtest milk crate dated 7/86.
Home at 4:30pm, I watched the news and took a nap. Awoke at 10pm and decided to go cruising downtown. I drove past Doyle's art gallery and saw the lights were on, but couldn't see in because of the large painting on display in the window. Arrived downtown at 10:30 and found no parking around the arch, so drove around Worthington and Stearns Square but found no parking spot. Finally I turned back towards Main and parked opposite Hampden Savings Bank.
The lights atop Monarch Palace were an impressive red, white and blue. Gus & Paul's were just closing with three fashionable, young women sitting on the patio out front as workers stacked chairs all around them. Inside, Spaghetti Freddy's was also empty but with their lights still on, having closed just a few minutes ago. Down the hall at Champion's Sports Bar, the story was very different, the place was absolutely packed. There were another 40 people in Mad Maggie's Billiards. Departing Tower Square, across the way Pizzeria Uno had a good number of people inside and on the terrace. Kaos was getting ready to open at 11:30am, it stays open until 5am. They serve no liquor, but no doubt many customers have been drinking at the bars all night and of course may sneak in a vest bottle along with pot or whatever.
Friends had 58 customers, the usual sort, yuppies in their 30's. The stairway was open to the leather bar, so I walked up the green lit stairs and paid a $2 cover charge. It was a long, narrow room, painted all black with art deco mirrors and prints on the walls. There was no live band, but blaring rock music with several mirror balls revolving with blinking colored lights. Some guys were wearing white t-shirts, but no leather anywhere. Lots of conversation, but no action. Back on Worthington Street, I saw that Theodore's had maybe 40 people in it. The band was on break and their instruments were at rest on the stage which is just inside the front window. Naismith's had maybe 30 people at the bar, with the owner checking ID's.
Fat Cat and Cat's Alley, two adjacent storefronts, had a band and a good crowd of about 75. Suddenly a police officer approached and started speaking to me, but I pretended not to hear. Finally he loudly asked, "Sir, are you looking for something?" The officer, whose badge number was 481, was quite friendly. I told him I was counting noses in the bars to see how business really is. The cop said downtown will become more populated the closer it gets to midnight. He said nothing about my purple pants. "All set." he said and walked on.
Over across Stearns Square, the Cafe Manhattan had a good crowd, maybe 50 customers. Caffeine's as always was packed, with maybe a hundred people. The Hot Club was rocking with a police officer standing outside. The Tic-Toc had maybe 30 inside. Eamon says the Tic -Toc has the burger anywhere, served custom made, fat and beefy. Eamon says he's taken Nader the Hatter there several times, he's also taken the Hatter to the Mardi Gras, where girls will dance in your face for a dollar, which seems pretty cheap to me. Eamon claims the strippers look nice, but they're airheads. He says he sees a higher class of girls at someplace in Ludlow, where he sometimes goes.
Sivio's just before Dwight had only 8 customers and nobody at the tables. How does it keep going? The Pub, the oldest gay bar in Springfield, is dominated by a U-shaped bar and a couple of game machines. The bartender was an older man. I cut out and crossed the street to the Judge's Chambers, which had 23 customers with the cheerful proprietor greeting customers as usual by the door.
I'd never been to David's at night before. I paid $3 at the door and then $3 for a Budweiser and sat at the bar for about twenty minutes. The place was filled with kids in their twenties, well dressed, bright and clean. There are pool tables up front and young latino male and female bartenders. No food as far as I could see. They had wonderful dance floor lights, worth watching though there were no dancers. I soon left having engaged in no conversation, although I did have repeated eye contact with a tall, well dressed black man with a collar around his neck who said hi as he passed. I left at 12:15 and headed home, the lights were still on when I passed Doyle's.
Lovely day, but ground wet this morning and humid.
John Boyle O'Reilly died in Hull, Massachusetts in 1890. This is the 17th season or Wheel of Fortune, and I am sick of it. The best music on WFCR is to be heard on Sunday mornings and especially in the middle of the night. Clarentha A. Coleman is Director of Personnel for the Springfield Public Schools.
Spent most of yesterday and today at home reading. I wrote a letter to President Caprio this morning, then dined on bacon, eggs and a peach. Went out first thing to the McDonald's on Allen Street and had a steak, egg and cheese bagel with a coupon. The manager asked where I got the coupon and I told him at the Taste of Springfield. Read a morning paper that someone had left behind in the restaurant. Next I went to Food Mart to get some brown bread and other items on special. I made copies at Pride and mailed something to Moriarty at Breckwood. I found a MARS Night Club Grand Opening featuring D.J. Michael Kane flyer lying on the ground.
When I got back, I came across an old lock from the Waterbury Lock and Specialty Company in Milford, Connecticut that Mother got out of a bargain bin somewhere. I remember it never worked and when I sent a letter of complaint I got it back with a notice of no forwarding address. Perhaps they were already out of business when Mother bought it, yet she never threw it away.
Eamon called and told me that over the years he has given away thousands of dollars in clothes to the Salvation Army. He fears an economic downturn is coming soon. We got to talking about former governors, and Eamon said that Governor Foster Furcolo's administration had homosexuals in high positions. "Chris Mahoney, his chief secretary, was one." Eamon hears that Senator Brian Lees may be gay, but has never seen any evidence of it himself.
Eamon has heard nothing from Nader the Hatter. He did speak recently with Tony Ravosa, who told him that Tony Jr. is no longer with the Massachusetts Port Authority and is making more money as a political consultant. Yesterday Eamon was walking past the Springfield Newspapers building when he ran into an old friend. As they were chatting, David Starr and Larry McDermott walked past and gave Eamon dirty looks. Eamon gave them a big, friendly grin in return, thinking this would annoy them more than responding in kind. "Oh Sully!" his friend exclaimed. "They didn't look like they liked you too much!" Eamon laughed and told his friend, "It's a long story."
Red sun at dawn.
TV22 was showing us their new studio on the 6am news. It is supposed to be the premiere studio between New York and Boston. The Business section of the paper had an article about Mary Kay Wydra of the tourist bureau, she is an unmarried 34 year old who is a Springfield College graduate. Barbara Wallace is Senior Vice President of the Bank of Western Massachusetts.
Typed a letter to Wesley Church. Drove out to Pride at 7am and made copies, but on the way I dropped off something for Caprio. His car was not in his space so I left my stuff with Susette Curto, who was very cordial. No campus literature lying around. Actually, my first stop was at the Cohn's. She was at the kitchen table and he appeared and returned the Polish grammar book. He said Zachary has a hit a snag and won't be down to visit as planned. He also said "it's too bad" that Mr. Penniman's health is failing. Then down to Breckwood, where I saw two cop cars parked across the way at Duggan. I got the paper out of the Louis & Clark trash can as usual.
Then out to the Forest Park Post Office to put out my mail, including my letter to the Anti-Defamation League in Boston. The clock shop was open but I didn't go in. Bombed down to the Quadrangle, where I tried to park by Lido's, but the lot was full. Cops having a union meeting? I finally found a spot on Worthington. On the way downtown I paused at Fred Whitney's and left some stuff, including the Harvard recommendation forms. The garage door was open and his car was inside, but no one came to the door. Road work is still clogging the Edwards Bridge.
At the library I picked up Devine's latest newsletter, which includes a flashback to his Heroes and Villains of 1996. I then left a few items with the security guard at the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum. The Museum of Fine Arts lunchroom is closed for remodeling, silly because they just opened. Then I picked up my Mass estate tax forms at the old post office. The blood drive people had a table set up and a woman invited me to donate. I pointed to my leather jacket and replied, "I hear you don't want any from queers." She nodded and said, "So sorry." That took care of that.
My next stop was the current Federal Building, and I had trouble getting in. The metal alarm went off and they couldn't find the source until we realized it was the zipper on my fleece. I got the federal estate tax materials, then looked at a display of building plans for a new Federal Courthouse. They all look awful, although some are better than others. One proposed plan looks like nothing but big panes of glass held together by coat hanger wire.
I swung by the SIS Building and dropped off something for Christopher Bramley with his receptionist Joan Lewandowski. Then I made a deposit at the Bank of Boston, wandered through City Hall, then over to the courthouse, where I found Moran impeccably clad, cordial, complaining of back pain and not ready to return the book I loaned him. I decided to go the The Fort to dine, where I was greeted at the door by Rudi. I sat at the table under the bottle openers, but walked around a little first. I found the tunnel out to the back alleyway, it really is an immense and eccentric structure. Matty Ryan was there, seated with an old man. I had onion soup and a mug of beer and left a $2 tip. Down on Dwight in the porn shop next to David's, they have a small sex toys department with an nice iron collar, but Larry had no idea what the price was.
When I got home, the mail was already here and there were no calls while I was out. The mail included a letter from Marshall Moriarty, Chairman of the Springfield Republican City Committee, inviting me to a meeting about ward representation at Christ Presbyterian Church on Allen Street September 13th. Eamon called and said he was downtown filling out the papers to have his tax lowered as a disabled vet. He asked me to sell him my Roche's Collected Works of John Boyle O'Reilly. I said he's a friend and is free to borrow, but the set is not for sale. He argued that he is afraid to borrow lest something happen to it, so I told him if so he is forgiven in advance. I also gave him the number of East Bay Books. We talked about the ad in the paper for Halloween jobs at Riverside.
