As I read Daniel Potoki's recent column in the Daily News celebrating the success he and his friends believe they achieved by gathering in support of the Fire House Center's production of "The Laramie Project" in opposition to what people feared would be an appearance by members of the cult led by Fred Phelps, known as the Westboro Baptist Church, all I could think was, "Mr. Potoki must be very young."
As much as I abhor all that Phelps and his cult stand for, well meaning people like Mr. Potoki played right into Fred Phelps' hands.
The Westboro Baptist Church is a fringe group, even within the most anti-gay elements of the fundamentalist Right.
The fact Phelps and his cultists have picketed the funerals of brave young Americans who have died in our misguided wars in Iraq and Afghanistan because Phelps believes America has become too accepting of gay people, sent even the most anti-gay bigots within the Religious Right into retreat.
They understood the wacky tactics of Fred Phelps and his followers undermined their equally bigoted, anti-gay agenda.
This is all rather ironic for me.
I'm a fifty three year old gay man who came out of the closet long before doing so was either safe or fashionable.
In the 1990's, as the director of AIDS services at a large, regional non-profit organization, I frequently found myself engaged in bizarre political battles that were as much about "morality" as they were sound public health policy.
Those battles, on two different occasions, resulted in me receiving death threats, one of which was deemed so credible my former boss actually asked me to leave Gloucester and my home for a few days until the authorities could determine the true nature of the threat.
One threat, because it came through the mail postmarked Connecticut, required the Gloucester police to actually contact the FBI.
Those years and those battles taught me a lot.
The first lesson was, "You never back down from a bunch of bullies and bigots. If you do, they will ride rough shod over you for ever."
But another lesson learned, and one perhaps even more important than the one above, was to always pick your battles carefully.
Three summers ago I was living in Provincetown when Fred Phelps and his cult members decided to descend upon America's "gay hometown" in all their bigoted splendor.
When the news of their coming broke, community leaders, activists, and ordinary citizens came together to discuss how best to respond.
Amid the voicing of many opinions, in ways that were often heated and passionate, a consensus emerged that the best way to handle Fred Phelps and his cult followers was to just ignore them.
Word went out throughout the community to do just that.
The cultists arrived, took their appointed place on the green across from Town Hall on Bradford Street, were subsequently ignored and, within a day, they were gone.
Fred Phelps and his followers thrive on attention, publicity, and confrontation. They depend on it to maintain the illusion that they are some kind of legitimate force with which to be reckoned.
Ironically, with no doubt the best of intentions, the Daily News, the Current, the young people who gathered in a show of support and solidarity with gay men and lesbians at the Firehouse, and Mr. Potoki with his column, gave Fred Phelps much more attention and "air time" than he could ever have received if those same people had simply followed Provincetown's example and treated Phelps and his followers as they should always be treated - as people to be ignored and pitied rather than people to be confronted, feared, or rewarded with free publicity they do not deserve.
Now, I sincerely appreciate the show of support for gay people the demonstrators displayed, and I was moved that so many young people would take the time to stand in opposition to the kind of bigotry and hatred espoused by the likes of Fred Phelps and his followers.
But I would urge all those good people, especially those young people, if you truly do care about the rights and equality of gay men and women, to be sure you are registered to vote and that you do vote in November.
Here's why.
The Republican/Tea Party candidate running against John Tierney in the 6th Congressional District race, Bill Hudak, has publicly stated, and had posted on his website, that issues pertaining to people's civil rights should be put to popular votes.
He, of course, was referring to the issue of marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples, but such a stand also reveals a lot about how Mr. Hudak feels about civil rights in general, and it is a troubling stand indeed.
In addition, the GOP candidate for governor, Charlie Baker, has come out publicly in opposition to legislation at the State House that would make it illegal to discriminate against transgendered people, much as it is now illegal to discriminate based on a person's race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, or because of a disability.
Ironically, when Charlie Baker was CEO of one of the state's largest health insurance providers, he supported and implemented just such an anti-discrimination policy in that organization. But today as a candidate, no doubt trying to woo what I call the "New Right/Tea Party" crowd that has emerged within the GOP, Charlie Baker has endorsed allowing public discrimination against transgendered people to continue with his opposition to a bill that seeks to do for all transgendered people in Massachusetts what Charlie Baker once did for his transgendered employees.
Go figure.
Anyway, this essay was not meant to, in any way, disparage the efforts of those people who gathered to offset the bigotry promoted by the likes of Fred Phelps and others on the American Right.
But it was meant to urge those same people to pick their fights carefully, and one way to do that, and not just in relation to gay rights, is to pay close attention to the stands and positions being put forth by those who are seeking real political power in our state and in this country today.
Educating yourselves about those matters, when all is said and done, is far more important than standing up to a fringe figure like Fred Phelps and his cultists who, in the bigger scheme of things, really are more to be pitied and ignored than they are feared or confronted.
Michael Cook
Gloucester
&
PV de Limon, Costa Rica
formerly of Nbpt
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Showing posts sorted by date for query church. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
PSA
The ROOF OVER HEAD COLLABORATIVE, or ROOF as it is commonly referred, is planning a general meeting June 30 at the Unitarian Church Hall, on Pleasant St.,at 7:30 p.m.
Speakers:
Ed Cameron, Associate Director of Housing Services, Community Teamwork Inc., and Ward 4 City Councilor will discuss the groups plan to move ahead to house local homeless people.
(Note from me: Are we absolutely sure he's the Ward 4 councillor?)
Norma Beit, Chairperson, ROOF OVER HEAD COLLABORATIVE
Refreshments and discussion will follow the presentation.
ROOF, a tax deductible organization, plans to help reduce homelessness in the Amesbury, Newburyport and Salisbury area by acquiring residential properties that will serve as transitional homes for homeless families. The properties will be managed by local service organizations that work with homeless families. ROOF'S focus is homeless families, notably the children who are so traumatically impacted by homelessness. ROOF was established in September 2009 by area residents concerned about the growing leevel of homelessness in our communities.
PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND! THE MEETING IS OPEN TO ALL!
