On Sunday, August 7, The Rev. Marc Eames, Priest-in-Charge, St. John’s Church, Vernon, CT will conduct services at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, 34 Water Street next to the Town Beach in Mattapoisett.
The 138th summer season services with visiting clergy each Sunday are at 8:00 am and 10:00 am using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. All are welcome.
To the Editor;
As a long-time resident on the Neck Rd., it’s wonderful that the bike path is finally making some progress BUT.
We also know that drivers often don’t observe speed limits, especially in the short 30MPH stretch of Neck Rd. When coupled with the bike path crossing, it’s an accident waiting to happen. Twice I’ve encountered non-observant bike path users, one on a bike and one on foot.
We were all schooled in the correct ways to cross any street, whether on foot or bike and if we’re to “share the road,” then everyone needs to be more cautious. A pedestrian has ‘right of way’ in a crosswalk, but that doesn’t mean a walker ignores traffic and marches across without looking both ways and pausing if a vehicle is bearing down on the area. It also applies to bikers flying across the road without slowing down and/or stopping to assess the traffic first.
Drivers should decrease their speed when approaching the crossing and stop if someone is already in the crosswalk. But if a cyclist or a pedestrian darts across without taking vehicle traffic into consideration, life and limb is in danger.
“Sharing the road” means that we all need to observe the laws and the rules of common sense.
Chris Ward, Mattapoisett
The views expressed in the “Letters to the Editor” column are not necessarily those of The Wanderer, its staff or advertisers. The Wanderer will gladly accept any and all correspondence relating to timely and pertinent issues in the great Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester area, provided they include the author’s name, address and phone number for verification. We cannot publish anonymous, unsigned or unconfirmed submissions. The Wanderer reserves the right to edit, condense and otherwise alter submissions for purposes of clarity and/or spacing considerations. The Wanderer may choose to not run letters that thank businesses, and The Wanderer has the right to edit letters to omit business names. The Wanderer also reserves the right to deny publication of any submitted correspondence.
The Rochester Board of Assessors want to replace retired assessor Debra Lalli with Debra Lalli as an appointee, but the Select Board delayed that appointment Monday night, objecting that the members should have been told sooner that this was the plan all along.
“Did you know this would happen?” Select Board Chairman Woody Hartley asked. “It would’ve been nice if we had known about her interest before.”
Hartley complained that the board would not have made the effort to advertise the position if it had known Lalli was interested in returning as an appointee. As a result of that effort, there is already one other applicant for the position, town Financial Director Suzanne Szyndlar. “You could have been a little more above board,” Hartley said.
Board of Assessors Chairperson Diana Knapp said Lalli sent her letter of interest to the board just recently. Someone of her experience is needed right now because the town is in the middle of a revaluation, she said. It is important for the sake of continuity that Lalli be the one to help the board with this project.
“We weren’t being secretive,” Knapp said. “This has been standard practice in the past. We didn’t know for certain what she would do. It was her call. We couldn’t say for sure she would do this.”
Hartley said the board only heard about Lalli’s interest the day of the Select Board meeting and that there would have to be two interviews now because of the other applicant.
Assessor Jana Cavanagh said they were hoping the Select Board would vote at Monday night’s meeting because of all the work they need to get done, but the board members voted to close the application process on Thursday, August 5, to then conduct interviews and vote to appoint on Monday, August 8, at 5 pm.
Next, the Select Board approved $96,783 in FY22, year-end budget transfers after Szyndlar explained transactions representing approximately 0.5 percent of the town’s annual operating budget and mainly the result of staff turnovers and budget overlaps.
Alan Decker of the Buzzards Bay Coalition convinced the board to approve a conservation restriction for 4 acres on Burgess Avenue near Walnut Plain Avenue that the group is calling “Head Water Bog.” Decker said the plan is to allow public access and maintain social trails there, and the small, one-acre bog on the property would be maintained for public demonstrations of bog work. He added, however, the coalition may add a parking lot for visitors.