Eamon's caller ID shows his editorials get regular calls from Jahn Foundry and John Cameron. Eamon is surprised because he hasn't said anything about Jahn Foundry since the time of the explosion. Eamon told me Spellacy called and told him that Starr, McDermott and Wayne Phaneuf came down to the police station and complained that they are not being given regular updates on important investigations and their reporters always have to ask. But Chief Meara was not around, she goes to a lot of official functions.
Raining this morning, then hot and humid.
Manhood is a current issue. Formerly both the church and military taught young men discipline. Such is no longer the case and things are getting out of control as young men aspire to male stereotypes. Nastiness prevails. A monument to the kids killed at Kent State was unveiled today. What a disgraceful adventure Vietnam was. Why didn't they unveil the monument on May 4th, the actual date? Henry J. Duffy is Curator of the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish, New Hampshire. Just Friends on Hampden Street in Springfield has a monthly Latin Night with Nina Arena. Wes and Mim Herwig took a birthday cake to their daughter Daphne Fleury of West Brookfield.
Trash went promptly. Dined on dropped egg, a peach, corn flakes and then later Franco-American Ravioli. Reading about Edwardian fiction. An awful lot of these authors were educated at home, as Grandfather George Manuel Miller was. A lot of little moths on the breezeway today. Drove out to the Acres looking for the Valley Advocate, but nobody had one. Then to the Eastfield Mall, where they were giving away a free vegetable brush. Went past the theater and the ticket seller lady told me that business is usually slow except on weekends.
The mail didn't come until 5:30pm. What's up? None of it was First Class. I called Merrian-Webster and Ann answered, saying that Bicknell was in a meeting. She connected with John Morse's secretary and I left my complaint with her. Nader the Hatter has given me a copy of his manuscript What Clinton Should Have Said to Face the Nation With Dignity. He said the idea of it came to him in the middle of the night.
Eamon called and said he is a member of Cosco for $35 per year, but he isn't sure he's getting his money's worth. We talked about the opening of the riverfront in Hartford. He also told me that the article in the Advocate dumping on McDermott is excellent. We also talked about the Talented and Gifted program in Springfield, which Eamon says is a mess.
Eamon told me he listens to WMAS because he "likes the oldies." It will cost $287,000 for United Wreckers to clean up after the fire in Holyoke. Eamon said his brother Raymond the Fire Chief, who died young despite working out three times a week, told him once that the Holyoke Fire Department has the wrong fire fighting philosophy. They fight fires from the street, instead of aggressively going into a building and knocking the fire down from the inside.
Rainstorm at dawn, biggest shower we've had for weeks.
A lawsuit has been brought on behalf of the disabled, claiming that the courthouses in Plymouth and Franklin Counties deny adequate access to the handicapped. There was a picture in the paper of Thomas F. Moriarty, history professor at Elms College, walking through the old Elms Library in Berchman's Hall. The Boston Nasty Boyz are performing at Club Escape on Paine Street in Chicopee. The Pioneer Valley Brew Club is located on Taylor Street in Springfield.
Years ago the Gallagher's painted their house lilac and then later put maroon paint over it except for a patch on the back of the roof, I suspect because it is a difficult spot to get to. Dick Nichols never finished painting the sides of the gables at the back of his house and they are tacky looking. Kelly has pulled the weeds out of her lawn and reseeded.
Out bright and early at quarter to ten. I got the paper out of the Louis & Clark trash can, then stopped at several tag sales. I got some video boxes that were marked H.O.T. 1900 Wilbraham Road. I also saw a desktop paddle wheel such as I once saw on the reception desk of the Valley Advocate. At the Evangelical Covenant Church the base to the steeple has been mounted on the roof. A new building is going up just beyond Angelo's and Arnold's on Bay. The Pier One building at the corner of Parker and Boston Road has been demolished and the land leveled.
From the tag sales I proceeded downtown and parked on Dwight near the old Federal Building and headed to the fair on Mattoon Street.The temperature was in the 70's, all of nature was cleansed and refreshed by the morning rain. The sky was blue with puffy cumulus clouds, with the light of the sun filtering down through the leaves of the trees onto the pavement. The sight of the white exhibition tents along Mattoon reminded me of why I consider the Mattoon Fair Springfield's most lovely event. If I were entertaining someone in Springfield, it is the weekend of Mattoon and Glendi that I should want them to come.
I walked around and studied the crowd. Mattoon Street has always had high standards and they remain true to them. The quality of their stuff is someplace between Westfield and Northampton and well above Longmeadow (just because people have money enough to live in Longmeadow doesn't mean they have taste). Mattoon is certainly well above the country craft schlock of West Springfield. The quality is still there, but not as many vendors.
When I arrived at 10:30am there weren't many customers. The last time I was at Mattoon they charged admission and the booths were spilling out into Chestnut and curled around the corner toward the triangle. There were so many people it was hard to walk around. In my opinion there were over twenty fewer booths this time. I saw no posters. Mattoon Street was looking pretty empty compared to past years. There was no Doyle the Twig Painter or other local artists such as Hayward or Gnatek who had once been Mattoon Street regulars. Louise Minks had a sign "Artist of the Day" on her easel. I bought a marsh painting of Leverett Pond from her.
At one point a woman carrying a canvas covered violin case called out to me. She was wearing a white blouse, red shirt and short heeled black shoes. I realized it was Stacia Flipiack Falcowski, the violinist/vocalist from Indian Orchard. She told me she studied with Maurice Freedman and was in the Junior Symphony, just like me. What a coincidence! She described herself as an environmental activist with a degree from UMass. I mentioned Eamon and Belle-Rita and promised to send her info on how to get in touch with them. A few minutes later she was performing alone and at one point asked me what I would like her to play. I suggested Meditation from Thais, as I know no one who studied under Freedman could fail to know it. She played it very nicely.
There was lots of empty space and no booths near Chestnut. There were two food booths at the top of Mattoon, one run by the Hispanic Baptists with a line of twenty or more customers. A larger role by these people in the fair in the years ahead would be a blessing. Good gay community turnout, I spotted a few couples holding hands. I talked to the Preservation Trust Lady and asked if Fran Gagnon was still involved with their group and she said she used to be but no more because "she's busy with other things." I said I didn't think much of her and the lady volunteered "a lot of people don't."
I then spoke with a man and woman at Encore Players, which is celebrating their 25th season, and they were very forthcoming. They said that in the old days under Steve Hays, Stage West was very friendly to them. But shortly after Hays left, things changed, certainly after moving into the city, and now Stage West has nothing to do with them, no sharing, no communication. They said Stage West is no longer sensitive to the kinds of shows Springfield audiences want. I recalled that Eamon told me he has been to Encore performances and they were good, despite the acoustical problems at the Sanderson Theater.
From Mattoon I went over to Glendi 99, which is back after a year hiatus and has always been my favorite cultural festival. Glendi is a high toned event, clean and well run, exactly what a cultural fair should be and a model for others. Their tent is enormous so nobody has to worry about getting out of the sun or rain.
I paid $6 for a gyro plate, which turned out to be different than the one I used to buy at Madison. In Wisconsin, the plate was piled high with meat, lots of onion, tomato wedges and with sauce poured generously over the whole business. It was a feast and I got one every month or so. However, at Glendi it consisted of only a gyro sandwich with a little rice on the side. I drank no beverages. There was a long table of Greek desserts but I bought nothing. There were a few men standing around to pick up dishes and wipe the tables.
In the basement of the old public library they had an art show, but the prices were far too high, selling for thousands what was only worth hundreds. There were few of the beautiful Greek scenes I recall from the last time I went. Upstairs they had a good tag sale going, which included the Diamond Gold Connection dealer, a fine table of Russian religious icons and nice boxes of carved wood featuring images of bears and rabbits. I bought a handful of Russian postcards, which are fairly difficult to get.
There were several hundred under the tent, watching a line of red, white and black clad Greek dancers. My Jewish neighbors Mr and Mrs. Cohn were there making a purchase of Greek sweets. Bradley and his wife were just arriving at one sale as I was leaving. He asked me, "Do you still wear orange?" Apparently, he has a problem with it. I decided I had enough for one day and exited. Home at 4:20pm. The mail brought a nice thank you letter from John M. Morse at Merriam-Webster for the painting registration forms I sent him.
For supper I had a Marie Callendar Chicken Pot Pie, which has good crust. An Alice Quinlan called asking, "Are you the John Miller who went to Holy Name School in Chicopee? When I replied no, she apologized for bothering me, but it was the only way she had of finding this person. Called Aunt Maria and she answered with a hearty hello. Called Crosset and Powell about the upcoming Republican party meeting featuring Fred Whitney.