Speakers:
Ed Cameron, Associate Director of Housing Services, Community Teamwork Inc., and Ward 4 City Councilor will discuss the groups plan to move ahead to house local homeless people.
(Note from me: Are we absolutely sure he's the Ward 4 councillor?)
Norma Beit, Chairperson, ROOF OVER HEAD COLLABORATIVE
Refreshments and discussion will follow the presentation.
ROOF, a tax deductible organization, plans to help reduce homelessness in the Amesbury, Newburyport and Salisbury area by acquiring residential properties that will serve as transitional homes for homeless families. The properties will be managed by local service organizations that work with homeless families. ROOF'S focus is homeless families, notably the children who are so traumatically impacted by homelessness. ROOF was established in September 2009 by area residents concerned about the growing leevel of homelessness in our communities.
PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND! THE MEETING IS OPEN TO ALL!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
M. Cook: The Vatican, gay Americans, illusions of acceptance and Newburyport
After what happened in Chile on Monday, April, 12, what I'm about to say will no doubt irk and unsettle some in Newburyport's gay community, their supposed liberal, Democratic, straight friends and allies, and all those still swooning over President Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and so many other Democratic pols who love the gay community's campaign contributions, volunteer energy, and strong voting history, but who also often leave us high and dry if they think being seen as too concerned about gay rights and gay issues might cost them politically.
In Santiago, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Holy See's Secretary of State, in a desperate attempt to deflect attention from the latest international sexual abuse scandal engulfing the Church of my childhood, and perhaps even Pope Benedict XVI himself, claimed the odd and unnatural tradition of celibacy was not what had fueled the Catholic priest sex abuse scandal. The scandal had been caused by homosexuality.
His exact words were, citing data from studies conducted exclusively for and by the Vatican; "Many psychologists and psychiatrists have demonstrated that there is no relation between celibacy and pedophilia. But many others have demonstrated, I have been told recently, that there is a relation between homosexuality and pedophilia. That is true. That is the problem".
The problem with Cardinal Bertone's statement, beyond its lame attempt to put responsibility for the scandal on the backs of homosexual men, as opposed to the pedophile priests the Church hierarchy aided and abetted by simply moving them around from parish to parish and country to country, is that virtually all credible psychological and psychiatric studies make a clear distinction between pedophilia and sexual orientation.
Pedophilia, whether directed at male or female children, has nothing to do with sexual orientation. It has everything to do with power and control.
I suspect a big reason why so much of the Church's pedophilia scandal involves young boys is because young girls, especially in the days when I was a kid, were not allowed to participate in the rituals of the Mass.
Had the pedophile priests been given the same access to little girls as they were to little boys, I'm sure you would be seeing many more women coming forward with tales of horrific abuse at the hands of men who were likely neither gay nor straight, but simply sick.
Sadly, the Vatican's attempts to place the blame for its mishandling of these heinous crimes against children on gay men, and to make this a "homosexual" issue as opposed to a "pedophilia" issue, only minimizes and diminishes the very real suffering many girls and women have endured as a result of being mistreated by pedophile and sexually abusive priests.
But back to the Newburyport gay community, its liberal "friends", and Democratic politicians.
Their silence, not just in relation to this latest assault on the humanity of homosexual people by the Vatican, but on so many other issues pertaining to our lives, is truly deafening.
Months passed, for example, before either President Obama or Secretary of State Clinton publicly condemned legislation proposed in Uganda, legislation that was encouraged and promoted by a number of American fundamentalist Christian leaders by the way, that called for gay Ugandans to be sentenced to life in prison, and even death, for engaging in sexual activity with another consenting adult.
The leaders of all the countries of the European Union condemned the Uganda initiative months before the Obama administration even mentioned it publicly.
When President Obama and Secretary Clinton finally addressed the issue, their condemnations of the legislation were, for lack of a better word, toothless in comparison to their European counterparts.
In the wake of Cardinal Bertone's recent comments in Chile, a spokesperson for the French Foreign Ministry, Bernard Valero, said, "France reiterates its resolute commitment to fight against discrimination and prejudice linked to sexual orientation."
As of this writing on April, 18, there has been not even a mention, let alone a repudiation, of Cardinal Bertone's attempt to scapegoat homosexual men for the Church's crimes against children by anyone in the Obama administration or the Democratic or Republican parties. Not that the silence of the GOP is any great surprise.
Even in the American gay community itself, there have been few voices raised to challenge what is just the latest attempt by a powerful institution to scapegoat and blame gay people for social ills and problems that are, when all is said and done, none of our makng.
Anyone who doubts this scapegoating isn't both deliberate and carefully thought out, whether it's done by the Vatican, Christian fundamentalist extremists in this country, or right wing politicians like Sarah Palin who appeal to the most ignorant and base instincts of the electorate in pursuit of power and self-aggrandizement; and anyone who thinks this kind of scapegoating isn't resonating loudly in some quarters with some people here in America, is a fool.
After nearly two decades of involvement in the fight against AIDS and for the civil rights of gay people, I thought, when I stepped back a little more than a decade ago, the worst of the fight was behind us.
But with all that is happening today, I would say another intense round in the fight is well underway - at least here in America and countries like Uganda, Iran, and China.
Sadly, I think too many gay Americans, especially those affluent enough to live in a community like Newburyport, have grown complacent and more interested in assimilation and "fitting in" than they are activism.
In some ways they are not so different from middle, upper middle class, and affluent Jews in Germany in the waning days of the Weimar Republic who also thought they had "arrived" and been accepted.
And we all know what an illusion that turned out to be.
Michael Cook
Nbpt, MA
& PV de Limon, Costa Rica
In Santiago, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Holy See's Secretary of State, in a desperate attempt to deflect attention from the latest international sexual abuse scandal engulfing the Church of my childhood, and perhaps even Pope Benedict XVI himself, claimed the odd and unnatural tradition of celibacy was not what had fueled the Catholic priest sex abuse scandal. The scandal had been caused by homosexuality.
His exact words were, citing data from studies conducted exclusively for and by the Vatican; "Many psychologists and psychiatrists have demonstrated that there is no relation between celibacy and pedophilia. But many others have demonstrated, I have been told recently, that there is a relation between homosexuality and pedophilia. That is true. That is the problem".
