Larry the K's Lineup

With America in turmoil and enduring severe economic, political and health challenges in the midst of a pandemic, this column on what it means to be an American seems to be wholly appropriate to post as we celebrate a Thanksgiving unlike any in recent history. The nation, as seen through the eyes of a 3-year-old, as my older daughter was when this original column was published the day before Thanksgiving 1999, remains a beacon of hope in this world – even if the slogan “we’re all in this together” has become a largely empty phrase in 2020. It's hard to fathom how the nation can begin to heal its wounds – especially while the sitting president continues to spread the false allegations about the outcome of the election being fraudulent because he can’t abide the fact that he lost. But with his own administration acknowledging Joe Biden as the “apparent winner,” states across the country certifying their votes and more Republicans conceding that the election is over, it’s clear tha

  On the night before Thanksgiving, it’s timely to share what we’re grateful for, and here’s the No. 1 reason why I’ll be giving thanks on Turkey Day 2020. This column was originally published in the November 2020 edition of Jewish Rhode Island of Providence, RI. Like just about everything we’ve encountered in this year of the coronavirus pandemic that even the brilliant mind of “Twilight Zone” creator and writer Rod Serling would have been hard pressed to imagine, Thanksgiving will be a most unusual holiday. Even if the virus remains relatively steady – and that’s a huge “if” --- family dinners will be smaller, and travel will be a fraction of what it normally is. But one aspect of the day should remain unchanged, besides eating too much turkey: the desire to give thanks. At the top of my list of things that I’ll be grateful for is the fact that in late October, my wife and I celebrated our 32 nd wedding anniversary. Given the fact that both of us have seen more of each other

Here are a few sports takes: BOSTON CELTICS:  Celtics fans are upset that once again President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge failed to pull off a major trade before or during the NBA draft, but given Ainge’s poor track record of making no or only inconsequential trades at the deadline or during the draft, no one should have been surprised that nothing of consequence happened to help the team. Fans were particularly angry that the Celts lost Gordon Hayward, who opted out of the fourth year of his contract, in free agency without getting anything in return (he signed a four-year $120-million contract with the mediocre Charlotte Hornets), and their ire is somewhat understandable. After all, Ainge hasn’t made a big move at the draft for a player since 2007, when he traded for Ray Allen, and then a few weeks later, acquired Kevin Garnett from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Those moves, of course, gave the Celtics a Big Three along with Paul Pierce en route to winning the franchise

Let’s face it, there’s been more than enough to feel lousy about in 2020. First came the pandemic, which has killed more than 250,000 Americans, and now the threat to our democracy that the president’s lies about fraud in the election and his tampering with the election results by trying to convince legislators to falsify the results by nullifying Biden votes --- pose to our democracy. Against that grim backdrop, and amid another COVID-19 surge, it certainly will be tough to feel good at all about the sad and tragic state of the nation this Thanksgiving, especially with travel curtailed and most people limiting their celebrations to a few members of their immediate family. But here’s a reason to feel better: There are angels out there who are helping out by going the extra mile to make sure that people of all ages who have no one to share Thanksgiving with, will still be able to depend on the free meals that community-minded people have traditionally been sponsoring for years. Thank

When will our long national nightmare ever end? Maybe on Jan. 20, and very badly, when President Trump does God knows what as he still refuses to concede that he lost the election. This is all so sad and scary, not Trump’s behavior since it’s all been so predictable for a man who cares only about himself, but the fact that Senate President Mitch McConnell and many other prominent Republican officials are enabling Trump’s falsehoods and lies about voter fraud – the same thing Trump was saying months before the first votes were ever cast in the presidential election. Can you imagine the outcry among those same Republicans if a sitting Democratic president were making the same false allegations and refused to concede defeat? He would have been burned in effigy – or worse. But the GOP lawmakers, who have evidently determined that raw political expediency is worth far more to them than saving our democracy, refuse to act like true leaders and urge the president to do the right thing for

This column on one of Attleboro’s most recognizable faces, disc jockey Nate Adams, first was published in The Sun Chronicle in June, but it’s just as relevant – and inspiring – almost six months later as it was when I first wrote it. It’s an especially good read as we navigate another major surge in COVID-19 cases, and the continued anxiety over the election that won’t end due to well …….. you know why. Let’s just pray that people start acting like menschen – the Yiddish word for decent people – just as the subject of this column, Nate Adams, has been for his entire life. God bless you, Nate. UPDATE TO THIS STORY ON JAN. 6, 2021! Attleboro DJ’s drive-by concerts going strong Here’s an update to last June’s story about Attleboro disc jockey Nate Adams providing drive-by musical entertainment at area homes during the coronavirus pandemic for a donation to the Norton Parks and Recreation Department. Adams says that to date, he’s done more than 200 such musical visits, including more

  The metrics and statistics have only become worse since this column was first published in October, so we can all use a few positive thoughts even more now than ever -- especially with the federal government having all but given up on fighting the pandemic and with the states continuing to issue conflicting and contradictory regulations. (And I won't even get into the temper tantrum that the Leader of the Free World has been having since he lost the election .....) So, try to take a timeout from all of the depressing news that we've had to endure this year, and let these relatively upbeat thoughts try to help you realize your personal silver lining in our miserable existence that has become life in 2020. This column was originally published in the October 2020 issue of Jewish Rhode Island of Providence, RI. In the summer of 2019, well before our lives became upended in a never-ending “new normal,”  I wrote a column about how my wife and I were going to be “empty-nesters” fo

While the drama in Washington, D.C., with the president acting puerile and like one of the dictators he worships as he refuses to concede and spreads baseless accusations of election fraud --- allegations that many key Republicans have been backing as they enable him --- goes on and on, a smooth and peaceful transition is under way in North Attleboro. As reported in Wednesday’s edition of The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, MA, the winner in the two-man race to replace longtime Republican state Rep. Elizabeth “Betty” Poirier – not only last week received a very gracious concession statement from his Republican opponent, but now the winner, Adam Scanlon, has generously decided to resign his current town council post later this month to allow his replacement to get a head start on the job. Kudos to both Scanlon, 24, and to his fellow Town Councilor John Simmons, 45, for showing the nation how opponents can run a race based on honest differences on the issues, but still respect each other a

  News that Boston Celtics legend and Basketball Hall-of-Famer Tommy Heinsohn (as both a coach and player), died today at the age of 86 hit Baby Boomers especially hard. We grew up with Heinsohn as a player on the teams with Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, Sam Jones, K.C. Jones and Bill Sharman – to just name some of those great players from the 1950s and 1960s Celtics championship teams that won 11 of 13 NBA titles, with Heinsohn on eight of those teams. As a coach, Heinsohn, in 1974 and 1976, guided the Celtics to banners 12 and 13, including that incredible Game 5 Triple OT win in the 1976 NBA Finals against the Phoenix Suns. Then, in the tradition of Johnny Most, Heinsohn was arguably the voice of the Celtics in the broadcast booth, where he was unabashedly a “homer” and, like Most, was routinely critical of the referees. Heinsohn’s No. 15 is among the numbers retired by the Celtics, and hangs in the rafters of TD Garden, after being up there with so many other Celtics greats in the ol

  Some of us who have covered the Pawtucket Red Sox over the years – some for decades – gathered at McCoy Stadium a few days ago to take in the atmosphere and to swap stories about the ballpark and the team that called Pawtucket home for 50 years, most of that as the Triple AAA affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. Even though it was a warmish November afternoon, the newly-cut grass and having the sprinklers on during most of our visit made it seem as though we were waiting for a night game to start, but that was, of course, not the case. With the coronavirus pandemic having wiped out the 2020 minor league baseball season – and what would have been the final one for the PawSox at McCoy Stadium before the team moves to its new home (Polar Park) next year in Worcester– the final night game at McCoy had taken place on Aug. 31, 2019. The socially-distanced afternoon outing, during which a few people played catch, was a badly-needed shot of normalcy in what has been for the most part an extrem

  I went on the record in a previous post as being against bringing back Alex Cora to manage the Red Sox, and I haven’t changed my mind: My gut feeling is that the move to bring Cora back, announced Friday, may yet backfire due to the stain he has on his record after his significant role in the 2017 Houston Astros sign-stealing cheating scandal, for which he was suspended for the 2020 season. Moreover, it does seem clear that Cora was more the choice of owners John Henry and Tom Werner to increase the club’s PR after a dismal year in which the NESN ratings dropped sharply during the COVID-19 2020 season than it was the choice of Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom . The choice came down to Cora and Sam Fuld, who held a developmental post with the Philadelphia Phillies, but who had previously worked closely with Bloom in Tampa Bay. That final two made it easier to pick Cora, who by far has the better experience. while Fuld has never managed and would have been a bigger gamble.

This column, which outlined my personal reflections during September’s Yom Kippur or the Jewish Day of Atonement, were written in September and published in October. But these hopeful reflections were sadly doomed from the time they were written as all indications point to things in the country getting a whole lot worse after Tuesday’s election – not better. With cooperation among political foes a thing of the distant past, it’s clear that the president will not rest until he claims another four years – either by virtue of an election win or by force, and that’s no joke. There’s never been another era in my lifetime when every attempt to try to be positive and hopeful devolves into another round of apprehension and depression among the doom and gloom that many of us fear is coming. Just when you think it can’t get any worse …. My pessimism stems from two overriding realities: * THE PANDEMIC: The federal government’s decision to completely give up on trying to contain the COVID-19