In related action, the board voted not to exercise the town’s right to buy 8 acres on Featherbed Lane that is being taken out of 61A zoning protections. This acreage is in the middle of a proposed solar project, Town Counsel Blair Bailey said. He added that the town is close to imposing a moratorium on solar projects because three others like it are already in the works.
The selectmen then approved Monday, October 17, as the date for the fall Special Town Meeting and Monday, August 29, at 5 pm as the last day and time to file warrant articles. They awarded the transfer station siting contract to Tighe and Bond of Westfield for $32,500, and they appointed two police officers, Ryan Delmonte and Robert Orr, to cover the September 6 primary polling place.
In his report to the board, Town Administrator Glenn Cannon announced a variety of special dates and financial awards.
Friday, September 2, will be “Employee Appreciation Day,” and Town Hall will close at 11:00 am.
Rochester will be receiving $117,000 in Green Communities grants funds this year. Cannon noted the town approved $27,000 at Town Meeting for that matching grant program.
The town has received $10,000 from a COVANTA “outreach contribution.” Town departments will now submit requests for these funds. The selectmen will decide the recipients during their first September meeting.
Rochester’s offer to pay town COVID-positive employees for their first five days out sick will end on Saturday, September 3. Cannon said that is because the program funding the offer has expired.
Cannon is proposing to organize a Public Safety Building Feasibility Study Committee. He will post his proposed charge for this committee and seek the public’s and the Select Board’s input.
Hartley was happy to report to the board that Cannon recently met with Old Rochester Regional Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson and Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Howie Barber. Hartley told the Wanderer that improving communication between municipal leaders and the ORR School District remains crucial as the Tri-Towns navigate the high cost of public education.
The next meeting of the Rochester Select Board is scheduled for Monday, August 15, at 6:00 pm.
Rochester Select Board
By Michael J. DeCicco
The Marion Concert Band continues its summer concert series with a program of music from the British Isles on Friday, August 5. The program features several classic British Brass Band pieces as well as the music of Petula Clark, Gerry and the Pacemakers and the Beatles. There may even be an appearance by members of the Cape Cod British Car Club, LTD (CCBCC.) The program is as follows:
Colonel Bogey – K. J. Alford
Crown Imperial – W. Walton
English Suite – C. Grundman
Blue Bells of Scotland – A. Pryor
Tobias F. Monte, euphonium
Prelude, Siciliano & Rondo – M. Arnold
Sòlas Ané – S. Hazo
The Liberty Bell March – J.P. Sousa
Pop and Rock Legends: The Beatles – M. Sweeney
Irish Tune from County Derry – P. Grainger
Doctor Who: Through Time and Space – M. Gold
The British Are Coming – arr. J. Bocook
Knightsbridge March – E. Coates
Tobias F. Monte, euphonium soloist, has performed with the Massachusetts All-State Band, the New Bedford Symphony Youth Orchestra, the UMass Dartmouth Wind Ensemble and Jazz Orchestra, St. Cecilia Philharmonic Band and the Tri-County Symphonic Band. He has been a member of the Marion Concert Band since 2011.
The Cape Cod British Car Club, LTD (CCBCC) is a Massachusetts not-for-profit corporation whose membership annually exceeds 250. While members come from all over the world, most members are residents of southern New England. CCBCC members enjoy driving and displaying their English automobiles. Throughout the year, the CCBCC participates in events and raises funds for scholarship purposes. Annually, the club provides scholarships to automotive and auto body students at the Upper Cape Regional Technical School, the South Plymouth High School and the Cape Cod Regional Technical School. The club also provides funds towards a specific scholarship program available to Falmouth High School students.
The concert, under the direction of Tobias S. Monte, will begin at 7:00, weather permitting, at the Robert Broomhead Bandstand, Island Wharf off Front Street in Marion. All concerts are free and open to the public. “Like” us on Facebook at “Marion Town Band” for up-to-date announcements and rain cancellation notices.