The problem with Cardinal Bertone's statement, beyond its lame attempt to put responsibility for the scandal on the backs of homosexual men, as opposed to the pedophile priests the Church hierarchy aided and abetted by simply moving them around from parish to parish and country to country, is that virtually all credible psychological and psychiatric studies make a clear distinction between pedophilia and sexual orientation.
Pedophilia, whether directed at male or female children, has nothing to do with sexual orientation. It has everything to do with power and control.
I suspect a big reason why so much of the Church's pedophilia scandal involves young boys is because young girls, especially in the days when I was a kid, were not allowed to participate in the rituals of the Mass.
Had the pedophile priests been given the same access to little girls as they were to little boys, I'm sure you would be seeing many more women coming forward with tales of horrific abuse at the hands of men who were likely neither gay nor straight, but simply sick.
Sadly, the Vatican's attempts to place the blame for its mishandling of these heinous crimes against children on gay men, and to make this a "homosexual" issue as opposed to a "pedophilia" issue, only minimizes and diminishes the very real suffering many girls and women have endured as a result of being mistreated by pedophile and sexually abusive priests.
But back to the Newburyport gay community, its liberal "friends", and Democratic politicians.
Their silence, not just in relation to this latest assault on the humanity of homosexual people by the Vatican, but on so many other issues pertaining to our lives, is truly deafening.
Months passed, for example, before either President Obama or Secretary of State Clinton publicly condemned legislation proposed in Uganda, legislation that was encouraged and promoted by a number of American fundamentalist Christian leaders by the way, that called for gay Ugandans to be sentenced to life in prison, and even death, for engaging in sexual activity with another consenting adult.
The leaders of all the countries of the European Union condemned the Uganda initiative months before the Obama administration even mentioned it publicly.
When President Obama and Secretary Clinton finally addressed the issue, their condemnations of the legislation were, for lack of a better word, toothless in comparison to their European counterparts.
In the wake of Cardinal Bertone's recent comments in Chile, a spokesperson for the French Foreign Ministry, Bernard Valero, said, "France reiterates its resolute commitment to fight against discrimination and prejudice linked to sexual orientation."
As of this writing on April, 18, there has been not even a mention, let alone a repudiation, of Cardinal Bertone's attempt to scapegoat homosexual men for the Church's crimes against children by anyone in the Obama administration or the Democratic or Republican parties. Not that the silence of the GOP is any great surprise.
Even in the American gay community itself, there have been few voices raised to challenge what is just the latest attempt by a powerful institution to scapegoat and blame gay people for social ills and problems that are, when all is said and done, none of our makng.
Anyone who doubts this scapegoating isn't both deliberate and carefully thought out, whether it's done by the Vatican, Christian fundamentalist extremists in this country, or right wing politicians like Sarah Palin who appeal to the most ignorant and base instincts of the electorate in pursuit of power and self-aggrandizement; and anyone who thinks this kind of scapegoating isn't resonating loudly in some quarters with some people here in America, is a fool.
After nearly two decades of involvement in the fight against AIDS and for the civil rights of gay people, I thought, when I stepped back a little more than a decade ago, the worst of the fight was behind us.
But with all that is happening today, I would say another intense round in the fight is well underway - at least here in America and countries like Uganda, Iran, and China.
Sadly, I think too many gay Americans, especially those affluent enough to live in a community like Newburyport, have grown complacent and more interested in assimilation and "fitting in" than they are activism.
In some ways they are not so different from middle, upper middle class, and affluent Jews in Germany in the waning days of the Weimar Republic who also thought they had "arrived" and been accepted.
And we all know what an illusion that turned out to be.
Michael Cook
Nbpt, MA
& PV de Limon, Costa Rica
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving: message from Jeff Krumrine (edited)
Dear Friends,
Sending [an] Thanksgiving email has become an annual event now ...
This year I continue the tradition of volunteering on Thanksgiving Day that I began in 2005 at a church on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., that served a truly homeless population. My first year I worked security instead of as a food server (because of my size not temperament).
This year, like last year, I will be working at the Immaculate Conception Church here in Newburyport. They will be offering a Thanksgiving meal to anyone in the community from 11:00 AM – 2:00PM as well as delivering meals to those that cannot leave their homes.
Please let anyone you know that may be alone this Thanksgiving that they are welcome to attend. Or, have them call Kathy Heywood at (978) 463-3746 and they can request a meal be delivered to them (In Newburyport only, unfortunately!).
The people I will serve this Thanksgiving will undoubtedly be much different than the folks in Washington, D.C., but I believe that kindness and caring are not dependent on financial need. Like many of you, I have much to be grateful for and I need to be reminded of that on occasion. So I take this day to be thankful through kindness.
My wish for you on Thanksgiving is that you are able to take a moment to celebrate the abundance of food on your table, the family and friends that join with you and the safety and comfort of the home where you gather.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Jeff Krumrine
Newburyport, MAThanks to Jeff, Kathy and everyone involved for their giving spirit. I did this one year in Boston - there were hundreds of others also giving their time on a holiday - and it was really gratifying.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
No place for hate?
This city, Newburyport, is supposed to be no place for hate.
But when the LaRouche people appeared again in front of the Newburyport Post Office, the police informed me that they had a right to be there.
Well ... yes, they have a right to their opinion and to assemble. But as I pointed out to one of the officers, they did NOT have the right to the table they had set up on the public sidewalk. They need a permit from the city for that.
He argued with me. I told him I had been told that by someone in the mayor's office. He told me that if the mayor had a problem with it, he (the mayor) could call the NPD and tell them.
After a while, Nancy Haverington from First Parish Church and Ross Varney from the Belleville Church appeared. I had been talking to one of the men peddling their hate and I was so creeped out that I had to leave (plus I had a lunch date).
As all this was going on, a woman I know pulled up in her car and hailed me. She told me she had sent me a message on Facebook about her encounter with these people and could I do anything?
Later I saw City Clerk Richard Jones and he confirmed that they needed a permit. yay
When I got home, I read my friend's message. One of the men had told her that Obama wants her to get breast cancer and die.
Lovely.
What happened to "No Place for Hate?"
