(This column first appeared in print December 26, 2006)
Christmas is over, the fat goose got eaten, and now its time to tackle the dreaded RESOLUTIONS. New Year’s, with all its drunken hoopla and frantic calendar switching, allows each and every one of us an opportunity for a new slate (or, slightly used slate, depending on your outlook). Now is the time to vow to change your ways, whatever they be.
For real resolution success one must do three things: 1. Actually make a resolution- writing it down helps. 2. Tell people about it, then at the very least you’ll be embarrassed into keeping it (unhealthy maybe, but helpful). 3. Set goals to reach your target – these can be real or imagined; whatever helps.
Do a Google search on ‘New Year’s Resolutions’ and you’ll get over 58 million hits. 58 MILLION websites referring to the annual act of trying to outsmart yourself. The website eHow has a five step list of how to make resolutions. One website links the practice of making New Year’s resolutions to the Babylonians about 4000 years ago. Resolutions topping the ancient Babylonian’s lists: returning borrowed farm equipment.
Yes, there are billions of kinds of resolutions to make and thousands of years of humanity’s experience to help you resolve. Top resolutions, which come as no surprise, include lose weight, stop smoking, get fit, quit drinking, get out of debt, and get an oil change.
I’ve read erudite expositions on why resolutions just bind us closer to failure or that resolutions should be smaller attainable steps of an overall goal. Perhaps. Mainly I think resolutions should put the FUN in FUNctional, so, this year I’m presenting the TOP THREE RESOLUTIONS OF THE DEVAL PATRICK ADMINISTRATION (because, if you can’t make fun of yourself, make fun of state government).
Deval Patrick Resolution Number 1: Local Aid Smoke and Mirrors: During the campaign Patrick promised to restore local aid to pre-2000 levels. Utilizing a political sort of fuzzy logic, the governor-elect believes that increasing local aid will lower property taxes. Patrick knows that the state house does not determine property taxes, that residential property values (and therefore taxes) are based on residential home sales, and that the real-estate boom in recent years brought more property tax increases in than anything else. Next year Tewksbury is headed for a slight decrease in property taxes, because the real estate market has slowed to a crawl and residential property values have plummeted around the state. Surely, Patrick will take credit for the reduced property tax “burden” on the people and tout it as a result of his increase in local aid (if, indeed, it comes).
Patrick Resolution 2: No Tax is Too Little: Patrick, in what will likely become a signature move, decided to keep a tax Massachusetts should have done away with years ago: Pike Tolls. Originally levied as a way to pay the bonds sold to finance the construction of the Pike, the toll is well past its expiration date, with many commuters complaining that they’re paying for the bloated albatross of the Big Dig rather than Pike maintenance.
Additionally, the Patrick campaign promoted the institution of local meal taxes as a way to “help local communities raise the revenue they need to support the services businesses need to thrive.” Just so we’re clear, charge customers (typically the residents of the town that patronizes those restaurants) more taxes to raise money to support services for the businesses in a town… Its dizzying logic. Watch for more creative money management solutions!
Patrick Resolution 3: Speak Vaguely and Promise Nothing Good: Interestingly, Patrick ran a feel-good campaign, a Together-We-Can hug fest campaign that, clearly, overwhelmingly succeeded. Now we’re in the transition period and learning that state finances are much direr than Patrick previously thought. Like many pols, any bad news is the fault of the previous administration and any good news is a direct result of his policies. The opposites, things that are working right now, and things that go badly in the future, won’t likely receive much lip service or credit. Together-We-Can what? Nobody knows, and nobody is likely to know since the transition staff were made to sign non-disclosure agreements. Let’s hope his positive campaign-vision resurfaces in the months to come and that not all the good news was due to rose-colored glasses.
As the year draws to a close and we come closer to 2007 and the inauguration to follow, I wish everyone a year full of prosperity, success, health, happiness, a five pound weight loss, an oil change, and returned farm equipment. After Patrick takes office, we’re going to need it.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
How to do a Proper Yankee Swap or Why CUTTHROAT is best.
(This column first appeared in print December 19, 2006)
What I like best about Christmas, I have to say, is not the cheer, the joy, the vacuous look on shopper’s faces. Oh no. For me, the true merriment of the season is all about a cutthroat Yankee Swap.
