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Saturday, January 8, 2005
Alex Takes a Bath
This is actually the little guy's second bath in the tub. We did sponge baths before that. Well, let me be
more specific. Kara did sponge baths before that.
But he seems to tolerate it pretty well. Katherine is a real water baby - she has always loves being
in the water. I can only hope Alex is the same, but who knows? His temperament seems pretty different than Katherine.
It looks like she's the image of mom and he's the image of Dad. He even has bags under his eyes and grunts just like
me.
 Anyway, the hassle was short lived, and we got him out and into a warm towel and dried off. So of course
he peed through his diaper and clothes 25 minutes later. I've only had the firehose go off twice when changing him so
far, but this was a pretty unique pee, since he had a diaper on. He must have really had to go. Katherine, by
comparison, is proceeding along with potty training really well. She doesn't need to wear diapers during the day at
this point - she always knows when she has to go and gets to the bathroom. She only had two or three accidents to get
there too. But sleeping is still trouble. She's taken a bunch of naps and been OK, but I think that's because
she just didn't have to go.
What Is It With This Photo?
I don't know what it is with this photo, but it keeps getting stolen by hip hop types in Atlanta. The
latest theft is by PeeWee229, who, like everyone else, lives in Atlanta and liked this picture enough to remote load it from my web site. Not cool.
I'll be contacting him shortly. If he won't provide attribution, I'll get blackplanet to pull it down.
Two Upcoming Meetings on the Fells
There are two upcoming events that focus on the issues of the Middlesex Fells Reservation. The first is a public
hearing to discuss a development proposal for the former New England Memorial Hospital in Stoneham, located across the street
from Spot Pond. The second is a public forum for discussing conservation in the local area. The Fells should figure
prominently in this discussion, and Kathy Abbot (the DCR commissioner) will be there. I've included both notices below.
Hospital Redevelopment is Issue
On Monday, January 10, 7pm, at Stoneham Town Hall Auditorium, 35 Central St, Stoneham MA. Simpson Housing Co. and Gutierrez
Co. will be presenting their proposals for 550 housing units and 250,000 square feet of office space development at the former
hospital site in the Middlesex Fells at a public meeting which has been scheduled with little public notice.
This is the only chance the public will have to ask questions and voice opinions prior to the Stoneham Selectmen's vote
on whether to approve the project.
Please attend and help inform others so we can make our voices heard.
Thank you.
The Friends of the Middlesex Fells Reservation
www.fells.org
Mayor Robert J. Dolan of Melrose
In Conjunction with
The Friends of the Fells and The Melrose
Conservation Commission
Invites you to
a morning of interactive discussion
"Saving Common Ground"
Building our Conservation Community
________
A Regional Event
Saturday, January 22, 2005
8:30am till 11:30am
Memorial Hall, 590 Main Street Melrose, Massachusetts
Featuring
Mayor Rob Dolan, Melrose
Kathy Abbott, Commissioner, MA Department of Conservation
and Recreation
Peter Alden, Naturalist Guide and LecturerTaking
Aim at Non-Native Invasive Species
Meredith DeCarbonnel, Melrose Conservation Commissioner
How to Empower Conservation Commissions for Healthy Communities
Mike Ryan, Executive Director, Friends of the FellsThe Middlesex Fells: Common Ground for Five Communities
Citizens of all communities attending this conference are encouraged
to participate in this first ever event.
Brief presentations will be followed by discussion groups where we can learn
from and meet one another to discover new ideas and ways to work together. Please Save the Date
Contact Information: Mike Ryan, mike_ryan@comcast.net (781.662.6889)
Sarah Smith, Sarah_L.Smith@tufts.edu (617.817.7888)
Friday, January 7, 2005
A Trash Story
Things must be loosing up a bit in the Owczarek household here, because I'm able to post two blog entries tonight, and
I even got out to take pictures today.
Actually, at around 10PM this evening, I had to take an hour break because Alex was crying, Kara was frazzled, and I
had to help. So I went and held Alex and sang to him for a half hour. He cried his heart out, and then fell asleep.
It happens with infants, I guess. It's much easier this time around, but also much more frustrating.
Anyway, I had a spare hour this afternoon while Katherine was napping, and so I did some errands. In the process,
I drove the lakes and took some pictures of trash. You all know I take pictures of trash, right? OK.
Unfortunately, the trash dumping at the Mystic Lakes never ends. I mean, it seems to slow down in the winter, but
it certainly doesn't stop. But I sometimes wonder when I'll be able to say that I've seen it all, and I don't think
I ever will.