But when the LaRouche people appeared again in front of the Newburyport Post Office, the police informed me that they had a right to be there.
Well ... yes, they have a right to their opinion and to assemble. But as I pointed out to one of the officers, they did NOT have the right to the table they had set up on the public sidewalk. They need a permit from the city for that.
He argued with me. I told him I had been told that by someone in the mayor's office. He told me that if the mayor had a problem with it, he (the mayor) could call the NPD and tell them.
After a while, Nancy Haverington from First Parish Church and Ross Varney from the Belleville Church appeared. I had been talking to one of the men peddling their hate and I was so creeped out that I had to leave (plus I had a lunch date).
As all this was going on, a woman I know pulled up in her car and hailed me. She told me she had sent me a message on Facebook about her encounter with these people and could I do anything?
Later I saw City Clerk Richard Jones and he confirmed that they needed a permit. yay
When I got home, I read my friend's message. One of the men had told her that Obama wants her to get breast cancer and die.
Lovely.
What happened to "No Place for Hate?"
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Senzeni Na!
Volunteer Opportunities and
Poverty Awareness Fair
October 15-17, 2009
Poverty Awareness Fair
October 15-17, 2009
The name of the fair is derived from the Zulu phrase meaning, “What have we done?” and is hosted by the Social Action Committee of the First Religious Society Unitarian Universalist, Belleville Congregational Church, Pennies for Poverty: 2 Cents 4 Change, Inc., and the Poverty Program.
“It’s going to be a great fair,” says Catherine Yesair Gould of Pennies for Poverty. “We’ve got the Jelly Bean Mystery Auction, the Community Choir coming from Boston and 28 tables by local (non-profit) organizations – it’s going to be a great time.”
Ghlee Woodworth will be signing her new book Tiptoe through the Tombstones (I highly recommend it, by the way) along with Fran Larkin, author of 5 Words and Then Some: How to Succeed in This Big Game We Call Life (sorry, haven't read this), from 12-4 on Friday and on Saturday from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Unitarian Church on Pleasant Street.
Newburyport native Kathy Heywood will also be giving a presentation on the power of music to create social change and Ward 4 City Councillor Ed Cameron will discuss homelessness.
For a full schedule of events and locations, click here.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Tick, tick, tick
Nothing new to report on the candidate front, except that we probably all read in the Daily News that Dick Sullivan will not be running for mayor.
So I'll tell you guys a story.
Yesterday afternoon my landlord's father came by and invited me out for a sail with him and his 2 buddies. One of the guys introduced himself as "John" and all through the sail we chatted and stuff.
As we were pulling back into the harbor - that's a whole other story - I found out that "John" was John Wells because the conversation turned to parking and Karp.
You never know where you will meet people, do you?
And just look at that view of downtown Newburyport from the river ... lovely old church steeple, turbine ...
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Diamonds on the soles of their shoes
I was reading this story in today's Daily News, about the Christian Science church closing its doors on High St. and two things came to mind:
1. A church in a town is a business, a local franchise if you will, and
2. SENIOR CENTER
Who has about $900,000 to buy this building for a senior center, before someone else snatches it up?
But back to #1: I find it interesting that people don't think of a church as a business, with legitimate business expenses - and the odd tax break here and there.
Churches have always been about making money - when they weren't being political, that is.
Back in the good old days - that would be Medieval times to me - churches went around collecting tithes from the common folk who could ill afford it, by telling them they would be doomed to eternal hellfire if they didn't fork over their last farthing (or whatever coin they used back then).
That was so the bishops and such could have fur robes to keep them warm and toasty in those drafty buildings. Just look at all that jewel-encrusted finery available to the Pope, for instance. Of course, the lowly vicars and priests were living on moldy bread ...
I've oversimplified to make a point but still, churches (in the forest sense) are big business and they are powerful.
That particular local church isn't making enough money? Get rid of it! ... And on and on it goes.
The flip side
Going back to being in the community garden behind the First Parish Church, Newbury - I was there on Sunday morning when the bell started tolling to tell people it was time to get to church.
And although I'm not a religious person, it made me kind of sad to think that, not even 100 years ago, a whole community answered to that bell.
You know that famous quote, "Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for you ...?" Well, it means something slightly different than what I'm saying, but somehow it fits in this case as well.
1. A church in a town is a business, a local franchise if you will, and
2. SENIOR CENTER
Who has about $900,000 to buy this building for a senior center, before someone else snatches it up?
But back to #1: I find it interesting that people don't think of a church as a business, with legitimate business expenses - and the odd tax break here and there.
Churches have always been about making money - when they weren't being political, that is.
Back in the good old days - that would be Medieval times to me - churches went around collecting tithes from the common folk who could ill afford it, by telling them they would be doomed to eternal hellfire if they didn't fork over their last farthing (or whatever coin they used back then).
That was so the bishops and such could have fur robes to keep them warm and toasty in those drafty buildings. Just look at all that jewel-encrusted finery available to the Pope, for instance. Of course, the lowly vicars and priests were living on moldy bread ...
I've oversimplified to make a point but still, churches (in the forest sense) are big business and they are powerful.
That particular local church isn't making enough money? Get rid of it! ... And on and on it goes.
The flip side
Going back to being in the community garden behind the First Parish Church, Newbury - I was there on Sunday morning when the bell started tolling to tell people it was time to get to church.
And although I'm not a religious person, it made me kind of sad to think that, not even 100 years ago, a whole community answered to that bell.
You know that famous quote, "Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for you ...?" Well, it means something slightly different than what I'm saying, but somehow it fits in this case as well.
Friday, May 15, 2009
The bunnies are innocent
I apologize to the Newbury bunnies that I yesterday blamed for eating our lettuce plants at the Eden Collaborative Gardens behind the First Parish Church.
Rita at the Herb Farmacy informed Elizabeth and me that the most likely culprit was cutworms - and damn if we didn't find them in our little garden plot, just like she said we would.
They eat young plants with small stems.
Luckily, some of the plants are re-sprouting. Of course, we only discovered this after we had bought even more lettuce plants.
We put cuffs around the new plants - you know what came in handy? Those cardboard cup holders they give you now with hot coffee. I had been saving them because I knew someday they'd be useful for something.