Tom Vannah of the Valley Advocate returned my call and we had a cordial chat. I congratulated him on his piece on McDermott and told him that many are praising Mo Turner's piece on the Police Department. I informed him about Spellacy also liking it because it was critical of the Meara regime. He seemed quite interested as I told him how I got my season pass revoked by Riverside. I had no problem hearing Vannah's voice, which was not always the case when I spoke with Maureen.
Eamon called and we talked for about 15 minutes about the lawsuit by Dianne Wilson over injuries she received at Riverside in June 1998. Eamon said Chicopee is paying $70 per day for substitute teachers and more if they work for an extended period. Eamon has not yet received an invitation to the opening of the Irish Cultural Center Grand Opening. We talked about the decline of Protestantism in Springfield and all the churches that have closed or merged. I was surprised by how little Eamon seemed to know about the Protestant faith.
Sunny, a beautiful day once again.
A towering steeple will be raised 75 feet above ground by a giant crane to the top of the new sanctuary building of the Evangelical Covenant Church, at the intersection of Bradley and Plumtree roads in Sixteen Acres. Their first church property was at 17 John Street in Springfield's North End until 1953, when they moved to their current location.
Worcester now wants a baseball stadium. Thirty years ago it was civic centers. Anthony Lake, former National Security Adviser, will speak at the Springfield Public Forum on October 21st. Muhlberger is not in the phone book. Dined on tomatoes and toast.
Increasingly things are being put in squeeze containers, and now they are going to sell peanut butter that way. I'll bet manufacturers like squeeze containers because food is left behind that you can't squeeze out and that means more sales sooner. No scraping clean a squeeze container. I came across some of the last checks from Shawmut signed by Father in 1985, and it is obvious his handwriting was failing.
I went to bed this morning at 12:35am after listening to some Swedish composer's Reminiscences of the Norwegian Mountains which was hauntingly beautiful. Out to McDonald's with another coupon for a free steak, egg and bagel sandwich. My supply has lasted all summer and I have two coupons left. The McDonald's on Allen was well filled as it always is, but next door at Wendy's there was only three cars in the lot. As I left, I pointed out a loose door latch to the McDonald's janitor, a black gentleman with pigtails.
Next I made copies at Pride in the Acres and photographed the progress on the new library roof. The Goodwill, whose Grand Opening I missed on the 9th, had a large red balloon in front. From there I headed downtown and parked on Spring right near the back door of Technical High. I headed over to the second day of the Mattoon Fair. It was a beautiful day and a good turnout. There were people all around and I took pictures. The Jozephczyk's were there and we exchanged pleasantries. I said I'll have to have them over sometime. I then drove over to the North End to check out Glendi again and parked in front of the Peter Pan bus garage, the old trolley shed. There was more people there than yesterday.
When I got back, the Allard's were just going out to eat. He asked, "How are you doing now, living all alone?" He also said they hated the oak tree that died during the drought and claimed the city will have to remove it because it is on the tree belt. I suggested they might be sluggish about doing so and promised to have them over for sherry sometime. Eamon called and we discussed McDermott's latest diatribe against lengthy letters. Eamon claims I wouldn't last a week married to a woman. Could well be.
Dined on cornflakes, peaches and a Subway grinder I bought downtown, generously prepared by Shkena, who after a hiatus still remembered how I like vinegar and oil. D'Affunchio's Ristorante and Pizzaria next door is closed and available for rent thru Colebrook. I think Lou Dramin's was in there and the art deco motif goes back to Arden's. The Reminder was delivered and the mail came at its heels, delivered by the regular guy. The General Edwards Bridge will be closed tomorrow, it has been tied up on and off all summer.
Took a pile of mags down to the Cohn's and Mrs. Cohn was at the kitchen table so I left them with her. Her husband was out. Poked my head into Penniman's, but she had her hair up in curlers so I simply said hi and extended my good wishes. I didn't hang around. Got the paper out of the Louis & Clark trashcan. From there I went to drop off film, which would be developed by noon (I don't really need such good service) at Walmart. The clerk at Walmart was an Oriental guy named Lenny so I asked him if he had ever heard of Lenny Bruce. He laughed and said, "That's who my parents named me after!" However, he admitted than he has never read anything by Lenny Bruce. The film developing cost $6.46. I counted 31 cars in the parking lot. The new pavement on Boston Road is really nice, the orange lines in the middle remain to be painted.
Next I headed down to Merriam-Webster, where I left something for Mr. Morse with their chubby receptionist Ann. Directly across from their main door was a light blue car with the driver's side window smashed out. I saw a cop standing around Pearl Street so I told him about it. There were cars parked illegally all along Pearl by the Armory fence and every one of them had an orange ticket on it. Then down to the Greek Cultural Center where I got a Glendi 99 poster. From there I drove back downtown and and parked on Salem. At City Hall I ordered seven copies of Mother's death certificate, which they said would not be ready until 3pm tomorrow. Got a grinder at Subway and then headed home, pausing to photograph the steeple raising at the Evangelical Covenant Church. I told the person in charge I would give them copies, it turned out to be Ralph Carlson, a Vice-president at Spaulding in Chicopee.
At night I went to the Republican City Committee meeting wearing my Raising Hell is My Business t-shirt. It turned out the meeting was quite worthwhile. I had hoped Brian Santinello would be there so I could tell him I think he's an Albano toady who only turned Republican in hopes of getting a big job in Boston. However, although he had been at the GOP picnic, he was not there tonight. Candidate Scott Santaniello was there, he has signs all over town but is somber rather than smiling and doesn't speak very loud.
Marshall Moriarty arrived late, but made some good comments about the need to recruit more minorities into the party. I doubt that will happen, but Marshall's heart is in the right place. The Powell's were there and were chatting with Fred Whitney when I arrived. Karen told us she is going to run her dog for Mayor as a joke write-in candidate because Mayor Albano has no opposition this year. I mentioned Wavy Gravy's Nobody for President joke campaign and she remembered it. Mr. Whitney wasn't all that friendly towards me, I don't think he liked the way I was dressed. His son walked by me without speaking. Bob Magovern of Agawam was there. I counted 26 attendees in all, no blacks or Latinos.
While I was chatting with a young Italian fellow who lives in Longmeadow, recently graduated from Worcester Poly in Chemical Engineering, a tiny mouse appeared in the hallway. I stepped on him and threw the corpse in the trash. We figured he probably got in through the back door of the church. I put a dollar in the collection pail, they served coffee, donut holes, stale cookies but nice brownies. I put Eamon's phone number on the blackboard at one point and told everyone to call "to find out the latest news."
The whole event was Whitney giving a presentation, after being introduced by Mary Kaufman, about the need to change from at-large to a ward representation system. Whitney stated that the current system "has killed democracy in Springfield." He spoke politely, honestly and with confidence, coming across as a real teddy bear. I could hear Whitney just fine. Later I told him he should develop his speech into a scholarly paper. Whitney said Tom Devine has been appearing regularly on Kateri Walsh's radio show on WHYN. We both agreed that it is difficult to get elected in Springfield if you are not Irish or Italian.
Eamon's present answering machine editorial is about the need for term limits. Eamon called and talked about his oldest brother Gerald, who died of scarlet fever. Eamon got it too and it stunted his growth, so as a kid he had to be tough in order to handle bigger kids who gave him a hard time. Eamon said Peter Hogan, who vacations at Groton Long Point in Connecticut, told him that Eddie Boland just spent $1.2 million for a place down there. It's more private than on the Cape where a lot of big politicians go.
Eamon then talked about Boland's adviser and life long friend Daniel Keyes, a Chicopee judge. Keyes never gave any politician more than $25 and his son was a disappointment to him because he never became a lawyer. Young Keyes was briefly Hampden County Treasurer, but was defeated by Rose Marie Coughlan. The son also sold life insurance and Eamon described him as "light as a feather" intellectually. Eamon then told me how he himself once tried to sell life insurance, but he couldn't stand the idea of scaring people into buying by talking about heart attacks and the need to provide money for loved ones.
It was a busy day. Peter Pan has closed its pizza shop in the Springfield bus terminal, McDonald's will move into the pizza shop's former space. Dined on Swedish meatballs and peppers. Spoke to Karen Powell briefly, she told me that Picknelly's son was involved with the Cellucci campaign. According to her, the Picknelly family deals with both Democrats and Republicans and "play both sides of the fence."
Went out to cut the lawn, and brought out Sweet Pea and Honey Pot so I could take their picture sitting in the driveway. I also clipped down the goldenrod, which has crowded out the phlox in the garden. Kelly was home watering her lawn. Both Mrs. Penniman and Martel drove by and waved. The Allard's went by in their black Cadillac. The street sweeper came by, which seemed silly, they should have come by after the trash gets picked up tomorrow.
At Breckwood I sent a mailing to Tom Vannah which included a note for him to give to Maureen. I also got the paper out of the Louis & Clark trashcan. Then I left off a Harvard vita form on Fred Whitney's back doorknob, after swinging by Walmart, where I bought four rolls of film for $9 and dropped one off for developing. Then I drove downtown and parked in the parking lot for Jeff's Frames and walked over to City Hall to get the copies of Mother's death certificate, 7 for $56.
