jackiedoherty.org

Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can. I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the human mnid, aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

(My brother sent this to me in an email and I thought I’d share it with you.)

Did the lilies go by awfully fast this year? With our summer seeming shorter and cooler than usual, everything seems to have burst into bloom at once before quickly fading away. Now with August half gone, there’s a coolness in the morning, the need for sweatshirts at night. Here’s a July memory:

I love fireworks, especially when I can be right under them: the blazing flames seem to shoot right at me, and I can feel the explosive boom in my chest. Without that fireworks experience, the fourth of July isn’t completely satisfying—even if I had a great day with family and friends in Arcadia, at a beach down the Cape, or on a clear, cool lake in New Hampshire. Being close to a really good fireworks display is important to me on Independence Day, and anything short of that is (harsh as it sounds) disappointing. I used to get my fireworks fix by standing on the Longfellow Bridge and watching them shoot over me at the Charles River, accompanied by the sounds of the Boston Pops—an amazing experience. Then I moved to Lowell, and I was hooked for life. Whether it’s at City Hall for Winterfest (cool excitement, further sparked by fear the building will go up in flames) or on the Merrimack River, with sounds from music playing at Sampas Pavilion—Lowell does a very good job with fireworks and the traffic surrounding them. Despite the rain, today was no exception although we only made it to the Rourke Bridge (not as close as I wanted due to guests wary of the rain). From my vantage point, I could see the display from Sampas Pavilion as well as two other displays further down the river—the three of them like a string of bursting flowers lighting the night sky. I was reminded why I love fireworks and how thankful I am to have a home in this city, and how grateful I am to be an American.   

Walking around the Highlands yesterday, I was amazed by this purple clematis:

Then again, if you walk a lot around Lowell, along side of some of the urban blight you might expect, you will also see many beautiful gardens, well-tended yards or even just a striking tree or flowering bush by the side of a busy road.  I seem to recall that the late, great gardening writer, Henry Mitchell (author for 25 years of the “Earthman” columns in the Washington Post),  gardened on a narrow, shady city lot, plagued by poor soil and the roots of maple trees, not to mention all the other slings and arrows which the gardener is heir to.  City gardeners, I applaud you!

I’m thankful for my mother and for all the mothers who have cared for me and so many others the world over. I am also thankful my children have me for a mother because I love them dearly and try my best to give them what they need. And for those of us whose mothers have departed from this life, here is a prayer that gives me comfort every time I read it. It is reprinted today in memory of Jennie Doherty and Evelyn Mason—two wonderful mothers I had the privilege to know and love: I remember thee in this solemn hour, my dear mother. I remember the days when thou didst dwell on earth, and thy tender love watched over me like a guardian angel. Thou hast gone from me, but the bond which unites our souls can never be severed; thy image lives within my heart. May the merciful Father reward thee for the faithfulness and kindness thou has shown me; may he lift up the light of his countenance upon thee, and grant thee eternal peace.  Amen 

A few years ago, I was involved with the “Lowell Reads” project, where we tried to get the community reading and discussing one book. In our case, it was Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett. Chelmsford has been doing the same type of thing this year with Empire Falls, by Richard Russo.  I personally disliked that book , but the HBO movie was pretty good, with Ed Harris (has he ever done a bad movie?) as the main character. Anyway, the Chelmsford committee had a coffee-shop concert Friday night at the library as a tie-in with the book, featuring Lowell musician, Bob Martin and local talent, Sandy Spence. The main room of the library with comfy chairs, couches and stools was filled to capacity as the audience sipped coffee and enjoyed the show.

Sandy Spence did some great covers and a few original pieces from her CD (Not Without Looking Back). Sandy remembers going to Lowell as a kid, back when it was the place to go – to shop, to meet friends and listen to music. She sang the sixties-hit Dowtown in tribute to that vibrant memory of Lowell.  Bob Martin’s gritty, folk-style music evokes the downside of capitalism, people living on the street or just scraping by on the minimum wage. Each song unfolds like a short story, drawing you in to the lives he describes.  His tightly-woven lyrics, down-to-earth vocals and intricate guitar playing just get better the more you listen. On top of that, he’s a pretty funny guy and kept the audience laughing in between some of his more serious songs.

The evening of music fit in well with Lowell’s history and with the chosen book, which is about a failed mill town in Maine and the lives left behind when the corporations move on.

I hadn’t been following this one that closely and was mostly aware of the counter-argument that said this initiative would drive businesses out of the state. Whoa, don’t do it! That was my initial reaction, since a commercial tax base and jobs are vital to our local economies. However, Senator Steve Panagiotakos brought this up at the Stand for Children informational meeting last month and gave two examples that seem like accounting chicanery that shouldn’t be allowed in any state:  (1) Corporations  place real estate holdings into a subsidiary entity and then sell the entity rather than the real estate itself to avoid the real estate transfer tax,  and (2) Corporations get to avoid taxes by being classified as partnerships in one state and corporations in another state. There are more loopholes listed on http://devalpatrick.com/issue.php?issue_id=7593861.  I say close ‘em!

Welcome to jackiedoherty.org, a site dedicated to sharing news and commentary on education, politics and the world at large from a uniquely Lowell perspective. As someone who considers herself a long-time political activist, as well as being an elected member of the Lowell School Committee, I have opinions on just about everything, and I am excited about this opportunity to connect with fellow citizens on a variety of topics. My hope is that this site will give you the chance to learn new perspectives on issues–especially ones that are often outside the venue of established media sources–and that you’ll respond with your own comments, ideas and suggestions.

Please know that all comments will be screened before posting, not because I don’t value freedom of expression and an open exchange of ideas, but because I hold myself and this blog to a standard of political discourse that has no room for personal attacks. (I also want to keep spam out of the blog as much as possible.)

Another author on this site will be Margaret Gilsenberg, a dear friend, my campaign manager, and a colleague who also sees civic engagement as a way to positively change the world around us. Margaret and I both subscribe to anthropologist Margaret Mead’s philosophy: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” 

Yes, our blog is having a technical problem! You can still read our latest posts by clicking on the June 2008 archive and scroll to the bottom – for some reason our latest posts are now the last ones showing. Just bear with us and we’ll get it straightened out ASAP. Thanks for reading!

Jackie and Margaret