Cutthroat how, you may ask. Good question. For a swap to be “Yankee” it must also be cutthroat. You might say ‘Pirate Swap’, but that would be just rude. Indeed, stalwart Yankees know that the best swaps turn even the most serene women and the most gentlemanly of fellows into capricious gift-stealing fools. The little niceties of life, politeness, consideration, have little place in a proper Yankee Swap. If you want to be nice, call it a California Swap, some left-coast feel-good swap is fine, just don’t call it Yankee.
With that introduction, let’s review the rules for proper swappage.
Most of you are familiar with the format. Each person brings a gift and places it in a central setting (under the tree, on a table, around the hot tub, etc). Each person then selects a number from a hat. The person with a 1 chooses a gift first. The person with number two can either take the first person’s gift or choose a new gift from under the tree.
Note, here lays the first distinction of a Yankee swap: the second swapper cannot open a new gift and then opt to trade it in. NOPE. Number 2 either takes from number one, thereby allowing number one to choose a new gift, or 2 picks a new gift, which he may or may not be happily stuck with. Any swap that allows number 2 to open a gift first, before deciding whether or not to swap, is a Mid-Western swap, known for its manners (which, again, have no place in a Yankee Swap).
The unwrapping/swapping/etc continues until the last person has chosen the last gift. THEN, number 1 gets the option to swap with anyone else. Number 1 gets the last say, any other way, frankly could be Un-American. Just so you know.
However, I have recently learned of two new swap methodologies that improve the richness of the experience.
Method 1: Mix up the numbers. So, number 1 doesn’t go first, he goes 5th maybe. Number 3 goes last, possibly. Just make two sets of numbers, one for guests to choose from and one for the host to use to determine order. Same rules apply though: the second and subsequent swappers can either take someone else’s gift or open a new one. Not both.
Method 2: This version is a little demented, and being where it is from Maine (where I grew up), naturally I’m partial. My friend’s grandmother has employed the TWO DECK method and frankly, its genius.
Here goes:
The host (in this case, my friend’s grandma) uses two decks of cards. One deck is for guests - each guest chooses an equal number of cards. For example, 52 cards divided by 15 players means each player gets three cards and the remaining 7 cards are removed from the other deck. Then the host uses the second deck to choose the cards (after the shuffle) one by one. Each person gets three chances to find a gift and steal it back. Thus, your swap lasts a little longer and people get a little nastier. What could make for a more perfect holiday get together?
Finally, I’d like to share a little tidbit to make the kiddies evenings bright on Christmas Eve, if the sugar rush hasn’t already glazed them over. If you have a computer and internet connection, make sure on Christmas Eve your family logs onto the NORAD Santa website.
For more than 50 years NORAD, the North American Air Defense Command, has tracked Santa leaving the North Pole every Christmas Eve. You can watch his trek around the world through the combination of 47 high power radar installations over the North American border called the North Warning System, along with Santa Cams (cameras set up around the continent and only switched on Christmas Eve to track the jolly fellow), satellites and jet fighters. Best of all, it helps to know when Santa is getting near your neighborhood so that the kids can get into bed before he arrives. Check it out: www.noradsanta.org
May your Christmas be Merry and Bright and full of the joy and hope of the season!
What I like best about Christmas, I have to say, is not the cheer, the joy, the vacuous look on shopper’s faces. Oh no. For me, the true merriment of the season is all about a cutthroat Yankee Swap.
Cutthroat how, you may ask. Good question. For a swap to be “Yankee” it must also be cutthroat. You might say ‘Pirate Swap’, but that would be just rude. Indeed, stalwart Yankees know that the best swaps turn even the most serene women and the most gentlemanly of fellows into capricious gift-stealing fools. The little niceties of life, politeness, consideration, have little place in a proper Yankee Swap. If you want to be nice, call it a California Swap, some left-coast feel-good swap is fine, just don’t call it Yankee.
With that introduction, let’s review the rules for proper swappage.
Most of you are familiar with the format. Each person brings a gift and places it in a central setting (under the tree, on a table, around the hot tub, etc). Each person then selects a number from a hat. The person with a 1 chooses a gift first. The person with number two can either take the first person’s gift or choose a new gift from under the tree.