From there I headed to the unveiling of the bust of State Representative Andrew M. Scibelli (1911-1998). The ceremony was on Main Street in the South End, opposite Margaret Street, with a reception later at the Our Lady of St. Carmel Society. The bust of Scibelli is by Wilbraham artist Carl Sundberg. Governor Cellucci, a friend of Scibelli when they both served in the statehouse, was there along with Mayor Albano.
All the big shots were present, Peter Picknelly arrived in a white and cream Rolls Royce. Fran Gagnon and her husband sat right in front of me, he nodded to me but she remained sullenly silent. Had a chat with Leonard Collamore, who said he still collects Columbus material. Mayor Albano gave me a big smile and a handshake. I heard someone call "Wesley" and it was Marshall Moriarty. Joe Carvalho was there chatting with the Quadrangle lawyer and City Councilor Bill Foley. At one point a Monarch butterfly fluttered around the bust.
I spoke with the sculptor Carl Sundberg, who described himself as "a Swede who converted to Catholicism." I told him it was wrong that his name appeared no where on the program, although he was introduced at the end. I told him how much I admire his work and that the Scibelli bust has a great smile. An honor guard stood behind the monument throughout the ceremony. This was the third event I've been to recently where Kevin Kennedy has stood in for Richie Neal. Eddie Boland was there sitting with former Mayor Sullivan. Boland looked feeble and hunched over, that beach house he bought for a million must be some kind of estate planning.
WNEC President Caprio was there with an umbrella (it sprinkled slightly but soon stopped). Gagnon's umbrella was white and gold. Some Italian women sang the Star Spangled Banner and the Italian National Anthem. Many people spoke of how Scibelli was an early riser and used to call people at five in the morning. Several people spoke besides Governor Cellucci, including Picknelly, Albano, Heribero Flores, Cheryl Rivera, Tom Finneran, Linda Melconian plus Representatives Bill Nagle and Tom Petrolati. Paul Caron didn't speak but said hi to me.
There was a legion of professional photographers there to get official shots, but it was my desire to get more characteristic and informal shots. The monument is lovely in every way. I like the patina on the bust and I love the smile. It is a very fine job, although it is too bad an image of the bust did not appear on the printed program. It is very too bad that the sculptor's name was also omitted from the program. I feel the omission was distasteful and elitist. But it was a wonderful event, a happy event, a beautiful event.
At the reception at Mt. Carmel, the refreshments were excellent. They served cream puffs with real cream, little cakes from LaFiorintina plus a platter of veggies from which I took only one tomato. They had a plate of cheese, finger rolls filled with egg salad (I consumed two) deviled ham and tuna fish.
When I got back to the car I gave Jeff the framer a program for letting me park at his shop. On my way home I stopped to see Mrs. Staniski, who I found sitting on her front porch. She said she had been over to see Carol, who has had a knee operation and can't drive for a while. Ann is expected this weekend.
TV22 had a reporter on talking about food safety at the Big E and said the stands are inspected "by the town of Springfield." Louis & Clark has stores in Baystate Medical Center, Mercy Hospital, Chicopee, Wilbraham, Breckwood Shops and one on Page Boulevard. The Dance Company is in most of the old lawnmower place at the plaza. As of the end of August my Hampden account has $2,916.79 in it.
Dr. Thomas G. Little has died at age 87. He was an oral surgeon in Springfield for over 35 years and his daughter Susan Little, a thin, dark haired girl who often wore plaid skirts, was in my 8th grade class in Room 203 in Buckingham. At one point she invited our class to a picnic at their large house on Parker Street about opposite Hillcrest Cemetery. I think her family moved to Longmeadow in 1958.
I've been reading and working on the estate. At Louis & Clark I mailed the quarterly tax payments to the IRS and a note to Lois the artist. Ciatras was there but sheepishly just said hi. Then I delivered the steeple pictures to Aggie in the ground level office at the Evangelical Covenant. There were lots of cars in the parking lot so there must have been something going on. It was starting to sprinkle as I arrived at the Albank on Island Pond Road. Then to STCC, where the lady in the President's office took my letter. I walked around the campus a bit and picked up a few posters.
Next to Eamon's, who was out so I left my magazines in a chair by the garage. Then to Savers, where I found a used book with a John A. McDonough business card in it. I also bought a hardcover Portable Arthur Miller, an unusual find. A young guy in a red Savers employee cap told me that if something doesn't sell in about a month they take if off the shelf. I also popped into Food Mart and bought the specials, especially the Swanson dinners and Progresso soup. I could survive just buying the foods that are on special. I stopped and got a McDonald's double cheeseburger with bacon for 99 cents, on the way home I saw Doyle doing his twig painting under his umbrella.
I called Sheila at the Probate Office and she immediately recognized my voice. I told her a lot of people recognize my voice and asked if there is anything funny about it. "Nothing at all," she said, "It's just a very distinctive voice. You said once you were an English teacher and I'm sure you were a very good one." She said she would see that I get the form. Called and spoke to Karen Powell briefly, she said she doesn't think Larry McDermott is all that bright. She also agreed with me about the Seuss statues, they need color and motion to better represent the style of Seuss' work.
Eamon called and said Nader the Hatter called him on Monday. He also thanked me for the magazines I dropped off. Eamon said he was down talking to Dick Serkin at Feinstein's Leather, who told Eamon he believes the baseball stadium will fail. Serkin has heard rumors that the Mardi Gras may buy the Exeter Building and tear it down for parking. He said of David Starr: "He'll step over a dollar to pick up a dime."
Rainy, windy, cleared up in the afternoon.
The Hispanic population is growing at a rate five times the rate of the general population due to immigration. The City Council has approved a $5 pay raise for Springfield Election Workers, the first since 1986. Peter Pan closing its pizza place reminds me that the bus station used to have a nice bar. Marsden P. Earle is the Treasurer of the Pilgrim Society and Museum. My Investment Broker is George C. Gouzounis.
In 1994, Mother was sad that the Col. Israel Converse Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution never thanked her for her check and note. So I wrote them today: When, in the frailty of old age, my Mother resigned from the DAR, she wrote you a check and sent you a pretty note wishing you well. You might at least have sent a note thanking her, but you did not. She was sad about that, but would not have written you about it. Now that she is deceased, I have. You should be nicer to old ladies. I sent a copy to Shirley R. Gentry of the DAR Springfield chapter as well.
I finished reading Howard Stern's Private Parts. It is not daring enough to be dirty and not arty enough to be high porn. No profound message, trash. TV said the reason for the slow growth in popularity of electronic books is fear, uncertainty and doubt. Phooey! Carol Malley's article in the paper says Barbara E. Rivera, Director of the New North Citizen's Council "has been waiting ten years to see the former Carew Street School demolished." TV22 says there was no NBA basketball here last year "due to poor attendance." There will be one this year, but future games "depend on attendance this year." Woman on WFCR was talking about "turning tools of war into tools of peace."
Out in the morning to put out the mail at Louis & Clark. Then to Hancock Fabrics, where an elderly oriental woman in front of me in line tried to pay with a credit card but the machine declined to accept it. She was asked if she wanted to pay cash but walked off without the merchandise. There was a power outage today from 4:37pm to 6:11pm. I called WMEC and was told a power line was down on Birchland Avenue. Dined on baked potato, a pork chop, tomatoes on toast and donuts from Stop&Shop. I called Westfield State to reserve a seat at the John Hume lecture, but was told by a female at the Campus Center that he is not coming and Senator Jon Lee will come instead.
Terry Munoz called for the Wall Street Journal, saying a subscription would help me "meet the competition in your local area." I asked her what she had me down as doing and she replied Arts Law Letters. I explained to her that I have no competition in my field and told her not to call again. Tom Tyrone for Quest Communications called offering long distance services, I asked him to please not call again. A woman called asking to speak to "Gary Czerniak in the kitchen." I replied that I have no Gary Czerniak in my kitchen.
Called Fritscher again and got his partner, who said they've been together for twenty years. He also said Fritscher was glad I liked his book. I called Hungry Hill magazine and reminded them that they promised to get back to me about my letter of February 27th, which is now seriously overdue. Eamon called and said Quirk told him that the acoustics of Symphony Hall, once excellent, were ruined in the last remodeling. He was also told that Mount Holyoke College is "a nest of lesbians."
Eamon then added that most of the city's 39 department heads are "political hacks not qualified by experience or training." Eamon is mad because Councilor T. Rooke has announced his support for the land taking and stadium. He thinks Dan Kelly is also leaning towards the project. Eamon says Rooke drinks at The Fort and was stopped by the cops once but got off by claiming it wasn't drinking but his diabetes that impaired his driving.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg is being operated on for colon cancer. At first it was misdiagnosed as diverticulitis. Harry Houdini said, "The greatest escape I ever made was from Appleton, Wisconsin." WFCR broadcast a performance by the Springfield Symphony.