If you love salads, check back with me in a couple of weeks. I'll be up to my elbows in lettuce.
I really have to stop laying blame before I have all the factoids.
Rita at the Herb Farmacy informed Elizabeth and me that the most likely culprit was cutworms - and damn if we didn't find them in our little garden plot, just like she said we would.
They eat young plants with small stems.
Luckily, some of the plants are re-sprouting. Of course, we only discovered this after we had bought even more lettuce plants.
We put cuffs around the new plants - you know what came in handy? Those cardboard cup holders they give you now with hot coffee. I had been saving them because I knew someday they'd be useful for something.
If you love salads, check back with me in a couple of weeks. I'll be up to my elbows in lettuce.
I really have to stop laying blame before I have all the factoids.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Plot #12 is available
As you may know, my friend Elizabeth Rose and I are sharing a garden plot in the Eden Collaborative Gardens behind the First Parish Church, Newbury.
Erin Stack, who is running the whole thing, has notified us that a garden plot has become available.
If you're interested, please email Erin at erinstack@comcast.net.
It's fun! Except for the lost lettuce plants.
Damn bunnies.
Erin Stack, who is running the whole thing, has notified us that a garden plot has become available.
If you're interested, please email Erin at erinstack@comcast.net.
It's fun! Except for the lost lettuce plants.
Damn bunnies.
Friday, May 8, 2009
I'm off to garden
Today is gardening day, instead of the usual Saturday morning.
I expect there to be many, many weeds in our little plot behind the First Parish Church, but our veggies appear to be flourishing.
Or they were, last time I saw them.
I have to note here that I hear that the people who own the property that abuts the former field behind the church really object to having the community gardens there. They think it's too noisy, or intrusive, or something.
This goes back to people doing what they will with their own property and upsetting the neighbors; although I never imagined someone would be upset about a community garden.
Maybe they should stick a windmill in there and see how that goes over ...
I expect there to be many, many weeds in our little plot behind the First Parish Church, but our veggies appear to be flourishing.
Or they were, last time I saw them.
I have to note here that I hear that the people who own the property that abuts the former field behind the church really object to having the community gardens there. They think it's too noisy, or intrusive, or something.
This goes back to people doing what they will with their own property and upsetting the neighbors; although I never imagined someone would be upset about a community garden.
Maybe they should stick a windmill in there and see how that goes over ...
Monday, April 20, 2009
Get your fresh turkey here (or not)
This story in the Daily News reminded me that my elderly neighbor the other day told me that a pair of wild turkeys were on a nest in the vacant lot that's practically across the street from here (there's a fenced-in yard in between).
He's always telling me that he sees turkeys (and cayotes) all over the place out here, but I've never seen - or heard - a turkey in the neighborhood. I do have a bird feeder, so you'd think a turkey in the immediate vicinity would at least wander over to investigate ...
I did see a cayote one night, but it was down by Angie's service station at the other end of Old Point Rd. Seems to me like the 2 sets of creatures would be incompatible in such a small area ...
Anyway, I do frequently see turkeys roaming around the airport, as it is noted in the DN piece that they do tend to cluster in that area.
The piece also reminded me that I've twice now seen crows harassing a hawk.
A couple of weeks ago on the PI Turnpike, there was a hawk sitting on the top of a lightstand and 2 crows were circling it and diving at it while cawing like maniacs.
Last week, when we were at the community gardens at the First Parish Church, a hawk flew overhead, followed closely by a crow that was diving at it ... I don't know if it was the same hawk (or for that matter the same crows - the first one was joined by a second) but my partner in gardening, Elizabeth, and I had a good laugh about the poor hawk and the daring of the crows.
In both cases, it was a relatively small hawk.
He's always telling me that he sees turkeys (and cayotes) all over the place out here, but I've never seen - or heard - a turkey in the neighborhood. I do have a bird feeder, so you'd think a turkey in the immediate vicinity would at least wander over to investigate ...
I did see a cayote one night, but it was down by Angie's service station at the other end of Old Point Rd. Seems to me like the 2 sets of creatures would be incompatible in such a small area ...
Anyway, I do frequently see turkeys roaming around the airport, as it is noted in the DN piece that they do tend to cluster in that area.
The piece also reminded me that I've twice now seen crows harassing a hawk.
A couple of weeks ago on the PI Turnpike, there was a hawk sitting on the top of a lightstand and 2 crows were circling it and diving at it while cawing like maniacs.
Last week, when we were at the community gardens at the First Parish Church, a hawk flew overhead, followed closely by a crow that was diving at it ... I don't know if it was the same hawk (or for that matter the same crows - the first one was joined by a second) but my partner in gardening, Elizabeth, and I had a good laugh about the poor hawk and the daring of the crows.
In both cases, it was a relatively small hawk.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Community garden
I think I mentioned before that my friend Elizabeth Rose and I have a plot in the New Eden Collaborative gardens behind the First Parish Church.
I think I'm supposed to be keeping a journal of events surrounding the creation of these gardens ... well actually, they were there last year, too, but have been re-configured.
So I'm going to log it on here.
March 21: We met at the church for the initial prep meeting.
This involved a discussion over coffee and pastries and then going out to stake out the whole garden and the individual plots.
OK, well ... there were too many men with too many tape measures and too many impatient females.
While the men (and a couple of women) were running about with aforementioned tape measures and green metal stakes (these stakes will become very important later), the rest of us tried to figure out where our individual plots were, based on a site map.
Here's a tip: don't think you know where you're situated before the perimeter measuring is done.
One woman, who shall remain nameless, got so disgusted after she staked off and started to work what she thought was her plot only to discover she wasn't even close that she stalked off in anger, never to return.
Elizabeth and I, and the gardeners to the north and south of us, were equally impatient. We measured and staked and measured and staked and I think once again before it was all done.
Then, when it was all done, our plot was only a fraction of what it should have been.
Oh dear! It turned out the measurement from the back fence was off by 3 feet.
Luckily for us, these people know the meaning of the word "community" and we worked it all out with no residual hard feelings.