Note, here lays the first distinction of a Yankee swap: the second swapper cannot open a new gift and then opt to trade it in. NOPE. Number 2 either takes from number one, thereby allowing number one to choose a new gift, or 2 picks a new gift, which he may or may not be happily stuck with. Any swap that allows number 2 to open a gift first, before deciding whether or not to swap, is a Mid-Western swap, known for its manners (which, again, have no place in a Yankee Swap).
The unwrapping/swapping/etc continues until the last person has chosen the last gift. THEN, number 1 gets the option to swap with anyone else. Number 1 gets the last say, any other way, frankly could be Un-American. Just so you know.
However, I have recently learned of two new swap methodologies that improve the richness of the experience.
Method 1: Mix up the numbers. So, number 1 doesn’t go first, he goes 5th maybe. Number 3 goes last, possibly. Just make two sets of numbers, one for guests to choose from and one for the host to use to determine order. Same rules apply though: the second and subsequent swappers can either take someone else’s gift or open a new one. Not both.
Method 2: This version is a little demented, and being where it is from Maine (where I grew up), naturally I’m partial. My friend’s grandmother has employed the TWO DECK method and frankly, its genius.
Here goes:
The host (in this case, my friend’s grandma) uses two decks of cards. One deck is for guests - each guest chooses an equal number of cards. For example, 52 cards divided by 15 players means each player gets three cards and the remaining 7 cards are removed from the other deck. Then the host uses the second deck to choose the cards (after the shuffle) one by one. Each person gets three chances to find a gift and steal it back. Thus, your swap lasts a little longer and people get a little nastier. What could make for a more perfect holiday get together?
Finally, I’d like to share a little tidbit to make the kiddies evenings bright on Christmas Eve, if the sugar rush hasn’t already glazed them over. If you have a computer and internet connection, make sure on Christmas Eve your family logs onto the NORAD Santa website.
For more than 50 years NORAD, the North American Air Defense Command, has tracked Santa leaving the North Pole every Christmas Eve. You can watch his trek around the world through the combination of 47 high power radar installations over the North American border called the North Warning System, along with Santa Cams (cameras set up around the continent and only switched on Christmas Eve to track the jolly fellow), satellites and jet fighters. Best of all, it helps to know when Santa is getting near your neighborhood so that the kids can get into bed before he arrives. Check it out: www.noradsanta.org
May your Christmas be Merry and Bright and full of the joy and hope of the season!
Taking Back Christmas
(This column first appeared in print December 11, 2006)
I love this time of year. The inordinate insanity of snapping the perfect Christmas card photo you won’t be ashamed to see years later; Ella Fitzgerald singing about a sleigh ride; finding and selecting the perfect Christmas tree that will draw enough water over the season so as not to threaten your home with a small bonfire; and yes, the shopping.
Generally I dislike the rampant negative cash flow associated with this most materialistic of holidays, and yet, I love to see the looks of a tree overwhelmed by the packages beneath it. I love the cheer, the merriment, and joy that Is Christmas morning.
Lately, though, I’ve come to notice a serious decline in Christmas cheer. Oh yes, even in this hamlet tucked between two interstate highways, Christmas is in danger. Store employees wish everyone Happy Holidays. Once, just before Thanksgiving a young employee of a grocery store wished me ‘Happy Holidays.’
“It’s Thanksgiving. You can say Happy Thanksgiving, it’s not religious.”
She got the point, but she wasn’t the only person I corrected.
I can’t stand this garbage-speak where we are so afraid of offending someone we actually refrain from trying to make people feel good.
Needham is doing away with printing the names of honor roll students in the paper so that the kids that didn’t make the honor roll won’t feel bad. Here’s a thought, I’d bet the schools and the paper both would love to print the names of every single kid in town if they all worked hard to earn the grades. Rather than reward the kids that worked to achieve something, and thereby reinforce a strong work ethic, Needham wants to hide it, put it away so no one will feel left out.
‘Happy Holidays’ is a similar sort of trap. Rather than offend non-Christians we say this catch-all phrase that’s effectively meaningless. Maybe it means ‘shop more’ or ‘I hope you don’t get indigestion from eating too much’ or ‘I hope you get what you want.’ Perhaps the phrase is supposed to capture the spirit of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Saturnalia, and school vacation, all wrapped up in one innocuous and inoffensive package. Instead, the perfidy of the phrase just aggravates me.
