Beauty in the City

For a city that has been down on itself for more years than I can remember, what strikes me as beautiful and inviting, may strike some folks as a downright pain in the ass.

Take for instance, Union Station. Have you ever tried driving by the station around 6:45 PM? Well, not only is the station buzzing with people returning from a long day of work in Boston or Framingham, it’s the site of the infamously known Washington Square.
I’ve lived in Worcester for 7-years and there has not been a year that goes by when there hasn’t been some type of construction taking place in the area. I think someone can’t make up their mind on the area is decides to dig up the circle and roads in order to afford their expensive bottles of Vino or pay for a child’s college education.

What I’ve found is there are a number of drivers that avoid Washington Square like the plague, similarly to Kelly Square. You know Kelly Square, the 7-headed beast of an intersection that will leave a driver with whiplash from having to looking back-and-forth checking and double-checking for oncoming traffic.

I might have to speak with Commissioner Robert Moylan, Jr. about the continued construction and the promise that, “The majority of the work will be done this year,” as he was quoted in the Telegram &Gazette on August 25, 2007.

Well, I certainly hope we’re past the “rough patch” of the construction phase and the roundabout will be completed in early 2008.

I know, I’m asking for a lot when old-man winter is around the corner and construction workers don’t enjoy working outdoors when the weather plays foul. Well, I take consolation in, if the weather is anything like the fall of 2006, the weather won’t get bad until after Three Kings Day.

Sites in the City

If you're not from Worcester, there are parts of the city that may strike you as odd or downright beautiful.

What I've noticed is what may appear odd may make a lot of sense & one has to stop themselves because there is/ was a thought process behind a building having been built, as well as what once horse-drawn path would become a modern-day street.

If there is an area that you have a special story about, please email us your story and pictures, if you have some. Please send your story to worcesterismajor@gmail.com, be sure to include your name, address & daytime telephone number.

Here are a few sites that I saw in my travels throughout the City. Enjoy!

Celtics not Wooing in the Woo!

In what started out as a simple night-out with the family, turned out to be amusing and sad, at the same time.

I decided to take the family to the Boston Celtics preseason basketball game at the Digital Credit Union (DCU) Center versus the New Jersey Nets.

God decided that we needed more rain and it began to pour as we crossed the street, making our way from the Foster Street garage into the DCU Center. As soon as we enter the main lobby to make our way to the Will Call window, not only were we met with a myriad of lines, but the odor of wet human flesh, on a warmer-than-usual October night was so odorous, it was downright Funky with a capital “F”.

Whoever is in charge of the Will Call tickets needs to rethink the system because I know a few 6 and 7-year olds that had a more streamlined system.

Once we found our seats and had to kick a few nice folks out of our seats, the game was already in full steam, but it was very obvious that the players were slipping and sliding.

I must give the DCU Center Staff credit for trying to reduce the humidity in the Center, but when there’s 69 degree weather outside and you add 10,000 people, the temperature was comfortable 74 degrees inside.

The Celtics’ starting 5 looked good, and Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett appeared to be firing on all cylinders. It’s too bad because by the end of the first half, it appeared that the Celtics were going to have out shoot the Nets, who were minus Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson.

Due to the floor being slippery with condensation from the ice below the hardwood melting, the referees decided to stop the game, having only played 2 quarters of basketball.

Upon the announcer telling the crowd that the game had been stopped on the public address system, the bellowing of “Boos” reigned from the rafters and the chants of, “REFUND” began.

Even though the Celtics players and Coaching Staff had agreed to sign autographs for half an hour, I knew it was time to gather the folks and head towards the exit.

So, it was an overall uneventful night and I hope that the DCU Center will figure out the condensation issue so that the Celtics can return next pre-season.

I’ll begin by crossing my fingers now.


Related Link:
Six arrested at DCU fracas (Worcester Telegram & Gazette)
Celtics Worcester Tickets Policy (The Official website of the Boston Celtics)