Elizabeth and I, tired and dirty, retired to Hana Japan for chirachi. We laughed a lot.
I think I'm supposed to be keeping a journal of events surrounding the creation of these gardens ... well actually, they were there last year, too, but have been re-configured.
So I'm going to log it on here.
March 21: We met at the church for the initial prep meeting.
This involved a discussion over coffee and pastries and then going out to stake out the whole garden and the individual plots.
OK, well ... there were too many men with too many tape measures and too many impatient females.
While the men (and a couple of women) were running about with aforementioned tape measures and green metal stakes (these stakes will become very important later), the rest of us tried to figure out where our individual plots were, based on a site map.
Here's a tip: don't think you know where you're situated before the perimeter measuring is done.
One woman, who shall remain nameless, got so disgusted after she staked off and started to work what she thought was her plot only to discover she wasn't even close that she stalked off in anger, never to return.
Elizabeth and I, and the gardeners to the north and south of us, were equally impatient. We measured and staked and measured and staked and I think once again before it was all done.
Then, when it was all done, our plot was only a fraction of what it should have been.
Oh dear! It turned out the measurement from the back fence was off by 3 feet.
Luckily for us, these people know the meaning of the word "community" and we worked it all out with no residual hard feelings.
Elizabeth and I, tired and dirty, retired to Hana Japan for chirachi. We laughed a lot.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Beware of tall girls with backpacks
No seriously - there have been a rash of break-ins in the city perpetrated by women, one of which is tall, has black hair and a "medium" complexion and carries a backpack.
The better to stash booty in, I imagine.
Perhaps Det. Brunault should have said "a girl fitting this description walking around with a backpack."
I wonder if this explains the SUV that followed me home a while ago ... just wondering ... I wasn't carrying my little backpack, but I did snitch some dirt from our garden plot at First Parish Church to plant seeds in at home (the dirt will go back to the garden with the plants, if anything sprouts) ...
You have to wonder about criminals who drive around in a teal-colored van (aside from the obvious wondering about criminal behavior in general). It's a good thing they don't drive a less obvious vehicle - something along the lines of a black Jetta, for instance.
Everyone and his brother has one of those.
The better to stash booty in, I imagine.
"They knock on doors to see if people are home," Brunault said. "If anyone sees a girl walking around with a backpack, give us a call."
Perhaps Det. Brunault should have said "a girl fitting this description walking around with a backpack."
Brunault said in some instances, a teal-colored van has been spotted in neighborhoods. Along with the tall woman with black hair, there have been reports of two white females and one black female with her.
I wonder if this explains the SUV that followed me home a while ago ... just wondering ... I wasn't carrying my little backpack, but I did snitch some dirt from our garden plot at First Parish Church to plant seeds in at home (the dirt will go back to the garden with the plants, if anything sprouts) ...
Police are looking for the teal-colored van as well as a burgundy-colored sedan similar to a Chevy Lumina. There have also been descriptions of a dark-colored Jeep with stickers on the back.
You have to wonder about criminals who drive around in a teal-colored van (aside from the obvious wondering about criminal behavior in general). It's a good thing they don't drive a less obvious vehicle - something along the lines of a black Jetta, for instance.
Everyone and his brother has one of those.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Got the time tick-tick-tickin in my head*
Another busy day today for Brenda Starr ... well, a vastly watered down version of the comic strip heroine, at any rate.
But I used to follow her adventures, which probably explains why I'm a reporter and why I'm attracted by mysterious people (like a moth to a flame - and unlike Brenda, I always get burned). Hey, her mysterious man has the same surname I was born with ...
Anyway, I got a stop at the soon-to-be reborn Taffy's, a stop at Brown Square to check out the Repubs' "'Tea Party" (shouldn't it be on the waterfront?) and a longer stay across the street at City Hall for Congressman Tierney (a Dem).
No need to say "probably" when I say those last 2 locations are connected, which makes my question about the waterfront moot.
Speaking of Tierney ... his office complained about the brief that was in the paper connecting his visit with Earth Hour (that's tonight, people) ... good grief, soon none of them will be talking to me (Sen. Baddour still hasn't returned my calls, even after telling me at the turbine ribbon cutting to call him on Thursday).
But I wasn't done babbling about my day ... the next task on my agenda is pleasure. My friend Elizabeth and I are going to check out plants for our veggie garden behind First Parish Church.
We're trekking up to the Herb Farmacy in Salisbury, a place I highly recommend.
* Joe Jackson, Got The Time
But I used to follow her adventures, which probably explains why I'm a reporter and why I'm attracted by mysterious people (like a moth to a flame - and unlike Brenda, I always get burned). Hey, her mysterious man has the same surname I was born with ...
Anyway, I got a stop at the soon-to-be reborn Taffy's, a stop at Brown Square to check out the Repubs' "'Tea Party" (shouldn't it be on the waterfront?) and a longer stay across the street at City Hall for Congressman Tierney (a Dem).
No need to say "probably" when I say those last 2 locations are connected, which makes my question about the waterfront moot.
Speaking of Tierney ... his office complained about the brief that was in the paper connecting his visit with Earth Hour (that's tonight, people) ... good grief, soon none of them will be talking to me (Sen. Baddour still hasn't returned my calls, even after telling me at the turbine ribbon cutting to call him on Thursday).
But I wasn't done babbling about my day ... the next task on my agenda is pleasure. My friend Elizabeth and I are going to check out plants for our veggie garden behind First Parish Church.
We're trekking up to the Herb Farmacy in Salisbury, a place I highly recommend.
* Joe Jackson, Got The Time
Sunday, March 22, 2009
I felt the earth move, under my feet
Yesterday, prior to going to Port Plaza for lunch at Hana Japan, I was at the First Parish Church of Newbury for many, many hours, staking out my claim.
There was a whole bunch of us there, setting up our individual gardens in the community garden they have set up behind the church. My friend Elizabeth and I are sharing a plot.
Much like how things go when I'm with my sister Helen (the one who lives in Malden), it was an adventure.
Our little rectangle of earth is between 2 others to the north and south, so we helped Pat, our new neighbor to the south, measure out her 2 plots. Then we did ours.