George L. Unhoch died peacefully in his Marion home of 57 years on Wednesday, July 27th, 2022. He was 87.
George was the husband of the late Dagmar (Scheve) Unhoch and father of the late Bettina Unhoch Pike, and Christina Unhoch Mason, who survives him.
He is also survived by his four grandchildren, George and Lucy Pike, Olivia and Nicholas Mason, and his three step-grandchildren, Logan and Lili Pike, and Emily Mason.
The son of George L. Unhoch, Sr. and Anna (Feldmann) Unhoch, George was born in Bayside, Queens, New York, and went to the Foxwood School in Flushing, Queens and the Choate School in Wallingford, CT. He was the first in his family to go to college, graduating from Yale University in 1956 with a degree in economics. He played on the varsity squash team at Yale.
After his graduation, George joined the family business, the New Bedford Thread Company, founded by his father in 1953.
The business made glace finish cotton sewing thread. George took over as president in January 1970 and built New Bedford Thread into a global brand name that survives until this day. He ran the company for 50 years, until its sale at the end of 2019.
From 1989 to 2001, George also owned and ran A.H. Rice & Co., a uniform braid business based in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
An avid swimmer, George did laps in his pool everyday right up until just ten days before his death. An even more passionate golfer, he won numerous tournaments at his beloved Kittansett Club, where he served on the board for many years.
He was a parishioner and staunch supporter of Saint Gabriel’s Episcopal Church, where his funeral service will be held at 11 am on Saturday August 20th, reception to follow.
Contributions in his memory may be made to: www.southcoast.org/visiting-nurse-association/donate/. For online condolence book, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.
Last winter’s contentious situation between residents of Marion Village Estates and developer Ken Steen over snowplowing responsibilities on Fieldstone Lane sent the newly formed homeowners association onto Town Meeting floor looking for acceptance as a town street.
Their motion failed, as the town cited the hammerhead dead end to Fieldstone Lane as a key obstacle to safe snowplowing, only made worse by what the Department of Public Works considers a dangerous slope in the terrain.
Fieldstone Lane residents attended the Marion Planning Board’s July 18 public hearing eager to listen in and comment on an effort to write the traditional, T-shaped hammerhead out of the town’s rules and regulations.
A committee comprised of Planning Board Chairman Norm Hills, Town Administrator Jay McGrail, Fire Chief Brian Jackvony and DPW Director Nathaniel Munafo held a series of meetings to determine a course of action for future reference.
“The response came back as a hybrid ‘Y,'” Hills told the Planning Board.
The public hearing was held to determine the board’s course of action regarding Section 300-2.1 through 300-6.1 of Marion’s Subdivision Rules and Regulations. Hills handed Munafo the floor, who talked about concerns unique to the Fire Department and the DPW and how the hybrid “Y” addresses both.
“The DPW side has been against hammerheads for many years. They present very much of a challenge during plowing and asking plows to back up during a storm is something we want to try to avoid,” Munafo explained. “So in the course of a few meetings, we came up with this hybrid solution here that incorporates some of the better aspects of both or those options of a cul-de-sac and the hammerhead – or the ‘T’ as it’s called in other places.
“We felt that this was a good compromise in what both departments were looking for in these turnarounds at the ends of these subdivisions.”
The conversation turned when Planning Board members weighed in on the discussion.
Andrew Daniel reported on research he did after receiving the proposal, telling the board that he reached out as far as Milton, Vermont to see if that town has any such (Y-shaped) designs in use and reported that the town went to the “Y” to avoid cul-de-sacs, not hammerheads.
Daniel said the proposed move to a Y-shaped, hybrid hammerhead was met with many rejections in his queries to engineering firms, other towns’ fire departments and DPWs. He praised the Town of Fairhaven for its tiered response, calling it “case specific” rather than a one-size-fits-all solution.
