On the way to work last week I saw a hawk circling over Water Street in Fitchburg. Last week there was a Coyote in the parking lot of the warehouse I work at in Devens.
As little as two decades ago that would have been unthinkable, but then again as little as three to five years ago I never saw a rabbit in town. Now their not only all over my back yard but every day on the way home from work I see at least 3-5 darting around all over town.
Given that I grew up with a back yard abutting woods and a stream this change is even more dramatic.
I started attending adoration of the Blessed Sacrament ten years ago taking over the hour that my mother had done at the Chapel after she died and I’ve noticed a significant change in the decade this has been going on.
When I first started the adorers where I’d say 80-90% women. A man, particularly one in his late 40’s was an oddity. Not completely unique but an oddity.
Now when I go to adoration more than half of the people are men.
I can’t place when this started happening but it has happened.
One fact of life that is often ignored is that even on bad decisions there are some winners.
Remy is exactly right in his parody of Old Town Road that new Stadiums rarely workout for cities in terms of economic growth.
However when Worcester took the RedSox AAA franchise from Pawtucket there were two groups of winners.
The first was those was anyone who drove in Kelly Square before the change because that seven way intersection was one of the most dangerous bits of road I ever drove on. To me it’s amazing that there wasn’t an accident there every single day.
The second group of winners were baseball fans like me who now have a AAA stadium under 30 minutes away. The truth that it is likely a bad deal for Worcester will not take away my enjoyment of the ability to see baseball at practically a major league level affordable both in terms of price and time to get there.
It may be that sooner or later another city might decide to outbid Worcester and the team will move but until such a day comes, if ever, I’m going to enjoy every season of it.
I do most of the grocery shopping in the house and it’s become over the last year one of the most depressing tasks there is.
I find myself happy to pay “sale” prices that are at or above what was the standard or the high price on items just two years ago.
I can see my shopping habits chance as prices do and while I always had an eye for a bargain but with the knowledge that it will cost double to heat my house this winter I find myself scrimping now so I won’t have to suffer in the cold.
Being the son of depression era parents it’s not that hard to get in that habit but it feels like failure on my part as a provider. I know that’s not a popular idea these days but I wasn’t raised in these days.
Finally as I get older I find myself reflecting on my life more. I done a lot of different things from owning a business, to writing a book to occasional public speaking. I’ve had two radio shows, one still in progress interviewed mayors, governors, Cardinals, congressmen, senators and questioned one future President on the campaign trail. I even won a civil case before a jury acting as my own lawyer once against the real thing.
I’ve failed a lot too, I failed in business, My radio show while syndicated locally never broke through, I didn’t make it nationally and instead of a comfortable living in my major I find myself working full time at a warehouse while drawing only a quarter at best of the blog traffic I once did never managing to break though to the point where I could make a living at it as others have. And there are times when my failures, particularly my financial ones, press against me rather heavily.
But in the end I have a good wife and a marriage in its 34th year and two good honorable God Fearing Catholic mass attending sons both making a better living than I am.
If that’s not a successful life I’d like to know what is.
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