Unfortunately, when Jane to our north was finished with hers, we had lost 3.5 feet in ours.
Oh but we were all so good at working with others that we found the problem, it was fixed and Elizabeth and I weren't squeezed out of however many square feet of garden 3.5 feet by 9 feet is.
I've never been good at math.
I'm looking forward to munching garden-fresh veggies all summer ...
There was a whole bunch of us there, setting up our individual gardens in the community garden they have set up behind the church. My friend Elizabeth and I are sharing a plot.
Much like how things go when I'm with my sister Helen (the one who lives in Malden), it was an adventure.
Our little rectangle of earth is between 2 others to the north and south, so we helped Pat, our new neighbor to the south, measure out her 2 plots. Then we did ours.
Unfortunately, when Jane to our north was finished with hers, we had lost 3.5 feet in ours.
Oh but we were all so good at working with others that we found the problem, it was fixed and Elizabeth and I weren't squeezed out of however many square feet of garden 3.5 feet by 9 feet is.
I've never been good at math.
I'm looking forward to munching garden-fresh veggies all summer ...
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Humph
Boy, The P. Preservationist has been going bonkers over there ... I'm really glad Tom Salemi pointed this site out to me (and others).
In this post from March 1, P.P. lists projects that have been, or will be, submitted in consideration for CPA funds. I'll re-print his/her list:
Heritage House - Energy Upgrades - WinnCompanies - $500,000 - Housing
Municipal Affordable Housing - Trust Planning Office - $50,000 -Housing
Newburyport Housing Rehabilitation - Planning Office - $200,000 - Housing
National Register Signage Project - Jerry Mullins - $3,150.00 - Historical
Newburyport Front Range Light - Lighthouse Society - $98,000 - Historical
John Bromfield Brick Sidewalk Fund - Jerry Mullins - $100,000 - Historical
City Hall Project, Accessibility, Phase II - Planning Office - $35,000 - Historical
Brown Square Renovation Proj. - Planning Office - $80,000 - Historical
Clipper City Rail Trail Project - Planning Office - $75,000 - Recreational
Common Pasture Public Access - Planning Office - $50,000 - Open Space
Open Space Fund Open Space Committee - $75,000 - Open Space
Gravestone Restoration Project - City Improvement Society - $25,000 - Historical
Oak Hill Cemetery - Proprietors of Oak Hill - $38,500 - Historical
St. Anna’s Chapel Restoration - St. Paul’s Church - $89,750 - Historical
Masonic Building Restoration - Masonic Temple Assoc. - $18,600 - Historical
Ummm ... does anything stick out like a sore thumb? Well, yeah, because I made it bold ...
In this post from March 1, P.P. lists projects that have been, or will be, submitted in consideration for CPA funds. I'll re-print his/her list:
Heritage House - Energy Upgrades - WinnCompanies - $500,000 - Housing
Municipal Affordable Housing - Trust Planning Office - $50,000 -Housing
Newburyport Housing Rehabilitation - Planning Office - $200,000 - Housing
National Register Signage Project - Jerry Mullins - $3,150.00 - Historical
Newburyport Front Range Light - Lighthouse Society - $98,000 - Historical
John Bromfield Brick Sidewalk Fund - Jerry Mullins - $100,000 - Historical
City Hall Project, Accessibility, Phase II - Planning Office - $35,000 - Historical
Brown Square Renovation Proj. - Planning Office - $80,000 - Historical
Clipper City Rail Trail Project - Planning Office - $75,000 - Recreational
Common Pasture Public Access - Planning Office - $50,000 - Open Space
Open Space Fund Open Space Committee - $75,000 - Open Space
Gravestone Restoration Project - City Improvement Society - $25,000 - Historical
Oak Hill Cemetery - Proprietors of Oak Hill - $38,500 - Historical
St. Anna’s Chapel Restoration - St. Paul’s Church - $89,750 - Historical
Masonic Building Restoration - Masonic Temple Assoc. - $18,600 - Historical
Ummm ... does anything stick out like a sore thumb? Well, yeah, because I made it bold ...
Didn't the city get $500,000 in grants for renovations at Brown Square? What's this $80,000 for, a gold-plated drinking fountain?
You know, it seems to me that for $500,000, the city could perk up the park (where nobody goes) AND foot the $300,000 bill to bury the wires.
But maybe that's just me.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
IC sign turns heads
Alerted by Tom Salemi's post about the P. Preservationist site, I checked it out.
In doing so, I noticed a little blurb at the top of the page about the new sign outside the Immaculate Conception Church, on the corner of Green and High streets.
I had been alerted to this sign, and a general negative reaction to it, a couple of weeks ago. I would go take a photo, but I'm just still too sick.
Let's just say it's rather large and I gather that it lights up at night. I'm really kind of surprised that it's the direction the IC church chose, seeing as how it's ... not in keeping with ... the neighborhood? Good taste? You decide.
I gather that the sign falls under the Dover Amendment, since I can't imagine that it would have been allowed otherwise:
I couldn't find anyone who was willing to criticize it "on the record," so I didn't write it up for the Current.
In doing so, I noticed a little blurb at the top of the page about the new sign outside the Immaculate Conception Church, on the corner of Green and High streets.
I had been alerted to this sign, and a general negative reaction to it, a couple of weeks ago. I would go take a photo, but I'm just still too sick.
Let's just say it's rather large and I gather that it lights up at night. I'm really kind of surprised that it's the direction the IC church chose, seeing as how it's ... not in keeping with ... the neighborhood? Good taste? You decide.
I gather that the sign falls under the Dover Amendment, since I can't imagine that it would have been allowed otherwise:
The "Dover Amendment" is the common name for Massachusetts General Law (MGL) Chapter 40A, Section 3, which exempts agricultural, religious, and educational corporations from many zoning restrictions. It allows a facility that provides certain services, educational chief among them, to ignore local zoning laws and build the facility it needs to provide those services. The Dover Amendment has allowed many developers to build facilities that were substantially larger than zoning laws would ordinarily allow or which were inappropriate for the neighborhood. (source: Stepps)
I couldn't find anyone who was willing to criticize it "on the record," so I didn't write it up for the Current.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Earth Day 2009
A message from Ari Herzog:
Great things happen when people come together to share ideas.
