jackiedoherty.org

Far be it from me to give the local rag any good publicity, especially for a blog, considering the editor’s contradictory attitudes toward blogging (from fear and loathing to ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em’ and anywhere in between.)  But, I have to give a hearty ‘thumbs up’ to Gourmet Gal.  First of all, she keeps the blog consistently updated – crucial to keep your readers as every blogger knows. Second, she is a smart, funny writer, knowledgeable about her topic and willing to travel throughout the Merrimack Valley and even a bit beyond on her so-called ‘food safaris.’  Third, she gives good information, from the opening of something new (wine and cheese in Kearney Square???) to the regretted demise of something old (the Gazebo Cafe is closing).  If you’re a bit of a ‘foodie’ or just like to keep up with the restaurant scene, you’ll like Gourmet Gal. 

I am more of a novel reader.  Short stories are so, well, short.  And it seems that a vague, stream-of-consciousness, self-regarding, navel-gazing type of writing dominates the genre these days – a story begins and ends, at random, more like a fragment or a poem.   Sometimes the writing is great. Sometimes a phrase, character or situation will resonate and linger in your mind; however, the whole is usually less than the sum of its parts.  The story itself makes no lasting impression.  Still, as a regular, not to say religious, reader of The New Yorker magazine, once renowned for its short fiction, I do read every story that they publish, and I’ve been rewarded by becoming familiar with three authors whose efforts far exceed the average. These are the great William Trevor from Ireland, the bizarre, yet profound American George Saunders and  Canadian author Alice Munro.  These three achieve all the mood, emotion and character development that one might wish, but add dramatic intensity and actual plotting — their writing consistently reaches a level that can be called art.  For more on Alice Munro’s recent story in the February 11/18 issue of the New Yorker, ”Free Radicals,” look under book reviews.

Next week, the Superintendent Screening Committee will review the applications of candidates interested in becoming the next superintendent of Lowell schools. Those meetings will be closed to the public and information on the candidates will be kept confidential until the committee determines who will be asked to participate in the semi-finalist interviews.The semi-finalist interviews will be held in open forums on Monday, March 3; Tuesday, March 4; and Wednesday, March 5; from 4-9 p.m. in the Little Theater at Lowell High School. A tentative date of Saturday, March 8, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. has also been set to complete the interviews if needed. For a list of the 13 members of the screening committee who will recommend five finalists to the Lowell School Committee, check here. The committee will be chaired by non-voting member Eileen Donoghue, former Lowell mayor and city councilor. The school committee is expected to receive recommendations from the screening committee by March 14 and begin interviewing finalists at its regularly scheduled meeting on March 19. Since the position of superintendent will directly impact the quality of Lowell public schools for years to come, residents are welcome and encouraged to attend all interviews.

It’s been a week since I posted on Lowell’s Winterfest, and I’ve cooled off enough to write about my disastrous attempts to enjoy the festival this year. First off, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I had 8 p.m. tickets for the MRT last Friday night (The Missionary Position—timely and well worth the price of admission) so my visit to the Soup Bowl competition, which didn’t open until 7 p.m., was cutting it close—even for me. When I got there at 7:03 and saw the line of people snaking its way through the parking lot, I realized soup tasting wasn’t happening for me this year. Then Saturday night, my daughter and I waited in the cold rain for 40 minutes cramped into an entranceway with about 100 other folks trying to get into the Tsongas Arena for free skating (we had our own skates). After all that waiting, we left in frustration to find a restroom, only to return an hour later (when the line was down to 10 teenagers) to discover the doors were locked. No one from the arena would explain why the schedule indicated another hour of skating yet they had stopped letting people in despite repeated attempts to get them to speak with us at the door. In fairness overall, I have to say the fireworks display was outstanding, and my daughter enjoyed the indoor activities earlier on Saturday—especially making earrings with her dad. But for me, Winterfest 2008 was a cold downer—too many people and not well organized—at least in terms of the skating.

Last year, Jackie and I saw the Image Theatre do a ’staged reading’ of Patrick Fenton’s play Kerouac’s Last Call, which we loved (and blogged about). Now Jerry Bisantz and his crew are bringing it back as a World Premier production.  This play has it all – drama, humor, pathos, historical resonance, cultural insights, and for us in Lowell, it’s a chance to see it before it hits the big cities.  Here is the description from the Image Theatre website: 

“Last Call” recalls a party held at a friend’s home in Northport, NY in 1964, just before the writer’s move to Florida with his mother.  It is based on an actual reel to reel tape recording of that night recorded by neighborhood friends, a tape that Mr. Fenton is honored to have heard. It depicts the Jack at the end of his road, with glimpses of  the  forces that drove him, the people who moved him, and his own strong opinions  on fame, his travels,  and the “new” generations of readers who idolized him. Populating the play are characters from his past and present, and the play is filled with the music that accompanied his travels across America. Mr. Fenton’s words are reminiscent of Kerouac’s own writings….

