No fans in classroom. Someone could sue. As a matter of fact, I have absolutely no doubt someone somewhere in this country already has. And won.
I don’t blame the school administration for the policy. And I honestly don’t worry that my kid is going to pass out in class.
Yes, once upon a time, people did have leeway to do what they believed made sense. If a teacher wanted to bring in a fan for his/her classroom, it wouldn’t be a big deal. Now it is. It makes no sense to those of us who hold onto the quaint notion of living life with a shred of common sense. But today, one always has to be thinking of where the next lawsuit is coming from, filed by someone who never lets common sense be their guide, but does have a lawyer on speed-dial.
As for why there isn’t AC in the fancy new high school, I’d say it’s probably the same reason there isn’t an athletic field. The project was expensive, and rather than make it more so, we, the Ashland voters, decided to go the penny-wise, pound-foolish route. Now we’re working on getting a field, at a much higher cost than it would have been had it been done along with original construction. It’s probably only a matter of time before we have an override proposal to get AC in the schools.
Common sense. I guess it’s been out of fashion for quite some time now.
I’ve been kicking around an idea for a year and finally decided to put pen to paper. (Literally. Although I planned to switch to the laptop at some point.)
Last night, the boy asked what I was doing, so I told him I’m seeing if I’ve got a book in me or not.
“You want to hear the first few paragraphs?” I asked.
“OK.”
I read them to him.
“You’re going to hire a professional editor, right?” he asked. “I think it would be worth the money.”
Allrighty then.
“It might appeal to women your age, though,’ he said in an effort to cheer me up.
Guess I’m lacking in the X Factor department.
At least he didn’t say it was dreadful.
Once upon a time, Framingham’s Flag Day celebration was a weekend-long affair, with a fancy ball on Friday night, festivities and/or road races on Saturday, and a giant, over-the-top parade on Sunday, with local floats made by neighborhood groups and civic organizations, clowns, fire trucks, and bands from different states. The parade went on for more than an hour and thousands of people went downtown to see it.
It was the town’s signature event, like Natick’s Fourth of July, Milford’s Santa Parade and Marlborough’s Labor Day Parade, only even grander.
That was then. This is now.
Times change and many civic organizations that depend on dedicated volunteers can tell you it’s tough to get people to commit a year’s worth of work.
But yesterday, volunteers did keep the tradition alive. It is a much smaller version of Flag Day, to be sure, but it keeps the door open for Framingham’s claim on the observance.
And those who planned the event and those who took part deserve a salute for that.
Congressional districts have been drawn in the most mind-blowing ways to protect old-boy networks.
Maybe I’m being hopelessly naive to think it’ll be different this time around.
We do have a chance to speak up, next Saturday morning at Framingham State.
To me, the idea of one or two reps for our region would make a lot more sense than what we’ve got now, which includes having some towns, like Natick, in different districts, and alignments
Fifty years ago, most every kid got mumps, measles and chicken pox at some point in childhood, and most survived just fine.
That doesn’t mean any of us want to go back to that time, and, frankly, the new measles scare is, well, scary.
Most kids today have been vaccinated. Most adults either had the disease or a vaccination, right?
Or maybe you’re not so sure.
I know I never had measles. But did I get a vaccine at some point? If so, it was a long time ago and those records are probably long gone. Besides, is the vaccine still going to protect me after 40-plus years?
I don’t think I’m alone in my fog. Most of us lose track of our childhood immunizations at some point in our 20s. Then we call our moms to ask if we ever had this shot or that shot, and hope her memory is right. Then we move to a point where we either have to get a new round of vaccines for a job or travel, or we just plain don’t give it another thought. Until something like this comes up.
The only thing I’ve got paper proof of is getting a TB vaccine in France. Luckily, my father still had the paper and sent it to me after he almost didn’t get into the nursing home because he tested positive for TB. That’s when we found out the vaccine used in France in the 1960s was very effective, but could lead to a false positive later in life.
So, do you know if you’ve had your shots?
Some of our local towns have never passed an override. Ever. Some have a long history of never passing up the chance to pass one.
For as long as I can remember, Sudbury has fallen into Category 2.
Until now. All three overrides were defeated yesterday.
Whether this will be the start of a new trend or just an asterisk in town history remains to be seen, but it does seem to represent a sea change for Sudbury.
Today’s column is about some good surprises in declines revealed in the most recent MetroWest Adolescent Health Study.
There was more encouraging news in numbers for teens revealed yesterday. The number of juvenile offenders has dropped.
No, statistics don’t tell the whole story, but these numbers are looking pretty good.
I don’t buy the theory all our country’s problems are a direct result of illegal immigration.
I don’t buy the theory all immigrants from South America are here illegally.
I do buy the idea we should allow police to check a person’s immigration status after an arrest is made.
If a driver is pulled over, it’s fairly routine for police to run a check of that person’s status, not only whether the license is current, but to see if there are any outstanding warrants or parole violations. Even if the person is not arrested, police can check on these matters in the name of public safety and to protect themselves by getting vital information about who’s behind the wheel.
If someone is arrested, police should be able to see if what they’re dealing with, including whether the person is here illegally.
This is not the same as authorizing police to ask people walking down the street to present their citizenship papers.
This is just common sense.
The tornadoes in Western and Central Mass. are pretty much like any other disaster. They’ve brought out the absolute best in people. And the absolute worst.
Most of the stories are incredibly positive and uplifting. Firefighters, businesses, average citizens banding together to raise money and collect supplies. Neighbors banding together to clean up debris and offer shelter and comfort. Amazing stories of selflessness and survival abound.
And then there’s the news the scam artists blew in just about as soon as the tornadoes blew past.
Springfield, Brimfield, Monson, and all the communities hit by yesterday’s tornadoes are faced with the kind of devastation we rarely see here, and, once you’ve seen it, you never forget it and never want to see it again.
“Thoughts and prayers” sounds trite, but for those of us without specific skills in emergency response, wiring, tree removal, etc., that seems like all we can say in the light of dawn.
As the situation becomes clearer, other ways to help will undoubtedly emerge.
And, of course, as it always is, the Red Cross is undoubtedly already on the scene.
Helping the Red Cross help our fellow Massachusetts residents is probably a good start.