Within the greater context of energy and the environment, please consider joining me and Linda Guthrie, co-chairs of the Newburyport Earth Day Celebration, on February 11, 2009 for a townhall-style chat to brainstorm ideas and kickoff this year's Earth Day festivities.
Tentatively planned for the week of April 20 - 26, 2009, this year's celebration is produced by the Newburyport Eco Collaborative, a community organization representing the City of Newburyport, the Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and the Greater Newburyport Environmental Network.
Linda and I seek your participation and collaboration to make this year's events the best in the Merrimack Valley–and beyond!
This community-wide meeting is open to business owners, elected officials, public and private school students, teachers and faculty members, community organizers, and other interested citizens of Amesbury, Newbury, Newburyport, Salisbury, and West Newbury. Pretend you're coming to a meeting with a presidential candidate; it will be less about what we have to say and more about what YOU want to share.
The meeting will occur on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at 7 p.m. at the First Parish Church of Newbury, located at 20 High Road (Route 1A).
If you are unable to attend the meeting but would like to be involved in planning, participating, or otherwise volunteering, please visit http://newburyportearthday.info to contact us today!
Thanks a lot,
Ari Herzog, co-chair
Great things happen when people come together to share ideas.
Within the greater context of energy and the environment, please consider joining me and Linda Guthrie, co-chairs of the Newburyport Earth Day Celebration, on February 11, 2009 for a townhall-style chat to brainstorm ideas and kickoff this year's Earth Day festivities.
Tentatively planned for the week of April 20 - 26, 2009, this year's celebration is produced by the Newburyport Eco Collaborative, a community organization representing the City of Newburyport, the Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and the Greater Newburyport Environmental Network.
Linda and I seek your participation and collaboration to make this year's events the best in the Merrimack Valley–and beyond!
This community-wide meeting is open to business owners, elected officials, public and private school students, teachers and faculty members, community organizers, and other interested citizens of Amesbury, Newbury, Newburyport, Salisbury, and West Newbury. Pretend you're coming to a meeting with a presidential candidate; it will be less about what we have to say and more about what YOU want to share.
The meeting will occur on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at 7 p.m. at the First Parish Church of Newbury, located at 20 High Road (Route 1A).
If you are unable to attend the meeting but would like to be involved in planning, participating, or otherwise volunteering, please visit http://newburyportearthday.info to contact us today!
Thanks a lot,
Ari Herzog, co-chair
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Ten things I've done that you probably haven't
I'm caught up in all these ... er, memes? ... going around. So taking a clue from a Facebook friend (actually, he's both a blog and a Facebook friend), I'm 'fessing up to these 10 things (read about what may be the start of all this on author John Scalzi's blog, called Whatever):
1. I spent one night and two days on a replica of a tall ship (I've posted about that before).
2. I once drove from Michigan to Baltimore, MD, to see The Cars in concert (disclaimer: my sister Sarah has done this, since we did it together).
3. I was at game 5 of the World Series in 1984 when the Detroit Tigers finished off their incredible season with VICTORY (again, Sarah was there, too).
4. This isn't something I did (looking at the cat), but I once found a dead mouse down at the foot of my bed, between the top sheet and the blanket. I have no idea how many nights I slept with a dead mouse ...
5. I've lived in 3 different countries, counting the one I was born in but was taken out of when I was 3 months old.
6. I once went to rock concerts on three consecutive nights (again, Sarah ... what can I say? We used to live together!). I think this is another Cars-related entry.
7. I rang the church bell at The First Parish Church, Newbury (MA). It was way cool.
8. I have twice been in the building from which the bridge tenders raise the Gillis Bridge over the Merrimack River between Newburyport and Salisbury. It's tall and right over the middle of the river - and the view is terrific.
9. I was on an airplane one time and I was trying to open one of those packets of salad dressing they give you - and the salad dressing sprayed all over the woman sitting next to me.
10. I nearly emasculated Sen. John Kerry one day outside the State House in Boston. I was walking home, swinging my furled umbrella, and he was behind me. He grabbed it just before the point hit his crotch. At least I think it was Kerry ...
I used to believe I kissed the Pope's ring when my mother and I still lived in Barbados, but my mother recently told me it was just some bishop.
Now that I think about it, these things are probably supposed to be more impressive ... like, hey, I met Mother Teresa while feeding starving children in India ... great, now I'm depressed.
No more lists! Unless you guys want to do it, of course ....
1. I spent one night and two days on a replica of a tall ship (I've posted about that before).
2. I once drove from Michigan to Baltimore, MD, to see The Cars in concert (disclaimer: my sister Sarah has done this, since we did it together).
3. I was at game 5 of the World Series in 1984 when the Detroit Tigers finished off their incredible season with VICTORY (again, Sarah was there, too).
4. This isn't something I did (looking at the cat), but I once found a dead mouse down at the foot of my bed, between the top sheet and the blanket. I have no idea how many nights I slept with a dead mouse ...
5. I've lived in 3 different countries, counting the one I was born in but was taken out of when I was 3 months old.
6. I once went to rock concerts on three consecutive nights (again, Sarah ... what can I say? We used to live together!). I think this is another Cars-related entry.
7. I rang the church bell at The First Parish Church, Newbury (MA). It was way cool.
8. I have twice been in the building from which the bridge tenders raise the Gillis Bridge over the Merrimack River between Newburyport and Salisbury. It's tall and right over the middle of the river - and the view is terrific.
9. I was on an airplane one time and I was trying to open one of those packets of salad dressing they give you - and the salad dressing sprayed all over the woman sitting next to me.
10. I nearly emasculated Sen. John Kerry one day outside the State House in Boston. I was walking home, swinging my furled umbrella, and he was behind me. He grabbed it just before the point hit his crotch. At least I think it was Kerry ...
I used to believe I kissed the Pope's ring when my mother and I still lived in Barbados, but my mother recently told me it was just some bishop.
Now that I think about it, these things are probably supposed to be more impressive ... like, hey, I met Mother Teresa while feeding starving children in India ... great, now I'm depressed.
No more lists! Unless you guys want to do it, of course ....
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