If you are Jewish wish me Happy Hanukkah. If you are Muslim, please wish me a prosperous Eid ul-Adha. If you celebrate Kwanzaa, share something of your plans with me. If you’re a dead Roman, wish me Io, Saturnalia. And I will wish you all a Merry Christmas.
Its not about offending or not offending people that do not hold the same beliefs. Taking the time to share part of your faith or culture that matters very much to you is a little gift. Accepting that gift, rather than throwing it back, is yet another way to show respect and dignity to your fellow man, or dead pagan, as it were.
Would that all those politically correct hacks and obnoxious bigots got down off their jackasses and took a little time to share in the true spirit of the season, rather than defend their virgin ears against a preceived religious assault. What a difference a little listening might make…
But good news abounds. During the tree lighting ceremony in Tewksbury last week, Board of Selectmen Chairman Charles Coldwell wished everyone a “Merry Christmas.” He said it, I was there. I witnessed the moment and smiled.
I love this time of year. The inordinate insanity of snapping the perfect Christmas card photo you won’t be ashamed to see years later; Ella Fitzgerald singing about a sleigh ride; finding and selecting the perfect Christmas tree that will draw enough water over the season so as not to threaten your home with a small bonfire; and yes, the shopping.
Generally I dislike the rampant negative cash flow associated with this most materialistic of holidays, and yet, I love to see the looks of a tree overwhelmed by the packages beneath it. I love the cheer, the merriment, and joy that Is Christmas morning.
Lately, though, I’ve come to notice a serious decline in Christmas cheer. Oh yes, even in this hamlet tucked between two interstate highways, Christmas is in danger. Store employees wish everyone Happy Holidays. Once, just before Thanksgiving a young employee of a grocery store wished me ‘Happy Holidays.’
“It’s Thanksgiving. You can say Happy Thanksgiving, it’s not religious.”
She got the point, but she wasn’t the only person I corrected.
I can’t stand this garbage-speak where we are so afraid of offending someone we actually refrain from trying to make people feel good.
Needham is doing away with printing the names of honor roll students in the paper so that the kids that didn’t make the honor roll won’t feel bad. Here’s a thought, I’d bet the schools and the paper both would love to print the names of every single kid in town if they all worked hard to earn the grades. Rather than reward the kids that worked to achieve something, and thereby reinforce a strong work ethic, Needham wants to hide it, put it away so no one will feel left out.
‘Happy Holidays’ is a similar sort of trap. Rather than offend non-Christians we say this catch-all phrase that’s effectively meaningless. Maybe it means ‘shop more’ or ‘I hope you don’t get indigestion from eating too much’ or ‘I hope you get what you want.’ Perhaps the phrase is supposed to capture the spirit of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Saturnalia, and school vacation, all wrapped up in one innocuous and inoffensive package. Instead, the perfidy of the phrase just aggravates me.
If you are Jewish wish me Happy Hanukkah. If you are Muslim, please wish me a prosperous Eid ul-Adha. If you celebrate Kwanzaa, share something of your plans with me. If you’re a dead Roman, wish me Io, Saturnalia. And I will wish you all a Merry Christmas.
Its not about offending or not offending people that do not hold the same beliefs. Taking the time to share part of your faith or culture that matters very much to you is a little gift. Accepting that gift, rather than throwing it back, is yet another way to show respect and dignity to your fellow man, or dead pagan, as it were.
Would that all those politically correct hacks and obnoxious bigots got down off their jackasses and took a little time to share in the true spirit of the season, rather than defend their virgin ears against a preceived religious assault. What a difference a little listening might make…
But good news abounds. During the tree lighting ceremony in Tewksbury last week, Board of Selectmen Chairman Charles Coldwell wished everyone a “Merry Christmas.” He said it, I was there. I witnessed the moment and smiled.
Black Friday
(This column first appeared in print November 28, 2006)
Thanksgiving came and went this year, more like a bridge from Halloween to Christmas, than a serious holiday in its own right. I attribute the gross under-commercialization of Thanksgiving to the fact that the holiday itself is more about food than generosity. Nowadays Thanksgiving gives many folks a long weekend and an excuse to go shopping on “Black Friday.” Thankfulness shows up more on classroom activity sheets than as an annual exercise around the dining room table.