Reading in Larry Townsend, juggling papers. Washed dishes and did a load of laundry. I put out the mail with Cindy at Louis & Clark. I also copied some stock certificates. The Springfield Institution for Savings by Angelo's was closed. The SIS out at Cooley was open, so I went there. Then I got another McDonald's double-cheeseburger with bacon for $1.04. The young manager seemed skeptical and asked, "How many of these coupons do you have?" I replied that I wasn't sure. "We can only take so many of them." he said, but I got the sandwich. A little black girl was washing tables and watched me as I left. Was it my jacket or had she been told to watch me? The latch on their door is still broken.
From there I parked in the shade over by Mikara's and did some reading. When I got home I dined on a can of Progresso split pea and ham soup. Eamon called and told me he bought two loaves of specialty bread at Randall's in Ludlow and gave one to his sister. He said his prostate screening is scheduled for Saturday.
Gas $1.29 at the pond.
Raisa Gorbachev has died. I recall how insulting Mrs. Reagan was to her because Nancy didn't like being lectured to. The city is demolishing the former Van Norman Company building on Wilbraham Avenue. Mildred A. Buddington, a retired receptionist from the Monarch Life Insurance Company, has died at age 76 in East Longmeadow.
Out at 7:15 to Pride in the Acres to make copies, but their copying machine wasn't working. The clerk there calls me Mr. John because I remind her of Elton John. That is flattering. At 16 Acres Mobil Otto Welker gave me a courteous greeting. He took a look at my light and said the part is $140, but he had none in stock. He called Camerota's, but they had none either. Al said he'll see if he can track one down.
Out to AAA and read in the car while waiting for them to open. They said they can't find the title, but will write to Boston for another. Put out the mail at Louis & Clark. I also dropped off a bag at Fred Whitney's. The Edwards Bridge had one lane ripped up. Swung by Eamon's to drop off stuff and found him watering his front lawn, he has a new garage door that he is thinking of painting almond.
I dropped off pictures of the Scibelli bust dedication with the woman in the President's office at STCC. I plan to send him a portrait registration form for their Ed Garvey painting. Heading downtown, I noticed that the Stop & Go store by the towers on Chestnut has a sign saying the Sunday Republican is only $1.25. At Bank of Boston I got a money order and Ann said my account is still over $25,000. Got the Hartford Courant out of a Main Street trash can.
From Bank of Boston I was startled to discover that as of sometime this spring A.G. Edwards has moved out of its first floor suite at State and Main in the old Mass Mutual building and moved into the Chamber of Commerce suite on the third floor of the Bank of Boston building. Steve Marantz, the Dartmouth guy, who was my broker for some years, has left for somewhere in Connecticut. My new one is a guy I've seen before, George Gouzounis, who seems nice enough. He's Greek so I told him how much I like the St. George Cathedral and their Glendi festivals. He agreed to supply figures for the stock Mother and I owned jointly. He told me that Chittenden, parent copy of The Bank of Western Mass, is down in price so I bought 40 shares.
Next Shkena at Subway made me an enormous deli-baloney sandwich, for which I thanked her. Walking back to the car, I paused to admire a display of masks in the window of the old Johnson's Bookstore. A little man in a green suit with a heavy accent came along and asked me where Johnson's is. I had to tell him they went out of business a year and eight months ago. He said he was looking for a Russian-English dictionary, so I pointed him towards Edwards Books. He headed there after thanking me profusely.
Back home, the Reminder was being delivered as I pulled into the driveway. I decided to call Peter Johnson, who said he's still getting mail for the bookstore. He told me he "enjoyed very much" the article about me in the Valley Advocate. Karen Powell called and told me that Election Commissioner James D. Sullivan told her that about 80% of the signatures needed to put the Northgate land taking on the ballot have been approved. Stacia called and thanked me for my letter. She's President of Citizens Against Pollution and she's been interviewed by Maureen Turner. She said she knows the Robillard's at Cat's Paw, but they do not support her activism. Michaelann Bewsee is a supporter who sometimes comes to her meetings. I told her to call Eamon's number.
Lightly raining on and off all day.
Springfield's first City Hall at Court Square was built in 1864 on land donated by Chester W. Chapin and was destroyed by fire January 6, 1905. When my late, sweet Father published an article on insurance ethics in the CLU Journal, why didn't the local CLU chapter congratulate him on it? Is Springfield a city that reads? Does it read the right stuff?
Had Swanson's sausage, scrambled eggs and hash browns for breakfast. Charles Gibson on Good Morning America mentioned that "the resources of the world are at their breaking point." Who needs war? Somebody on WFCR said, "Americans are too cynical." They complained that ironic detachment has become the custom so as to escape conviction, sincerity and feelings. Cited Seinfeld. I picked up Devine's latest release this morning at Louis & Clark.
Called St. Germain, but when a man answered I hung up. Spoke to ex-Rep. Whitney, who said he hasn't sent the recommendation to Harvard yet, he's been concentrating on getting his son's house sold by October. He told me he will have very nice things to say about me. Fred said he didn't go to the Scibelli unveiling "because I never had any respect for Scibelli." We both praised Marshall Moriarty but neither of us likes Brian Santaniello.
Eamon called and told me he finally got a flyer from Elms. He then mentioned that his sister's oldest daughter Connie is in charge of trusts at Bank of Western Mass. At one point Eamon made a remarkable statement, "My mother never had much use for money, she claimed it is "just a means of exchange." Eamon thinks that A.G. Tom Reilly wants to run for Governor.
Then he told me he had a long chat with Stacia Filipiak Falkowski. I got the impression that he was a great help to her. She told him she has two masters degrees and worked for 23 years as a Special Education teacher in Enfield. She's divorced and has a son. Her father was a violin maker who died of cancer. Stacia doesn't like Mayor Albano, whom she claimed once made an arrogant remark to her. Eamon told her about his own activism as President of the Springfield Citizen's Rights Association opposing fluoride in the water. He also told her he heard that Interstate Uniform is a mafia company that donates campaign money to everybody. She agreed with Eamon that we do not have a good daily newspaper and the TV stations are ineffective. She also agreed with him when he said it is too bad that there is no one like Bill Putnam still around.
Next Eamon told me about a former Pastor of Sacred Heart Church, a tall, good looking Irishman, who lost a $300,000 inheritance paying off the families of kids he had relationships with. The Pastor was eventually sent to Pittsburgh and was never heard of again. Eamon thinks there is no way to get homosexuality out of the church because "it is too deeply ingrained." He also told me had no intention of attending the Scibelli affair, describing the state rep as "a phony who bullshitted everybody."
Overcast.
The Springfield Museums are putting on a "Hair-raising Halloween" on October 24th. Dr. David Chadbourne is a urologist at 222 Carew Street in Springfield. Be Green, a hemp store, is located in the Carriage Shops in Amherst. Mary E. Kaufman is Vice-Chairperson for the Springfield Republican City Committee. Keenan & Molta Associates has an office on Allen Street in Springfield. Socrates Babacas is President/CEO of BCL Associates. Alexander Chalmers wrote The Works of English Poets in 1810.
Last night I dined on broccoli and ravioli. I went out today around 9am and got the paper out of the trash at the Breckwood Shops. I was amused to see that the prizes for the newscarrier's contest are limo rides to Northampton and certificates for shopping at the Holyoke Mall. There were no prizes related to Springfield. I dropped off a bag at Mrs. Staniski's, she said Carol hasn't had her operation. Then I drove down to Wesson (built in 1906, the year of my parent's birth) for the free prostate screening. While waiting they offered large muffins, better than last year. They took a blood test as well as a digital examination by Dr. Raphael deLima, who proclaimed, "Everything is perfectly okay."
Then I drover over and parked on Salem Street and walked down the hill and found my way to the new tourist center, which just opened last week. It is nice and splashy but perhaps too small. Russ Denver's office is in the corner of the building where McDonald's was. Through the window I could see his WNEC diploma on the wall and some sort of legislative citation. Along Main Street they have tacky student art in the windows of the abandoned storefronts. I arrived at Subway at noon sharp and Shkena made my sandwich after serving a guy his salad. I love those sandwiches. Home at 12:35pm.
WFCR palyed a lot of Paganini today. I am preparing to loan Tom Devine the Ricks, Townsend and Fritscher books along with a copy of my poem. When the mail came, I returned a mailing from the American Heart Association addressed to Mother, telling them to send no more. Eamon called and praised the article in today's paper about the excellent results East Longmeadow's Eliel Gonzalez has gotten with his calculus class. Eamon told me he called Natalia Arbulvat at the newspaper and asked her how the Springfield kids did by comparison. She didn't know, and also said she didn't realize the terrible attendance figures at Commerce until Eamon told her. Eamon thinks that if we are to have a stadium, it should be a year-round, multi-use facility. He also recalled how TV22 had a call-in poll that showed 70% in opposition to a stadium.