It’s at the Old Court, this weekend and next, tickets are $20 at the door, or $19 if you call ahead:  978-866-2125. Seating is limited! As with all of the Image Theater productions, especially those at the Old Court, things are informal and friendly. At last year’s production, we got to meet the author and read articles he wrote about Kerouac. 

As Obama gains momentum and Hillary Clinton’s campaign seems to falter, I am called to action: Pick up the phone, write a check, be part of the movement. And share with you pieces of text from award-winning author Robin Morgan’s essay “Goodbye To All That (#2).” For the complete essay, check here. 

“Goodbye to the double standard . . .  —Hillary is too ballsy but too womanly, a Snow Maiden who’s emotional, and so much a politician as to be unfit for politics.  —She’s “ambitious” but he shows “fire in the belly.” (Ever had labor pains?)—When a sexist idiot screamed “Iron my shirt!” at HRC, it was considered amusing; if a racist idiot shouted “Shine my shoes!” at BO, it would’ve inspired hours of airtime and pages of newsprint analyzing our national dishonor.

—Young political Kennedys—Kathleen, Kerry, and Bobby Jr.—all endorsed Hillary. Senator Ted, age 76, endorsed Obama. If the situation were reversed, pundits would snort “See? Ted and establishment types back her, but the forward-looking generation backs him.” (Personally, I’m unimpressed with Caroline’s longing for the Return of the Fathers. Unlike the rest of the world, Americans have short memories. Me, I still recall Marilyn Monroe’s suicide, and a dead girl named Mary Jo Kopechne in Chappaquiddick.)

Goodbye to the toxic viciousness  . . . Carl Bernstein’s disgust at Hillary’s “thick ankles.” Nixon-trickster Roger Stone’s new Hillary-hating 527 group, “Citizens United Not Timid” (check the capital letters). John McCain answering “How do we beat the bitch?” with “Excellent question!” Would he have dared reply similarly to “How do we beat the black bastard?” For shame.  Goodbye to the HRC nutcracker with metal spikes between splayed thighs. If it was a tap-dancing blackface doll, we would be righteously outraged—and they would not be selling it in airports. Shame.

…Goodbye, goodbye to . . . —blaming anything Bill Clinton does on Hillary (even including his womanizing like the Kennedy guys—though unlike them, he got reported on). Let’s get real. If he hadn’t campaigned strongly for her everyone would cluck over what that meant. Enough of Bill and Teddy Kennedy locking their alpha male horns while Hillary pays for it. 

—an era when parts of the populace feel so disaffected by politics that a comparative lack of knowledge, experience, and skill is actually seen as attractive, when celebrity-culture mania now infects our elections so that it’s “cooler” to glow with marquee charisma than to understand the vast global complexities of power on a nuclear, wounded planet… 

Goodbye to some women letting history pass by while wringing their hands, because Hillary isn’t as “likeable” as they’ve been warned they must be, or because she didn’t leave him, couldn’t “control” him, kept her family together and raised a smart, sane daughter. (Think of the blame if Chelsea had ever acted in the alcoholic, more »

Funny, how even after decades of living, you can still learn new things about yourself. Today, I learned I’m not a great decider when it comes to cancelling events because of the weather—especially when it hasn’t even started snowing yet. (Imagine if I had to decide whether to call a snow day!) I had major moments of indecision about not holding the meeting tonight, which was to be broadcast live from LHS beginning at 7 p.m. Since the LHS subcommittee hasn’t met since October, a key factor in my decision to postpone was the availability of the Colleen Creegan TV Studio for a Feb. 27 meeting date, just a few weeks away. Also impacting my decision was the fact that fellow subcommittee member Dave Conway is home sick, and the city has instituted a parking ban for tonight. Of course, now that we’ve cancelled, the snow probably won’t start until midnight instead of late this afternoon as predicted. 

Tonight from 7-9 p.m. on channel 22, viewers can tune-in to the Lowell High School subcommittee meeting which will be televised live. This is the second broadcast of a school subcommittee meeting as part of a pilot program re-approved by the school committee last week. If you want to attend the meeting in person, it will be held at the Colleen Creegan Television Studio, which is located on the third floor of the high school. The agenda for tonight’s meeting includes the following: