Tuesday, April 29, 2014

You Can Always Go ...

 Children's Memorial Flag (in red)

Downtown Amherst is a tad more colorful at the moment with the bright red Children's Memorial Flag flying from the flagpole near Town Hall and the strip of lawn between the pole and the historic old brick building sprouting colorful pinwheels.



April is "Child Abuse Awareness Month," and the Northwestern District Attorney's office and the town are doing their part to make folks aware.  The same tagline used for terrorism probably applies equally well to suspected child abuse:  "If you see something, say something."

DPW workers forgot to take down one of the 25 or so commemorative flags that went up for a few days to remember Patriot's Day.   Probably because it blended in to the Bank of America color scheme.  Maybe after Labor Day they will forget to take them all down until, say, September 12.

 A lone commemorative flag in the heart of the downtown

The League of Women Voters book sale is coming to the town common this weekend, and workers have already erected the huge tent.  This annual event, marking its 66th year, predates the annual Farmers Market or weekly Sunday anti-war protests by decades. 

Amherst League of Women Voters subscribe to the Big Tent doctrine



 Sweetser Park fountain, bone dry

And while the Gazette certainly got all excited on Friday about Sweetser Park fountain bumbling again, it did not last long: the pump died.  DPW Chief Guilford Mooring said a new one should be installed by this coming weekend.




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8 comments:

  1. AnonymousApril 30, 2014 at 9:00 AM

    You forgot the best Sgt. Nelson of APD is retiring today!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousApril 30, 2014 at 10:09 AM

    When one talks about child abuse, one should also remember a different group of abused children -- those whose parents are mistakenly and/or maliciously falsely accused of abusing them.

    Larry, above and beyond what it would do to you and your wife, imagine what it would do to your little girls if they were physically dragged out of your house and told they could never go back. Stuff like that does happen -- not to mention stuff like the Ameralt/Fell's Acres case (which people ought to be asking Martha Coakley about) -- and I consider that child abuse every bit as cruel and nasty as some of the cruel & abusive things that some people actually do to their own children.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousApril 30, 2014 at 12:55 PM

    Thanks, Ed. BTW, you scare me.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousApril 30, 2014 at 3:34 PM

    Larry,

    How many people recognize your tag line at the top as a Petula Clark reference, to the song "Downtown"? This is ancient stuff, back when we listened to music on things called "records".

    You are not pandering to the much sought-after 18-49 year old demographic here.

    Rich Morse

    ReplyDelete
  5. Larry KelleyApril 30, 2014 at 4:09 PM

    Yeah, every now and then I have to show my age (but an Anon would quickly point out that it's about time I started acting my age).

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousApril 30, 2014 at 4:14 PM

    When I read the tag line I immediately started humming the Petula Clark song in my head. I can remember having breakfast before heading to school and listening to that song on the radio almost every morning. That was a VERY long time ago but I still remember all the words!

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  7. Nina KochApril 30, 2014 at 8:42 PM

    I still have that song on 45, along with the yellow plastic thing you put in the middle.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The Very Scary Dr. EdMay 1, 2014 at 12:44 AM

    BTW, you scare me.

    Good.

    Be very scared....

    ReplyDelete