Member Jon Henry, noting 35 years on the Fire Department including driving a 42-foot-long ladder truck and a commercial driver’s license for 45 years, was also against writing the hammerhead out of Marion’s Subdivision Rules and Regulations.
“I can’t disagree with Andrew that we should not limit ourselves to one or two or three (options.) … When you throw something out, you learn to regret that,” he said. “I think we should leave well enough alone and not change the regulation. … The ‘Y’ looks like an obstacle. I side with Mr. Daniel on his assessments.”
Member Tucker Burr aligned with Daniel and Henry. “I don’t think I would be in favor of getting rid of the hammerhead. … It seems we’d be losing a solution for a tight area …”
Member Eileen Marum agreed with Munafo and Hills. “The DPW and the Fire Department … let’s give them what they need and keep some options on the side.”
Jackvony was not present at the hearing but was quoted from an email correspondence as finding “the hybrid or ‘Y’ hammerhead system … acceptable.”
“This was developed over a number of meetings. The DPW and the FD, they’re the ones … going forward, I’m not going to tell them how to do their business. … They’re the ones that requested this change,” said Hills.
Daniel found it hard to believe that the fire chief requested the removal of the hammerhead option and noted that the state Fire Code lists five options including the ‘Y,’ the hammerhead, cul de sac and two others he found difficult to describe. “There’s not a whole lot of options because those are the ones allowed by the state,” he said.
When public comment was invited, all three residents who spoke were Fieldstone Lane residents. Jennifer Esposito told the board the fire chief had brought down a ladder truck to maneuver on the T-shaped dead end there, and she offered the board delivery of her video of the exercise.
Marum considers Fieldstone Lane’s dead end to be dangerous in winter weather.
“I wouldn’t want to drive a car out on that hammerhead because there are no guardrails, it appears to be just loose gravel,” she said, noting that heavy rainfall could wash away and take some of the road surface with it.
Esposito and the other two Fieldstone Lane residents who spoke, Andre Arsenault and John Miller, found the issue applicable to their situation, at which point Hills was compelled to recap the germination of the proposal to revise the Subdivision Rules and Regulations.
“When I started, I mentioned that earlier this year we had approved some changes to the Rules and Regulations that were developed by an engineering firm last year for us. That new wording did include reference to a hammerhead, which was not there before. That wording has not been incorporated yet because we were still discussing … now the potential changing of the term hammerhead to something else. That’s why it’s not on the website,” he said. “One of the reasons I’m trying to get all this through so we can get all the rest of the changes that are in this change to the rules and regulations incorporated. And this one word is hanging us up right at this point in time.”
Town Planner Doug Guey-Lee suggested that the acceptance of the hybrid Y would not necessarily rule out a traditional, T-shape hammerhead and suggested more generic language that would leave the town with options.
Hills said his takeaway from the board’s interaction is that a decision will not be possible without going back to the fire chief and to DPW director and determine what if any changes are acceptable to them.
“Those guys, in the end, are the ones that are responsible,” said Hills, disagreeing with Guey-Lee’s proposal. “It’s non-specific, and I want something specific. I don’t want a hammerhead of the dimensions that’s out there now. If we’re going to have a hammerhead, we’re going to specify the dimensions. I want to go back to the two people that are responsible and get agreement from them.”
Hills reiterated he does not want to tell the Fire Department and the DPW how to do their business. Daniel countered by saying he is not proposing the board does that, only that what the state allows remain possible for the town to determine rather than closing off an option he insisted is standard practice.
Henry concurred with Daniel that the regulations should be generic and not specific.
The board voted to continue the public hearing to Monday, August 1, at 7:05 pm.
In other business, the board voted to pay SRPEDD $2,405.49 for the agency’s services.
Under Old Business, Hills corresponded with Town Counsel about Zoning maps and told the board it can have a two-page map, the second page including lot lines and other information helpful to the board without obscuring the basics of the Zoning Map. The board favors two pages.