Indeed, Thanksgiving’s relative marketing obscurity, locked as it is between Halloween and Christmas, keeps most commercial exploits to foodstuffs. But it’s wrecked by the power of Black Friday. This year, according to estimates from the National Retail Federation, “140 million shoppers hit the stores on Black Friday, spending an average of $360.15, up 18.9 percent from last year’s $302.81.” Consumers are expected to spend $457.4 billion this holiday season, more than double the amount spent for holiday shopping in 2003 ($217 billion). While that certainly blows away Halloween expenditure, just $5 billion, its important to note that the NRF does not track or project Thanksgiving spending at all, it just lumps it in with all “holiday” spending.
Black Friday, that holy grail of the retail industry, was so coined because retailers previously operating “in the red” finally break into profitability from the healthy shopping the day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday, and all its goody anticipation, helps us forget traditional values of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Last year, while Americans spent $438.6 billion on holiday gifts and decorations, only $125 billion was given to charities in the same period.
Yes, this year I braved the gridlock and hit a few stores and outlets on Black Friday. I even spent some money too. But I want my children to practice those old fashioned values of Thanksgiving and Christmas seemingly lost in the hustle and bustle known as holiday shopping. You know the ones I’m speaking of: counting their blessings (even when it seems there are few), thinking first of others before themselves, its better to give than receive, the Christmas spirit, and so on. That lesson holds more value than myriad gifts under the tree.
Today there are many ways to mark the holiday and find special gifts to give that give something back. I’ve found a few and present them here in hopes that Tewksbury residents may find an inspiring way to spend a few hours with family and friends making the most of their holiday.
Purchasing and Packing care packages for soldiers in Iraq. Jim Williams, Veteran’s Agent for Tewksbury, Elisabeth Desmaris of the Tewksbury Public Library and many others are collecting and packing boxes donated from the Postal Service full of items our soldiers need. Volunteers meet at the Disabled American Veteran’s hall at 180 Pond Street at 7:30 next Tuesday to pack boxes full of donated items. If you would like to shop for items on the wish list, drop off points are located all over town (see our information box on page X). Donations are also needed for shipping expenses as each box costs about $8-10.
Donating a gift through the Heifer Project. Heifer International gives animals and trees to people all over the world, enabling needy families to work their way out of poverty through farming. A gift of chicks, for example, costs only $20 but gives a family food from eggs, income from the sale of eggs and chickens, and in one case, provided enough money for a man in the West African nation of Ghana to open a school for 70 children and feed them all one meal every day. A wonderful gift for relatives, teachers and colleagues, this program lifts people out of poverty one animal at a time. Check it out at Heifer.org.
Bid on an auction item from The Home for Little Wanderers. The Home, based in Boston, is a nationally renowned, private, non-profit child and family service agency. Currently offering an online auction featuring, among other things, 30 books signed by their celebrity authors, James Taylor’s autographed guitar, sports memorabilia, and many more gifts and goodies. It’s a wonderful way to find a unique gift that also champions an important cause, the welfare of families and children. See all the auction items and find other ways to contribute at TheHome.org.
Give the gift of your time at Boston Cares. With hundreds of volunteer opportunities every month, this organization makes it easy to get involved in communities in the greater Boston area. Families should try the BOOYAH! (Boston Young Active Hands), which offers fun family opportunities such as working in the toy room at the Home for Little Wanderers, sorting food at the Greater Boston Food Bank, and specials projects just for teens with the Teen Action Academy. Time and caring can make an extraordinary difference. BostonCares.org.
Sponsor a Needy Family for Christmas Gifts through the Magic of Christmas program from the Lowell Wish Project. Take your kids shopping for gifts for another family and show them how good it feels to fulfill the needs of others. The Lowell Wish Project keeps a list of “urgent wishes” for seasonally appropriate items, furniture, and other household goods for families. Everything from cribs, pots and pans, beds, winter clothes and jackets, to winter maternity clothes, double strollers and safety gates are needed. LowellWishProject.org.
Check out local schools and the Community Pantry: Many of the schools in Tewksbury are drop-off locations for Coats-for-Kids and Toys-for-Tots. The Community Pantry serves Tewksbury residents directly for short and long term food supplies. Accepting donations from monetary, food and toiletries, to volunteers, the Pantry appreciates all kinds of help. The Pantry’s website may be found through the town’s website at Tewksbury.info.
These are but a few of the many and varied opportunities to give. Ask your children for ideas. Find out from your employer about matching programs. You may find a new tradition that lasts all year long.
Thanksgiving came and went this year, more like a bridge from Halloween to Christmas, than a serious holiday in its own right. I attribute the gross under-commercialization of Thanksgiving to the fact that the holiday itself is more about food than generosity. Nowadays Thanksgiving gives many folks a long weekend and an excuse to go shopping on “Black Friday.” Thankfulness shows up more on classroom activity sheets than as an annual exercise around the dining room table.
Indeed, Thanksgiving’s relative marketing obscurity, locked as it is between Halloween and Christmas, keeps most commercial exploits to foodstuffs. But it’s wrecked by the power of Black Friday. This year, according to estimates from the National Retail Federation, “140 million shoppers hit the stores on Black Friday, spending an average of $360.15, up 18.9 percent from last year’s $302.81.” Consumers are expected to spend $457.4 billion this holiday season, more than double the amount spent for holiday shopping in 2003 ($217 billion). While that certainly blows away Halloween expenditure, just $5 billion, its important to note that the NRF does not track or project Thanksgiving spending at all, it just lumps it in with all “holiday” spending.
Black Friday, that holy grail of the retail industry, was so coined because retailers previously operating “in the red” finally break into profitability from the healthy shopping the day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday, and all its goody anticipation, helps us forget traditional values of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Last year, while Americans spent $438.6 billion on holiday gifts and decorations, only $125 billion was given to charities in the same period.
Yes, this year I braved the gridlock and hit a few stores and outlets on Black Friday. I even spent some money too. But I want my children to practice those old fashioned values of Thanksgiving and Christmas seemingly lost in the hustle and bustle known as holiday shopping. You know the ones I’m speaking of: counting their blessings (even when it seems there are few), thinking first of others before themselves, its better to give than receive, the Christmas spirit, and so on. That lesson holds more value than myriad gifts under the tree.
Today there are many ways to mark the holiday and find special gifts to give that give something back. I’ve found a few and present them here in hopes that Tewksbury residents may find an inspiring way to spend a few hours with family and friends making the most of their holiday.
Purchasing and Packing care packages for soldiers in Iraq. Jim Williams, Veteran’s Agent for Tewksbury, Elisabeth Desmaris of the Tewksbury Public Library and many others are collecting and packing boxes donated from the Postal Service full of items our soldiers need. Volunteers meet at the Disabled American Veteran’s hall at 180 Pond Street at 7:30 next Tuesday to pack boxes full of donated items. If you would like to shop for items on the wish list, drop off points are located all over town (see our information box on page X). Donations are also needed for shipping expenses as each box costs about $8-10.
Donating a gift through the Heifer Project. Heifer International gives animals and trees to people all over the world, enabling needy families to work their way out of poverty through farming. A gift of chicks, for example, costs only $20 but gives a family food from eggs, income from the sale of eggs and chickens, and in one case, provided enough money for a man in the West African nation of Ghana to open a school for 70 children and feed them all one meal every day. A wonderful gift for relatives, teachers and colleagues, this program lifts people out of poverty one animal at a time. Check it out at Heifer.org.
Bid on an auction item from The Home for Little Wanderers. The Home, based in Boston, is a nationally renowned, private, non-profit child and family service agency. Currently offering an online auction featuring, among other things, 30 books signed by their celebrity authors, James Taylor’s autographed guitar, sports memorabilia, and many more gifts and goodies. It’s a wonderful way to find a unique gift that also champions an important cause, the welfare of families and children. See all the auction items and find other ways to contribute at TheHome.org.
Give the gift of your time at Boston Cares. With hundreds of volunteer opportunities every month, this organization makes it easy to get involved in communities in the greater Boston area. Families should try the BOOYAH! (Boston Young Active Hands), which offers fun family opportunities such as working in the toy room at the Home for Little Wanderers, sorting food at the Greater Boston Food Bank, and specials projects just for teens with the Teen Action Academy. Time and caring can make an extraordinary difference. BostonCares.org.
Sponsor a Needy Family for Christmas Gifts through the Magic of Christmas program from the Lowell Wish Project. Take your kids shopping for gifts for another family and show them how good it feels to fulfill the needs of others. The Lowell Wish Project keeps a list of “urgent wishes” for seasonally appropriate items, furniture, and other household goods for families. Everything from cribs, pots and pans, beds, winter clothes and jackets, to winter maternity clothes, double strollers and safety gates are needed. LowellWishProject.org.
Check out local schools and the Community Pantry: Many of the schools in Tewksbury are drop-off locations for Coats-for-Kids and Toys-for-Tots. The Community Pantry serves Tewksbury residents directly for short and long term food supplies. Accepting donations from monetary, food and toiletries, to volunteers, the Pantry appreciates all kinds of help. The Pantry’s website may be found through the town’s website at Tewksbury.info.
These are but a few of the many and varied opportunities to give. Ask your children for ideas. Find out from your employer about matching programs. You may find a new tradition that lasts all year long.
ELection 2008 PREDICTIONS
(This column first appeared in print November 14, 2006)
Within the last two weeks all the leaves have fallen off my many large Japanese Elm trees and made a heck of mess of my driveway, lawn, patio, and gutters. My yard transformed from autumnal delight to desolate winter landscape lacking only the chilly charm of snow. Likewise, last week’s election has the Grand ‘Ole Party mimicking my bare trees and messy yard. Looks like both of us have a lot of cleaning up to do.
I’m not a pundit and don’t have any ESP but I’d like to make a few predictions about the political landscape over the next few years. Then, after the 2008 election, pull this puppy out and see just how very wrong I was/am. Won’t that be fun?
Even though the Democratic Party has won the House and Senate America will see a new centrist face of the party over the radicalism shown by Nancy Pelosi or Charley Rangel. Many of the newly elected democrats hold moderate views and radicalism from party leadership stands to turn moderates off and entice them to vote with centrist Republicans. Additionally, after controlling both houses, if this Congress fails to move issues and make significant progress on its campaign agenda they very well may loose big in 2008, a risk even Pelosi won’t take. Historically this trend bears out and Democrats know it.
Republicans needed to clean house for some time, witness the Foley Page Scandal. Last Tuesday they had their clocks cleaned and must now find a way to keep their noses clean and recapture the political center without alienating their base. Republicans can do this by returning to conservative core values: No Big Government, Smart Fiscal Policy, and Foreign Policy Expertise. But, they have to show how they are different from those moderate Democrats, so popular of late, in order to regain control of at least one house in the next election. If the party fails to differentiate they risk losing both Congress and the White House. They have to watch out for traps from the left: minimum wage and an immediate phased pull out from Iraq, which Pelosi et al will put forward to force a vote on the record, exploiting it down the road.
Democratic Ticket for 2008: Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama. Hilary has planned a Presidential bid for a while and currently holds her cards close before she announcing an exploratory committee. With the security of her reelection to the Senate, she can pursue a presidential run and still keep her day job, ala John Kerry. My only wish is that the voters of New York have her serve more days in the Senate during her campaign than Kerry did for Massachusetts. Obama, the freshman senator from Illinois, is riding on a wave of popularity and will certainly explore running for the Oval Office. But, his relative inexperience and the sheer power of Clinton will offer him running mate status. Other Democrat hangers-on such as Kerry, Gore, and John Edwards may attempt runs but don’t stand a chance of gaining enough momentum or cash for the nomination. But, a lot can happen in two years.
The Republican Ticket for 2008 looks promising. Senator John McCain seems like the natural choice for presidential candidate with a strong bipartisan track record. He’s electable. So who will be his running mate? Its gotta be Mitt Romney. Romney brought the Massachusetts budget under control, created a surplus, and has proven to be a strong, effective leader. However, his administration also slashed (or seemed to slash) educational spending in Massachusetts and Democrats will make hay with that news all the way to Election Day. Signing on as running mate brings Romney’s prodigious administrative assets to the table without a Democratic besmirching of his religion or policy decisions becoming the big issue in the race. And it develops Romney for a realistic bid for the Presidency in 2012 or 2016.