I left after five and headed downtown to the City Council meeting about Northgate. By luck I was able to park in front of the Campanile and arrived in the Council Chambers about half past. Karen Powell and Maureen Turner arrived shortly after me, with Tom Devine and Jordan Williams arriving at quarter of. The Media One guy had a hard time getting the sound to work and when it did come on it wasn't that good. Tom said, "Isn't it ironic that the sound is fine when you watch the meeting on TV, but if you are actually in the room you have to strain to hear." Tom introduced me to Williams.
I offered Maureen a small plastic bag full of stuff I had prepared for her but she declined it. I bowed and said, "No ill feelings," and departed her presence. Maureen was sitting with Cohn, the manager of Northgate. Russ Denver gave me a big hi. First Albano presented his people and then the opposition got to speak. Mayor Albano spoke okay, saying "It is time to move this project forward." Peter Picknelly spoke of wanting to take his grandchildren to the park, but he was barely audible. Barbara Rivera accused stadium opponents of "anti-North-End sentiments." Rick Brown of the AFL-CIO talked about the construction jobs that would be created, and John Abbott from MassMutual stressed "investing in the future." Russ Denver read from the unanimous decision of the Directors of the Chamber of Commerce to endorse the project.
Councilor Bill Foley was the first of the opposition speakers, warning that the stadium project could put the city's finances at risk, especially if hazardous wastes are found on the site. The woman from Discount Liquors spoke, followed by Karen Powell, who questioned the soundness of the stadium's financing. Bob Powell did fine, he is soft-spoken but rattled off a list of concerns. Jose Gonzalez, a bald, goateed man from the North-End, claimed there was no need for a sports stadium. Leon Simons was followed by an old man who recalled seeing the old Pynchon Stadium burn down in 1950.
Carol Lewis-Caulton said the whole controversy should be settled at the polls and Dr. Mark Muller shared his stadium expertise. Bobby Brown, the retired cop and labor activist, talked about growing up in the old North-End. I spoke about 9:07pm and received long applause at the end. I mostly echoed what the Powells said, then read Henry Brooks' poem about "the laws they were made for the little." I urged the Council to remember that Democrats are supposed to stick up for the little people and "David Starr, Peter Picknelly and Mike Albano are not little people."
When the meeting ended I had a good chat with Melvin Brown. Barbara Garvey told me that to her knowledge, I was the only person to ever recite a poem to the Council. I promised to send her a copy of the poem, which I also promised to send to Bill Foley and Tim Ryan. I told John Baiback, the News Director for WNNZ, that the city needs to develop the neighborhoods, not just downtown.
Beautiful day, sunny, clear.
Tom Vannah has a column in this week's Valley Advocate entitled Same Old News blasting McDermott. It begins, "Somewhere along the way, Union-News publisher Larry McDermott lost his integrity." Mayor Albano has enrolled his three sons at the city's most popular school, taking advantage of a policy which allows members of the Sabis International Charter School Board of Trustees to bypass hundreds of other students on a waiting list. Other trustees doing the same are Edgar Alejandro, Joyce Barbieri, Lynn Lessard, Paula Meara and Raipher Pellegrino. Robert Jabaily is an Editor in the Research Department of the Boston Fed. Henry Brooke was born in Ireland in 1706.
My typing has been hard lately because I got a sliver of glass embedded in my left index finger. I got it out, but the cut has made typing slightly painful. Eamon called at 7:19am to tell me that my picture appears on the front page of today's paper, but my name does not appear anywhere in the text. Eamon couldn't say more, because his sister had just arrived. Socco Babacas also called about the photo, saying that my speech last night was "one of the best speeches I ever heard at a City Council meeting."
Today I attended the Eastern States Exposition. I parked on Salem in Springfield and took the bus across the river to the fair at 9:40am. The bus left us off at the back gate and the first thing I noticed (I was in my jacket and boots with an orange bandanna on my head) was that there was virtually no security to give me grief about my apparel. A young girl in tight fitting clothes said my apparel was "awesome!" It was Massachusetts Day and Cape Cod Potato Chips were giving away little bags of chips, as many as you wanted.
I went to all the state buildings and got free maps from each. The Young Building has been renamed International Plaza. The Industrial Arts Building was packed. The Connecticut Building had music playing so loud that it sounded like a disco. The New Hampshire Building was the least changed from previous years. That's where I met and chatted with a young Puerto Rican named Carlos. He liked my clothes, which is probably why he opened up to me. He's from the North End and wishes there was a police substation there to help control drug dealing. His father died of AIDS from using dirty needles and he spoke of "fucking up my life with bad decisions," although he said he is a high school graduate.
The Springfield Armory Museum had an exhibit. Mohegan Sun had a tent and was giving away free decks of cards. Christ Church was serving dinners in the Old Storrowtown Meeting House. I got a small order of French Fries for $2.50 and ate them on the green. I also bought a button for Eamon reading Full Blooded Irishman.There is a new ride called The Time Warp. Overall, there seemed to be more life, more vitality to the fair than in recent years. I got home at 3:05pm, which is enough fair for me.
The mail brought my Bank of Boston statement. Chatted with Eamon, who said Deputy Spellacy watched the City Council meeting on Channel 27. He told Eamon he thought my speech last night was "splendid." Eamon says I should try to get a tape of the meeting and hypothesized that "you'll never be on the front page again." Eamon said an impartial observer would have to conclude that it was the opponents that made the stronger case last night even though "Albano had it all rigged to favor his position."
Lovely, sunny day.
Went to Louis & Clark and was pleased to get several copies of yesterday's paper with me on the front page out of their trash can. There was a customer with a t-shirt reading, "I used up all my sick days so I called in dead." That reminds me that the Powell's have a bumper sticker that says, "A Tax Cut is a Pay Raise." Then to McDonald's for a cheeseburger. Dropped something off at Eamon's, and at Liberty Street I got rear-ended (gently) by Rabbi Alex Weisfogle of Spruceland Avenue in Springfield. Did no damage to my bumper, but his left front light was smashed. He was a sweet, polite old man and I told him I bear him no ill will for hitting my car.
Babacas called and said he wanted to take me out for a cup of coffee in five minutes. I said I'd have to put on my pants, so ten minutes. I was ready when he came by and he drove us down to the Dunkin Donuts in the Acres, where I noted a Yacavonne Landscaping truck ran a red light. At the donut shop Babacas invited me to "Order whatever you want." I got a jelly donut and coffee, he ordered coffee and a cruller. Then he made the discovery that he didn't have his wallet, so I paid the $3.26. He said he had a penny, but I told him to keep it.
Socrates showed me pictures of the new stadium going up in Washington and then showed me a card he got from the Governor of Virginia. He told me a lot of gossip, such as Peter Picknelly owns apartment buildings all over the North End. He believes Mayor Markel should have bought Monarch Place for back taxes rather than letting Picknelly have it. Babacas feels the land by Smith & Wesson or Blunt Park would be a better site for a ball park, but the reason they want it at Northgate is so the Springfield Newspapers can sell their land for a parking lot, move out of Springfield and save $800,000 in taxes. He wishes the Boston Globe would start a Springfield edition.
Socrates claimed that the renovation of Tapley School into apartments was "a crooked deal" with consultants getting enormous commissions. He thinks Bill Foley is the best City Councilor. He again praised my speech to the Council, saying, "You stuck it up the asses of them all." He also said he considers me to be "a down to earth person." Recalling my Father, he described him as "a nice man." He told me he doesn't smoke or drink because he has diabetes, and claimed to have attended as a child the dedication of the Calvin Coolidge Bridge in Northampton in 1939. He dropped me off back home after we had chatted for about an hour.
When I got back, I called Fred Whitney and told him I will drop off some things soon. He complained that someone had stolen his Scott Santaniello sign from his front lawn. Also spoke briefly with Karen Powell, who said their petition drive "has more volunteers than ever before." Left word on the petition drive with Belle-Rita on her answering machine. C. Lewis-Caulton called and congratulated me on my speech and I told her she could put a sign on my treebelt.
I then called Tom Devine to see if he knew whether John who does the morning news on WNNZ spells his name Bayback or Baiback. He admitted he didn't know. Tom told me he has read both of Howard Stern's books and found them "funny" but thinks the second one was better. I told him I would stop over soon and let him borrow some books on homosexuality.
We discussed the Council meeting, and Tom told me I appeared in news clips from the meeting aired on The Dan Yorke Show. He also told me that people are commenting positively on my speech on the Masslive forums and he will send me copies. Tom felt they should have mentioned my name in the newspaper. Devine also feels that Barbara Garvey gave the best speech and said I should be flattered that she praised my speech and poem in her remarks. If I want a tape of the meeting, Tom says I should try contacting Media One or WGBY. He thinks it will cost around $25. I usually get good information whenever I talk to Tom.
Lovely day.
As I left today Larry Lemaine, who lives at 131 near Ballard drove by with his wife in a sporty little car and paused to say, "Wonderful job the other night, you did a good job of representing us." There were several copies of today's paper in the Louis & Clark trashcan, some carrier must ditch their extras there. Why pay more? Then I stopped at a tag sale at 725 Plumtree, where a man came up to me and said, "That was a nice job you did on TV the other night." I stumbled upon another tag sale at the fancy colonial on the corner of Ballard and Ashland. They wanted $20 for rollerblade knee and arm pads. I paid 50 cents for a forest green plastic Moser Farms milk crate. I also got these books: The Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter (1927) in fine condition, Byrd of Virginia (1958) and Penguin Island by Anatole France (1947).