Todays excursion brought two new sights that I hadn't seen before. The first was that someone took the time and
effort to flip a trash can full of trash upside down without dumping the contents.
By the way, some trash did spill out, as you can see. It included credit card receipts for the Schools for Children among other things. That's curious to me, because we are trying to get Katherine in one of the Schools for Children
schools. Let me try that again. We are applying to the Lesley Ellis school for Katherine, and Lesley Ellis is
part of Schools for Children.
By the way, in case you hadn't figured this out, it's really not a great idea to throw credit card receipts
into a public trash can like this. Trash moves around a lot and you can't guarantee that it won't see the light of day.
Anyway, the second and more disturbing dumping was construction refuse from what looks like a kitchen remodel.
This occured in the parking lot for the Medford Boat Club. In the photo below, I'm standing above the water line on
the lower Mystic lake looking across the parking lot towards the Tufts boat house.
This area gets a lot of dumping because it is not visible from Mystic Valley Parkway and it is open all night.
I really hate this, because there are some people who are trying to clean up the lakes. And I'm not talking about the
Tufts project or anything like that. I'm talking about people who are picking up trash, or moving trash over to the
cans to be removed. Two steps forward, one step back, I guess.
Props to Robert Penta
As my longtime readers know, I am not fond of Robert Penta for a lot of reasons. He called South Medford (where
I grew up) a "slum area". Remember the thing going around the Internet a few years ago, entitled, " Adult Resignation?" Well, Penta penned a similar article for his ocassional column in the Medford Transcript about two weeks after I got
the resignation as SPAM. Plagiarism? Maybe he is actually the unknown author.
But enough Penta bashing. Look, I have to give the guy props when he's right. Here in Medford, we just went
through the first phase of a debate over tatoos. Yes, tatoos. You see, a tatoo parlour wanted to open in Medford
Square, but was recently denied the permit on the grounds that there is not enough parking, that it's not consistant with
the atmosphere that the city wants to foster and (although I'm skeptical about this one) concern over the disposal of hazardous
medical waste. The vote went 4-3, with Penta voting to approve the permit. The Transcript reports:
Councilor Robert Penta said although some people throughout the community may not like the idea
of having a tattoo parlor in Medford Square, the fact of the matter is that this is a legal business and the city has no right
to deny it. He said during the many discussion the City Council has had, he has not found one reason that would cause him
to vote down this petition.
I think a lot of people, especially those who are older, associate tatoos with convicts
and drug users and stuff like that. These folks don't realize that tatoos are mainstream. It is not a counterculture
anymore.
Let's look at the issues raised by the city council:
1) Parking is a Problem
That didn't stop a liquor store and a new kids play stop from opening recently.
It didn't deter Springstep from putting up their arts building there. It's absolutely ludicrous to deny a permit for a small business because
of concern over where customers will park. The city council should be thrilled that businesses are even considering
coming into the square. If parking is that significant a problem, they wouldn't hand out any permits. And what
is the argument that says that a tatoo parlour is going to generate more parking stress than a liquor store?
2) Concern over Medical Waste and the Boys and Girls Club
This was Paul Camuso's line, "Even the best who deal with medical waste have problems."
This is another howler, since Harvard Vanguard has a major location in Medford Square right across from City Hall. I
haven't heard of any problems with them. But really, of course a tatoo parlour is going to have special disposal needs.
So do you work through the issues to enable the business to open or use them as a hammer to make sure it isn't permitted?
What about the diapers and waste from the new kids play stop in Medford Square? What about the dentists and doctors
offices, of which there are many?
3) It Doesn't Fit the Image of Medford Square
Medford Square doesn't have an image. People don't go there. OK, people do
go there, but only when they have to. I'm serious. I live in Medford, and I only go to Medford Square to go to
Bestseller Cafe, City Hall, Alamo Roast Beef (rarely) or the Library. I mean, they've been trying to jazz up Medford
Square ever since I was a kid. Maybe it's time to open a few tatoo parlours, because nothing else has worked.
Long time residents will remember when the city built the "ring road". One
of the benefits of that project was to divert traffic from the square so that a pedestrian mall could thrive on Riverside
Avenue. After 10 or 15 years, they opened it back up to traffic because the businesses couldn't survive. For the
record, my wife is opposed to the tatoo parlour, and she has a tatoo. But she thinks, as I do, that the councilors should
just come out and say they are opposed on cultural grounds, and not this parking/medical waste crap.
OK, I've gotten a bit diverted from my point. And my point is that credit is due
to Robert Penta for voting for the approval of the permit.
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