Hills said Guey-Lee has the experience and told the board he would see what can be generated in time for Town Meeting.
The next meeting of the Marion Planning Board is scheduled for Monday, August 1, at 7:00 pm.
Marion Planning Board
By Mick Colageo
The Marion Congregational Church is enjoying an array of guest musicians each Sunday throughout the summer. Beverly Peduzzi, church music director, has invited guest musicians to accompany each worship service while the church choir takes a summer break.
Perhaps you were walking past the church last Sunday, you would have heard the skirl of Sue Maxwell’s bagpipe. Sandy Morgan, pianist & organist and Wendy Rolfe, one of the United States’ leading performers on historical and modern flutes performed in July.
Coming in August will be The Yarmouth Congregational Church Quartet (August 7); Vi Taylor, 1st chair cellist of the Fall River Symphony Orchestra (August 14); Michelle Richardson, popular Marion jazz vocalist (August 21); Phil Sanborn (director of the Tri-County Symphonic Band); Karen Sanborn, (accomplished saxophonist and member of the Tri-County Band) and Laurie Black (talented pianist) will perform as an instrumental ensemble (August 28.)
The FCCM summer music program will continue in September beginning with Kathy McWilliams (graduate of the New England Conservatory), bassoonist (September 4.)
The community is invited to the services beginning at 10 am. You may even sit in the churchyard to enjoy the music and join the lively chat and coffee at the Congo Café following worship.
What for several months seemed to be a stagnant situation with the prospects of a solar array at the Benson Brook Landfill took an energized turn at Monday night’s Marion Energy Management Committee meeting.
EMC member Alanna Nelson came away from an Eversource presentation at a recent CVEC meeting, calling what she learned an “exciting, big step ahead that we haven’t seen in the long time.” Her takeaway from Eversource is that pricing per watt for the necessary improvements at Benson Brook are “certainly within the realm of affordability.”
Nelson anticipates that the cost of such a project in Marion will be less than most of the similar projects on Cape Cod. An open period for public comment ends in August, and final phases are projected for November. That means contracts could be established next year. Because a study was done that projects out approximately 15 years, it is believed that the price will remain fixed over that period or until the capacity is filled.
EMC member Bill Saltonstall asked about a PILOT contract previously projected to pay the town approximately $50,000 per year, but the proposal made by the developer assumed a bottom-level arrangement that Marion was told could change based on Eversource’s cost.
“Then we have to determine if that is a suitable arrangement,” said Saltonstall. EMC member Jennifer Francis added that the cost of electricity has also changed so the developer may need to deliver a new proposal based on updated information. Nelson was given reason to suspect that there are other developers interested so Francis encouraged the committee to take a proactive stance.
Accessing documents has become a tiresome exercise for the EMC mainly because there is no central storage location at the Town House and no point person since Town Planner Gil Hilario left Marion’s employ for North Attleboro. Francis pointed out that the EMC is a committee of the Select Board so that is the place to start.
Fire Station No. 2 was a topic of discussion where it concerns potential for installation of a heat pump. According to EMC Chairman Christian Ingerslev, Marion Facilities Manager Shaun Cormier believes the power supply in that building can run a heat pump even if its electrical system is based on two, as opposed to three-phase power.
Saltonstall said that to put a heat pump into the next Green Communities grant application and compete in earnest for state support, more complete information will be required. The committee voted to recommend to the Select Board that the board request that Energy Source completes an energy audit for the town.
Because the secret is out on the efficiency and favored status of heat pumps, there are emerging supply-chain delays and resultant price increases. The heat pumps scheduled for installation in the Town House were bid at approximately $500,000 and are expected for later this year.
Five Green Communities grant pursuits were discussed: heat pumps for the Cushing Community Center, Fire Station No. 2 and the Town House, the progress at the Taber Library and the WWTP temperature controls.
Francis suggested the EMC make a list of Energy Source requests so that any opportunities to correspond with the company will be optimized by maximum preparation.