When I got back, I had a nice visit with the Cohn's. As I was coming home I saw Mr. Cohn sitting outside in his chair, so I stopped and took his picture, and then another with Mrs. Cohn. Mr. Cohn returned a number of things I lent him and told me that he saw me give my speech on TV and thought it was "terrific." I asked him what he remembered about he early days of Birchland Avenue. I started off by telling him some anecdotes about my house, telling him that my parents moved to Birchland in 1956 when I was starting at Classical High.
Soon he began to reminisce, saying they arrived in 1950. He told me there were only four houses when they moved to Birchland, which was a rutty, unpaved road in those days. He described the area as "a forest" with M.J. Berselli owning most of the land. Jeffrey Road was named after his son. They bought their house from William Dwyer, who was being drafted into the Korean War. It is a large Cape Cod, fancier then mine with a fireplace, breezeway and a single car garage. As the street developed, they began having street parties, which my parents never attended because they were never the entertaining sort and didn't drink.
Cohn originally came from New Jersey, and started a hat manufacturing business as Winfield Hats in Holyoke, then as the Ware Millinery in Ware. He worked almost around the clock, but still took his wife and kids on vacation every year. He has three children: His late daughter Myra, with whom I went to school, Zachary, the bookseller and Beth, the youngest. The neighborhood had "lots of children" and it was "an idylic place in which to grow up." Once there was a fire in the woods that threatened the houses. No one knew how the fire started, perhaps kids playing in the woods, but everyone used their garden hoses to keep the fire at bay until the fire department arrived. He says this may have been in July of 1955.
I recalled how Myra was friends with Teresa DeRiso, Charles Berg, Susan Little and Paul Tatro. We were all in Homeroom 203 at Buckingham. I used to ride home on the bus with Myra and Teresa, in the morning Father used to drop me off on his way to Monarch. A significant social event for our class was an evening when Myra invited out class to come to her house and I got to see Mr. Cohn's train set in their knotty pine basement. I also recalled our class being involved in the Toy for Joy Fund and that Myra got her picture in the paper. Myra was the first Jewish person I knew, but it meant little to me because my parents were not ethically oriented. Unlike many Methodists, I was not taught to hate Jews or the Irish. In the early 1990's, I wrote to Myra upon hearing of her illness and she sent me a lovely card I treasure to this day.
In all a great visit, for there to be understanding, there must be communication, and the Cohn's always communicated with the community all they could. Sometime while I was out, Ms. Lewis-Caulton came by and put up her sign on the tree belt by the tiger lilies. A brief thunderstorm passed over between 6:20 and 6:45pm. I called Aunt Maria and she didn't want me to read her Blanche Allen's letter, claiming "she tried to kill my cat." Is that true or is she nuts? At least she spoke to me in a polite tone.
Lovely day.
Used last remaining McDonald's Breakfast Bagel coupon at Boston Road, not Allen. Spent part of the morning mowing the lawn behind the house, but not the front or side. Then I set out in my queer suit to collect signatures for the baseball stadium referendum. Powers and Mrs. Abernathy and Mrs. Bradley refused to sign. Mrs. Penniman and Coburn said they had already signed elsewhere. But overall, most everybody signed. I now feel that collecting signatures at shopping centers is the way to go. Going door to door like I did is inefficient. Of course, I also had a hidden agenda of meeting the neighbors, introducing myself and to gather neighborhood gossip.
Mrs. Allard blurted out that she intends to vote for Simon the Dog for Mayor. She also predicted the referendum would get on the ballot and voters would send the stadium idea "floating down the river." Mrs. Allard informed me that she had J. McConachie for a math teacher at Classical Junior High. That would have been in 1946 because she graduated from Commerce in 1949. She claimed that Principal Williams at Classical Jr. was a Wesley Church Methodist.
Mrs. Sullivan told me her husband died recently. Mr. Cohn signed for both himself and Mrs. Cohn. Mr. Strain at 22 Birchland said he was 74 but he looks 65, a tall, athletic man with a good looking wife. He said they have lived on Birchland for 40 years and he used to run American Electric Cable in Holyoke. He recalled there used to be block parties but they faded out as the neighborhood kids grew up. Quiet remarkably, Strain said he was aware that I wrote articles and books.
The oriental father and son at 1525 Wilbraham Road signed. The father said he works in maintenance at Baystate Medical Center. Nice people. The Lynch's both signed, her mother was visiting from New Hampshire. Kelly signed, but Michael is not registered in Springfield. Kelly told me she likes the new management at Friendly's. Babacas signed for himself and his wife, whom he said was sick and couldn't come to the door. Larry Haile and his wife both signed, friendly people. She is still working as an aide at Homer Street School and knows of no plans for anyone to write a history of the school.
Had a good chat with Gilbert Vickers, whose son recently retired from the Navy. Mrs. Caputo, a cultured lady in color-coordinated clothing, was cordial and signed for both herself and her husband. Even in old age, Stanley Cresotti and his wife are a wonderful couple. He said they will have been married 54 years on September 16th. They moved to Birchland in 1954, building the house himself except for the plumbing. She worked at Johnson's Bookstore for a time, something I must follow up on.
Mrs. Walker at 65 said she works at Aetna and her husband stays home with the kids. The Honan's at 82 said they've lived here since 1949. Berselli built their house and it cost $12,500. Their's was the second house built on the street, which they described as "unpaved with a lot of mudholes." In the summer they would put oil on the street to keep the dust down. Honan said he was a "steel treater" at New England Metal on Columbus Avenue. Mr. Scott at 95 said he only moved in a couple of months ago, but used to work in the Underwriting Department at Fire and Marine.
The old Dick Petzold house has old newspapers, trash by the breezeway and an old phonebook on the steps. I said something to the guy at 100 about it and he agreed that all the junk invites break-ins and rodents. Oil painter Dorothy Parker Larson at 212 had a new driveway so I asked her about it. She said it cost $1350. She invited me in to see her art. She's an older woman, and I couldn't help but notice she has railings around her toilet as we passed the bathroom. Her still lifes are excellent, very realistic. I especially liked one of a milkweed letting its seeds go. One of a purple iris was also very good. However, her landscapes were disappointingly dull. She said her last art exhibit was at Tower Square.
Mrs. Berselli at 165, with her hair dyed red, had just gotten back from shopping at Filene's. She apologized for sounding hoarse due to bronchitis. She told me she will soon have a cataract operation done. She moved onto Birchland on August 18, 1948, her wedding day. Her husband graduated from Amherst College and their son was named after Lord Jeff. They bought the land that became Birchland Avenue from Dr. Paul Sanderson's father-in-law. We laughed to discover that we were both delivered by Dr. Sanderson. She also told me she recalled seeing Mother in Dr. Radzicki's office.
Dick Lucius said it's hard to feel patriotic about U.S. foreign policy these days. Lucius has a red Cadillac with a purple heart license plate. Their house at 141 Birchland was built in 1954 for $12,800. He has three daughters and was a Lieutenant in the Springfield Fire Department before taking early retirement to pursue his love of falconry. He recalled the fire of 1955, said it burned all the way behind Glickman School. Boilard Lumber owned the lot his house is on plus the one next door.
Turner at 116 is an old man, said his wife was a social worker. He told me I "made a good presentation" at the Council meeting but added, "I'm on the other side, I want the ballpark." We parted cordially. Picked up a few signatures on Jeffrey Road, but the people over there don't know me and were less friendly. A young woman at 50 Jeffrey, who has bird images on her mailbox, said she is single and just moved here from Worcester. I received some negative reactions on Jeffrey, including one person who proclaimed, "NO, I won't sign! Never!" Obviously Albano, with the help of David Starr, has made progress in their campaign to misinform the public. Got 64 signatures in all.
Stock market is slightly up. The High School of Commerce Class of 1984 Fifteen Year Reunion will be October 16th at the Knights of Columbus on Page Boulevard. Had stuffed peppers for supper.
First thing I dropped off a book on Lucius' chair inside his breezeway. Then out to Pride in the Acres and made copies. Someone had thrown a bottle at the side wall of Pride, there was a liquid stain on the stucco-like finish. I took a picture of it. Left film off at Walmart where I met a very friendly Helen Boyle.
From there I went to Big Y, where I was warmly greeted by manager Julie Cyr. After buying a heap of frozen goods on special, I was somewhat thrilled to have a man in a tan shirt come up to me in the parking lot and say, "I think you did a good job the other night." I thanked him and before parting he added, "It was typical Albano, always trying to ram things thru."
I dropped the car at the Mobil for inspection, then walked home to do some chores. Was surprised to get a phone call at 10:10am from Welker's 16 Acres saying my car was done. The bill was only $53.44. After walking up and paying the bill, I took the clipboard in my car with a referendum form on it and got two signatures from people waiting for inspections. I got two more, one from someone pumping gas and another from someone standing by Dunkin Donuts.
I asked a jovial cop walking to the Newsstand to sign, but he said he could not because he lives out of town. The officer congratulated me on my Council speech, saying "You did a good job, I'm related to Bill Foley." I thanked him and told him that Foley has been a big help to our cause.
Called Aunt Maria and read her the Billings note. Aunt Maria was unusually talkative. I asked about her cat and she said it is fine. It sounded as if Aunt Maria is doing okay today. I called Belle-Rita Novak about gathering signatures and she proclaimed, "I'm way ahead of you" and told me she will have signature gatherers at this week's X Farmer's Market. Good for Belle-Rita!
Chatted with Eamon. He said he went to twelve houses collecting referendum signatures, but they all said they had already signed at Stop&Shop. So he drove up to Liberty Plaza and found a black person already gathering signatures there. We joked that Eamon should have provoked the man into a fist fight over who could collect signatures there. From the Plaza he drove over to the Big Y on St. James and found no one collecting signatures there. I told him I saw no one collecting signatures at either Walmart or Boston Road Big Y today. Eamon told me that Spellacy thinks that referendum supporters will have no problem getting enough signatures.
Been overcast.
Wife: Someone to fight with.
"Digital Divide" is the latest buzz phrase used to describe people who are online and those who are not. President Clinton was speaking at a prayer breakfast and talked about "the power of forgiveness and grace unmerited." That's a Calvinist/Lutheran theology and in any case pure bullshit.
Chunk of my lower right wisdom tooth fell off so I arranged to have it pulled on Friday. Tied up two bundles of branches. Martel is cutting down Coburn's dead tree and left a little free wood by the curbside. I went to Dunkin Donuts on Breckwood and saw Mrs. Radzicki and her oldest son. I went out to my car and got my petition form and she signed.
Decided to go to the Cecil Group meeting tonight. They were conducting a public workshop on the Springfield Metro Center Downtown Master Plan. The Cecil Group is headed by Steven G. Cecil and is located in Boston, specializing in Architecture, Land Planning, Urban Design and Planning. There was a big red sunset as I drove into the city at quarter to six. As I walked past the Pynchon Building, I noticed the new Director Hamilton coming out the door. I approached him and introduced myself and gave him my card. I told him that the exhibits he has put on are very nice, traditional historical society exhibits and I congratulated him.
After we parted I headed over to the Museum of Fine Arts, where the meeting was to start at 7pm. Doors didn't open until 6:55pm and we had to sign in. I sat in the very front seat. There were 41 people present and it was an all white audience. Fran Gagnon was sitting with Joe Carvalho. Mayor Albano arrived shortly after I did.
The Mayor was the first to speak, after first being introduced by Sue Davison. Albano thanked us for attending "this important meeting" and promised us that "politics will play no role in devising the master plan." Then Steve Cecil introduced himself and spoke about coming up with 'some really good ideas.' As Cecil spoke, I spotted Albano quietly slipping out the door.
After a long slide presentation that included a number of historic photos of Springfield, Cecil spoke of the Hall of Fame and riverfront opportunities. He also mentioned public safety and the Entertainment District. The floor was then opened for remarks by the public, and Mr. Cecil took notes on people's comments, including my own. Fran Gagnon made a statement about protecting the historical integrity of the downtown buildings. I stood up and urged them to consider sociological issues as well as financial ones in revitalizing downtown. I also mentioned the "miserable failure" of previous downtown revitalization plans.
When I got home I saw that the stock figures came from George G. and I did some math for half an hour. Called Karen Powell to tell her about the meeting. She thanked me. I called Fred Whitney but he couldn't talk, saying he was working on a script for a generic TV commercial to be used by all Western Mass Republicans. Babacas called and wanted an update on the signature drive. At one point he called me, "The Mayor of Sixteen Acres."
Overcast.
I got up at 7am, read, then did housekeeping. The grief I have had from that bag of birdseed that went wormy has been unending! I have cleaned up the breezeway and have sprayed around, but the blanket over the wheelchair was full of larvae. The Union-News Extra came today and had a Walmart circular in it. Haskin of Fleet Bank called and she has the updated info for Mother's bankbook so I drove out there. There was a complete set of somebody's keys sitting on top of the teller's counter, someone left them there a couple of weeks ago and never came back.
About 2pm real estate broker Paul Montefusco came and looked over the house and will be back Friday with his analysis of the market value. At one point he remarked that my furnace still looks brand new. Montefusco lives over on Plumtree and said he used to work at Monarch in Disability Claims from 1987 to 1994. He told me he felt it was "disgusting what Gordon Oakes did to that company." He remembered Yarber as "a real nice man" and Bill Giles as someone who "drank like a fish." I showed him some of my Monarch memorabilia.
After he left around 3pm, I went to Acres Mobil to complete my payment and found Mr. Welker in a little, windowless office hidden by the repair room. He has a TV, a paper shredder, a fax, everything a businessman needs. We parted with friendly farewells. Then I went over to Burger King and with a 99 cent coupon I got a chicken sandwich. I am puzzled by the receipt I got which said I bought one sandwich for 99 cents and got another one for free. That was not the case, I paid 99 cents for one and that's all I got.
Then I went down to the WNEC College Fair, which was held at the Healthful Living Center. The college literature was loud, colorful, glitzy, non-academic and fun orientated. Some of the schools were handing out computer discs about themselves. I remarked to the representative from Holy Cross that colleges these days are seldom so bold as to show a picture of students studying in the library. On the way back I dropped off some magazine's at the Cohn's.
Eamon called and I told him about the Cecil Group meeting at the Museum of Fine Arts and he read me some excerpts from the account in the paper. Eamon said Babacas has been trying to call him but he doesn't call back. No sooner had Eamon hung up then Babacas called me. He told me how he used to have his own boy's baseball team that he coached for 15 years. They played over at Forest Park with Babacas covering all the team's expenses. Bill Metzger, the City Clerk, was his batboy and they still stay in touch. Babacas claimed that Metzger told him recently that the stadium is as good as dead. Metzger believes the Springfield Newspaper's presses are obsolete and they want to build a new plant in the suburbs and sell their current location to the stadium for parking.
Overcast and rainy.
An earthquake has been reported in southern Mexico, there's been a millennial crop of disasters lately. On Public Radio a woman remarked that "The United States dropped hydrogen bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II." Wrong, babe, it was atomic, not hydrogen bombs.
The paper says about 150 people attended a ceremony this week at the Quad for a dedication of the Starr Gallery of Watercolors in honor of "longtime arts patrons" David and Peggy Starr. WFCR says the Chinese are celebrating their 50th anniversary under communism and only invitees get to watch the parade in person. The general public must watch on TV. I think if Springfield televises it's baseball games, people will watch them on TV rather than paying to go.
Had ringing and diminished hearing in my left ear this morning. Cooked a pumpkin pie and put Draino down the drains. Dined on boiled corn and potatoes and a chicken from Food Mart. I have dumped my birdbaths, but still had to chase off two mosquitoes when hanging some wash.
Eamon called and told me about the Save Northgate Plaza flyer in the paper today. I drove down to Breckwood for the paper, but my copy did not have the Northgate insert. I called Karen, and she said the liquor store paid for the insert and they have received reports of them not appearing in all papers. I told her I would go out and do some inspecting.
I went to Sunoco and they had lots of papers, all with the inserts. The police were busting somebody at Fred's Shoes. Then to Dairy Mart in the Acres and they had the inserts, as did Newsstand. Walgreen's had a few papers with inserts. No papers at Big Y, but Pride did with inserts.
Mail got here around 1:15pm. The City of Springfield has appraised my house as being worth $104,300. My old evaluation was $94,000 and even that seemed high. I got a pretty note from STCC President Scibelli today, thanking me for the pics I gave him, stating "Tony would have been very pleased with the large turnout of friends and supporters and the photographs you took captured the mood of the event."
I called Evangelical Covenant and Aggie told me she gave my pictures to Matthew Burt. Socrates Babacas called and wanted me to go out to dinner with him in East Longmeadow, but I respectfully declined. He said he did not get a Northgate flyer in his paper.
Eamon called and said his sister the nurse said that doctors prescribe too much medication. He was also critical of David Starr's contribution to the watercolor gallery at the Quad, saying that $100,000 is peanuts to Starr and Eamon sent him a sassy letter saying so.
Warren Beatty, whom Eamon thinks is a "spend-mad liberal," says the Democratic Party has been taken over by Big Money. This morning on Good Morning America, Jesse Ventura said that organized religion is "a sham and a crutch for the weak-minded." Eamon is amazed by what Ventura said, saying it was politically unwise. I told him I'm glad Ventura said it, he will be respected for making such a remark and it doesn't mean that you stop respecting those who have religious beliefs.
Chippy S. Barber called and very politely excused himself for a wrong number. Voiceless unknown called and was in no rush to hang up.
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