Quote of the day

To accomplish great things we must not only act but also dream, not only plan but also believe.-Anatole

Education: Teacher Pink Slips

The City of Worcester is about to get dumber by firing 54 teachers! And who loses? The children who will lose a teacher, a confidant and generally someone that they've built a rapport with.

There needs to be more "noise" made about this and I think that folks need to be realistic and realize that in order to pay teachers, the City does have to raise property taxes. Teachers need to be paid and the students deserve to have the tools that allow them to compete in this rapidly changing world.

Odgren found guilty

John Odgren, the suburban special needs student who fatally stabbed a classmate three years ago, was found guilty of murder in the first degree by a Middlesex Superior Court jury today.

Read the full story at http://Boston.com.  

Connected In The City

Two days ago I met a young lady who moved to Worcester in November
from Florida and I immediately asked her, "Why Worcester?". Her
response was insightful. (Oh, I promised that I won't use her legal
name, but for this article I'll call her Meredith.)

Meredith said that she works in the area for a big company that
"protects shit", and she was looking at apartments in Westborough,
Marlborough, Natick and Shrewsbury because some people she knows are
either from those towns or have family that live there currently. Ok,
I can understand moving to a City where you don't have any family,
friends or know much about the area, for that matter.

Meredith said she looked at those towns and found them to be, "Too
damn white" and continued to say "I'm accustomed to be around Blacks,
Spanish folks and Haitians who aren't afraid to share their background
with an inquisitive white girl."

Wow. Talk about a candid and fearless lady.

When she asked me how many years I had lived in Worcester, to which
the answer is 10-years, and what my impressions were of the City:
changing quickly and it scares the snot out of some folks that don't
want Worcester to become a metropolitan City.

We continued talking about various places to visit in Worcester to
learn about the City's history, restaurants, clubs and overall things
to do in the area, and then Meredith said that she had to, "get
connnected in the city to really make this my home", and "find out
what's the real deal with Worcester, because all I've heard about is
the crime, drugs and other bullshit!". "When folks talk about those
things, I take it with a grain of salt because that stuff goes on in
every city or town anywhere in the world."

Well, rest assured that Worcester has a new resident in Meredith that
is big on the City and wants to make it her home. Also, a word of
advice for anyone that meets a 'Meredith', don't feed her a bunch of
bullshit because she will hit you with the cross-eyed look that
instantaneously says "C'mon son, get the hell out of here with that
bullshit!".

Hands-free Cellphone PSAs

Are these public service announcements too graphic? And, is the person whom the driver is speaking to on the telephone, can they be held responsible for an accident?

I don't think the person who's on the telephone, not driving, should be held responsible. I'm a BIG boy and if the conversation gets too heated, I know well enough to hang up and wait until I get to that person's house to kick their ass or tell them I'll speak to them tomorrow when I've calmed down.

Hey, we all have options, right?

Sports: Boston Celtics

Joseph Sean McVey tries to meet President Obama....the Wrong way!

Joseph Sean McVey, the 23-year-old, from North Carolina went about attempting to "see" President Obama the wrong way by impersonating a police officer and having what police believed were rifle scope formulas in his "pretend" police car's cup holder.

Somerville: Owners just have to "Tolerate each other"

Somerville, known for being a tough town already, has lived-up to its name with two restaurant owners bringing the ruckus with their fists rather than with their spatulas.

These gentlemen need to have that breakfast cook-off soon and settle the craziness.

From a Town to a City