Saltonstall updated the committee on the Sippican Elementary School’s main transformer that was originally added by Green Communities. Saltonstall said it looked like it had a pretty good payback and should be easy for Energy Source to update.
As for proposals for other municipal buildings and properties, Saltonstall said that targeting projects may be leveraged by the size of available grants. He said he plans to discuss the matter with Green Communities representative Lisa Sullivan.
In response to the EMC’s interest in Marion’s Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan, member Eileen Marum reported that Marion Police Chief Richard Nighelli gave her the town’s evacuation plan. Town Administrator Jay McGrail has been designated to issue evacuation orders, which could also come from the governor.
Nighelli, Marum reported, wishes to discuss a potential solar canopy in the parking area of the Police Station, Marum invited him to attend the EMC’s August 22 public meeting. Nighelli, she said, is interested in grants for the installation of a canopy and solar panels.
Marum asked the committee about a solar array atop the Police Station roof. Albeit optimistic, Saltonstall suggested a check on the matter, along with the issue of proper sun exposure.
Nelson suggested that once CVEC is ready to go forward with Marion’s next set of projects, the committee should have a few projects ready to go. Ingerslev questioned the focal point of such, be it for power or for income. Marum recommended just adding electricity into the grid. Nelson suggested a battery behind the grid would put the town more in control of a project than its developer. Francis believes the Police Department is necessarily focused on what happens if power is out in the whole region.
Saltonstall said that this might be a telling year in the relationship of the town and Future Generation Wind, the company that provides covering 95 percent of Marion’s power supply for municipal buildings.
In discussing a reduction of Marion’s municipal carbon footprint, Ingerslev said the EMC needs to make “the community aware that they are also responsible for doing something.”
Francis said that Wellesley recently produced a climate action plan and said it is something that in Marion would dovetail nicely with the Hazard Mitigation Plan.
Some of what the EMC can do depends on the Select Board’s approval of the committee’s ongoing effort to revise its scope of work.
The committee may experience some reorganization this fall, as Tom Friedman seeks to hand off his secretarial role. Nelson may take over when her schedule allows in October. Ingerslev asked if anyone on the committee would nominate a new chairperson and was immediately celebrated for his work in the role and nominated to continue in it.
Francis and Nelson reported recent encounters with residents they think would make strong additions to the committee.
The next meeting of the Marion Energy Management Committee is scheduled for Monday, August 22, at 5:00 pm.
Marion Energy Management Committee
By Mick Colageo
It is the winter of 2015-16, and I have convinced myself and an acquaintance that we can complete the Mattapoisett Lions Club Triathlon that summer.
My partner in crime enjoys swimming and upon surveying the course from the beach declares that she can do the swim portion. I’m so psyched up that we will be doing this, I can hardly contain myself.
I t was my attendance as a reporter covering the 2015 triathlon and seeing a lone participant cross the finish line long after the crowds had melted away that gave me inspiration. I didn’t care how long it would take me to do it, I just wanted to try.
Now with a mere two days remaining before the event, I was getting cold feet. My triathlon team member and I had “trained” for two months, her swimming, me bicycling, and speed walking. We called ourselves the “Yes We Can Duo,” but as the day approached, self-doubt and anxiety were seeping into my staunch resolve.
I told myself a true athlete would never doubt their ability to complete a physical challenge, that muscle memory and preparedness coupled with mental steel will find me coming across the finish line – which is, after all is said and done, the goal.
I kept reflecting on that lone participant from 2015.
No one had seemed concerned after it was learned that one runner remained out on the course long after all others were accounted for. I waited. After a while off in the distance, I could just make out a figure. Yes, someone was coming, and it was a woman. I nearly wept. She was struggling but she kept picking up her legs, kept her feet, albeit very slowly, moving forward.
I jogged up to her and said, “almost there, almost done, a bit further.” She did not acknowledge my words or me. Deep, deep within her own world, her own resolve to finish, she lumbered across the finish line. She had won her race. She had finished. Maybe I could, too.