I’ve got one last prediction. I welcome our new governor, Deval Patrick, and I believe him when he says he won’t be a rubber stamp for the state legislature (even though he said it right after a meeting with Senate President Robert Travaglini and House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi). And I’m sure he will do all he can to ensure that our property taxes won’t rise, most likely by raising income tax and not continuing past cuts. At the end of the day, he does not have any jurisdiction over property taxes, which of course he knows. That’s why he made the promise in the first place. Get ready, Tewksbury, to hold onto your wallet.
Within the last two weeks all the leaves have fallen off my many large Japanese Elm trees and made a heck of mess of my driveway, lawn, patio, and gutters. My yard transformed from autumnal delight to desolate winter landscape lacking only the chilly charm of snow. Likewise, last week’s election has the Grand ‘Ole Party mimicking my bare trees and messy yard. Looks like both of us have a lot of cleaning up to do.
I’m not a pundit and don’t have any ESP but I’d like to make a few predictions about the political landscape over the next few years. Then, after the 2008 election, pull this puppy out and see just how very wrong I was/am. Won’t that be fun?
Even though the Democratic Party has won the House and Senate America will see a new centrist face of the party over the radicalism shown by Nancy Pelosi or Charley Rangel. Many of the newly elected democrats hold moderate views and radicalism from party leadership stands to turn moderates off and entice them to vote with centrist Republicans. Additionally, after controlling both houses, if this Congress fails to move issues and make significant progress on its campaign agenda they very well may loose big in 2008, a risk even Pelosi won’t take. Historically this trend bears out and Democrats know it.
Republicans needed to clean house for some time, witness the Foley Page Scandal. Last Tuesday they had their clocks cleaned and must now find a way to keep their noses clean and recapture the political center without alienating their base. Republicans can do this by returning to conservative core values: No Big Government, Smart Fiscal Policy, and Foreign Policy Expertise. But, they have to show how they are different from those moderate Democrats, so popular of late, in order to regain control of at least one house in the next election. If the party fails to differentiate they risk losing both Congress and the White House. They have to watch out for traps from the left: minimum wage and an immediate phased pull out from Iraq, which Pelosi et al will put forward to force a vote on the record, exploiting it down the road.
Democratic Ticket for 2008: Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama. Hilary has planned a Presidential bid for a while and currently holds her cards close before she announcing an exploratory committee. With the security of her reelection to the Senate, she can pursue a presidential run and still keep her day job, ala John Kerry. My only wish is that the voters of New York have her serve more days in the Senate during her campaign than Kerry did for Massachusetts. Obama, the freshman senator from Illinois, is riding on a wave of popularity and will certainly explore running for the Oval Office. But, his relative inexperience and the sheer power of Clinton will offer him running mate status. Other Democrat hangers-on such as Kerry, Gore, and John Edwards may attempt runs but don’t stand a chance of gaining enough momentum or cash for the nomination. But, a lot can happen in two years.
The Republican Ticket for 2008 looks promising. Senator John McCain seems like the natural choice for presidential candidate with a strong bipartisan track record. He’s electable. So who will be his running mate? Its gotta be Mitt Romney. Romney brought the Massachusetts budget under control, created a surplus, and has proven to be a strong, effective leader. However, his administration also slashed (or seemed to slash) educational spending in Massachusetts and Democrats will make hay with that news all the way to Election Day. Signing on as running mate brings Romney’s prodigious administrative assets to the table without a Democratic besmirching of his religion or policy decisions becoming the big issue in the race. And it develops Romney for a realistic bid for the Presidency in 2012 or 2016.
I’ve got one last prediction. I welcome our new governor, Deval Patrick, and I believe him when he says he won’t be a rubber stamp for the state legislature (even though he said it right after a meeting with Senate President Robert Travaglini and House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi). And I’m sure he will do all he can to ensure that our property taxes won’t rise, most likely by raising income tax and not continuing past cuts. At the end of the day, he does not have any jurisdiction over property taxes, which of course he knows. That’s why he made the promise in the first place. Get ready, Tewksbury, to hold onto your wallet.
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