It hurt me to see that no one ran up to her with congratulatory comments, praise for a job well done or simply to help her now that the task was over. She waved off my offers to assist, saying, “I’m alright.” I respected her need for space and privacy. I wondered why she had challenged herself in this manner. I would find out for myself.
That July 2016 triathlon would be my first and last. My right ankle had been bothersome that spring leading up to the event, making training tough to face. But believing it was not a serious problem, I plowed ahead, speed walking 3 miles every day, doing the course over and over and over again.
On the day of the triathlon, the weather was much as it was for the 2022 event: overcast, humid, and stagnant air. My swimmer took her position at the start line filled with self-doubt bordering on wanting to walk away. Instead, she hung in and slogged into the low tide at Town Beach. That swim is deceivingly tough. As she emerged from the water, she was knacked, breathing heavily and rather pissed off with me.
She reached the hand-off point to give me the electronic timer, sputtering, “… never again, never again.”
Then it was my turn. I grabbed my bike and was off like a rocket. Okay, maybe not a rocket but pretty darn fast for an older person pretending to be an athlete. I had ridden the course many times in preparation so I had a homefield advantage over those just visiting, so I thought, until I realized I was passing people who had finished the entire event. Anyway, at the turnaround point I was feeling confident I would clock in a pretty good time. Endorphins were pumping.
I dismounted at the appropriate spot to begin the run portion when I suddenly realized my thighs were no longer flesh, they had turned to stone. It was all I could do to simply move a foot forward in an attempt to walk. A friend came to my aid with a bottle of water that I greedily gulped down, pouring much of it over my seized-up body. All the while, I kept staggering toward the running course – ha-ha – resolved to finish even if I had to crawl.
For clarity’s sake, I do not run. I speed walk, or rather I did speed walk. And so I was able to pick up my pace after some more encouragement from the sideline and was off, heading towards Ned’s Lighthouse. Once I rounded Ned’s, I knew I was going to be able to finish. I’d been speed walking for about 10 years at that point so I was in my groove. The pain in my right ankle was miraculously gone. I was now boogying on down the road.
As the finish line came into view, I heard one of the event volunteers say, “Wait a minute, here she comes.” Those few onlookers still hanging around the finish line were comprised of my husband and two friends, but to me their voices sounded like an entire stadium.
We had done it. I had done it, and it felt so, so good.
The pain in my ankle would eventually be diagnosed as a stress fracture of the Talus bone. I’d wear an orthopedic boot for two months and then rehab for another two. That would be followed in subsequent years for fractures in other places, back surgery and chronic-disease issues. But I was good once as I ever was, as the song goes, and thanks to the other half of the “Yes We Can Duo,” I have the memory to enjoy forever.
This Mattapoisett Life
By Marilou Newell
Summer Reading is here. Student summer reading kits include reading logs, badge, stickers and a reading buddy. Return your reading logs to win prizes and help us raise money for Heifer International.
Teens and Adults: Summer Reading is for everyone. Pick up your reading log bookmarks. Return completed bookmarks to be entered into our summer prize raffle.
Mr. Vinny the Bubble Guy, Saturday July 30 at 1 pm at the Library. Mr. Vinny (Of Toe Jam Puppet Band Fame) will entertain the whole family with some giant bubble popping fun! This program is brought to you with federal funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.
Author of “How to Bake a Universe,” Alec Carvlin, Friday, August 12 at 11 am. Join author Alec Carvlin for an interactive reading of his Picture Book “How to Bake a Universe” and some cosmic crafts inspired by his story. Program will be held at the Library.
True Crime Book Club, Tuesday, August 9 at 6:30-7:30. Join Host Jay Pateakos to talk about Hell Town: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer on Cape Cod by Casey Sherman.
For more information on the Elizabeth Taber Library, visit us at www.ElizabethTaberLibrary.org or call us at 508-748-1252