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Showing posts from May, 2022

Congress on guns: Do your job!

Longtime New England Patriots coach, legend and GOAT, Bill Belichick, is most well known for his famous catchphrase, “Do your job,” and that mantra is exactly what people on BOTH sides of the aisle who serve in our dysfunctional Congress should do when it comes to passing common-sense and meaningful gun-control legislation. That’s the bottom line in the wake of the latest mass shooting at a school in the United States, the killing of 19 elementary school students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on May 24. It was the deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade, but it was hardly the only one since 26 people --- 20 of whom were students between the ages of 6 and 7 --- were killed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, 2012. No, to the contrary, mass shootings were becoming all too commonplace before the Sandy Hook massacre, and have only become even more so in the nearly 10 years since then. Decisive action by our elected officials

Slam Cancer: The disease can sneak up on you

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  CUTLINES: Photo 1: Attleboro Public Library Director Amy Rhilinger speaks at the second annual Slam Cancer event. Photo 2. Larry Kessler reads his essay at the Slam Cancer event. (Photos courtesy of the Relay For Life of Greater Atteboro). For the second year in a row, the Relay For Life of Greater Attleboro and the Attleboro Public Library teamed up to hold a poetry-essay event called “Slam Cancer.” The event was held Friday May 20 at Attleboro’s Balfour Riverwalk Park, where several people read their submissions. On that evening, I read this essay on how cancer can sneak up on you. The 24 th annual Relay For Life of Greater Attleboro will be held, starting at 6 p.m. Friday, June 17, at the Norton Middle School. More than 122 participants on more than 20 teams will be spending the next 16 or so hours raising badly-needed funds for the American Cancer Society. The public is invited to attend, even if you’re not a member of a team or otherwise signed up. If you want to join a team

Red Sox have been a much different Story as of late

Here's an update to my earlier Red Sox' 2022 season critique in light of their recent hot streak: 1. No one has had a more dramatic turnaround than second baseman Trevor Story, the Sox' $140 million man. He won Player of the Week, which was announced Monday, May 23, after breaking out with several key homers. His resurgence has dovetailed with the Red Sox's revival. After Game 1 of their current three-game series in Chicago against the White Sox on Tuesday night (a 16-3 victory), the Red Sox have racked up six wins in a row, to pull within two games of the .500 mark at 20-22. It's nice to see Story rebound so well; let's hope he keeps that up. 2. Story's improvement should in no way stop the Sox from pushing hard to get the contracts of current shortstop Xander Bogaerts and third baseman Rafael Devers in the fold for several more years. Chaim Bloom may not believe it, but their departures would be a PR disaster. Sign Bogaerts and Devers long term! They bot

A novice marathoner’s reflections ...

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  CUTLINE: Arianna Kessler is shown on the Providence Marathon course on Sunday, May 1, 2022. As detailed in my post of Sunday, May 1, my older daughter Arianna finished her first marathon that day in Providence. Here’s her perspective on the feat in her own words, which she wrote on May 2: Pre-race day My friend and I completed the Providence Marathon on Sunday (May 1). Full of ambition in the fall, we decided that running our half-marathons (13.1 miles) wasn't satisfying our souls anymore. We wanted to take it to the next level and decided to train together for a marathon. While the gratification of running a marathon has undoubtedly got me on a dopamine high right now, I want to take the time to reflect on the process leading up to race day. Once my friend signed up for the marathon in the late fall, we were off to a great start. We both created spreadsheets and a whole training plan. The plan consisted of lower mileage at the beginning of the week, cross-training, and res

Join Relay For LIfe's Slam Cancer event Friday in Attleboro

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/www.facebook.com/ DoubleACS/videos/  Link to video on Slam Cancer on Attleboro Double ACS https://www.facebook.com/ DoubleACS/videos/ 665388584557355 Link to Slam Cancer advance and essays online at The Sun Chronicle's website: https://www.thesunchronicle. com/news/local_news/greater- attleboro-slam-cancer-event- scheduled-for-may-20/article_ c23479d9-bbbf-55a4-ad56- 48ef5e1bcaa2.html   ATTLEBORO - -- The 24 th annual Relay For Life of Greater Attleboro, in partnership with the Attleboro Public Library, will hold its second annual Slam Cancer event at 6 p.m. Friday, May 20 at Balfour Riverwalk Park in the downtown. Slam Cancer will feature the authors of original poems and essays about how cancer has affected them reading their original works. Submissions were sought from the public throughout April. You can view this year’s Slam Cancer submissions at thesunchronicle.com. The event also will feature luminaria being lit in honor of cancer survivors or in memory of cancer victim

Father and daughter both take home 5K medals

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CUTLINES: 1-2: The daughter-father tandem of Arianna and Larry Kessler show off their medals. 3: Larry Kessler crosses the finish line on the North Attleboro High School track. OK, before you get too excited, it was only a local road race, the Tunes 'n Toons 5k: The eighth annual NAHS (North Attleboro High School Music Family Fun Run, to be specific. But it was the first time that this charity race for the town's school music program in grades K-12 was run in person since 2019 after both the 2020 and 2021 races had to be conducted virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So it was real nice  to be able to return to the North Attleboro streets and the high school track to kick off the spring running season on Sunday --- and it was even nicer to do it with my older daughter, Arianna, who was running her first race since completing her first marathon May 1 in Providence. The day dawned cloudy, and then turned warm and muggy after the sun burst through, but it was another good day

How bad are the Red Sox? The 1966 team had more mashers

The 2022 Boston Red Sox (11-20 at this point, with today, Thursday, May 12th an off day) are off to the team's worst start since 1966. But even that team, which finished a half-game out of the cellar in a 10-team American League in the days before divisions and playoffs, had more big boppers than this team. Tony Conigliaro, in his third year, led the team with 28 homers, while rookie George Scott, a far superior defensive first baseman to Bobby Dalbec, hit 27 of his famous "taters" --- Scott's term for homers. In addition, third baseman Joe Foy added 15 homers, shortstop Rico Petrocelli hit 18 and Carl Yastrzemski hit 16. This year's Sox TEAM has 18 homers through May 12.  Now, that's pitiful!!! The Red Sox would be taking a lot more heat from the fans and the media for their awful start if it weren't for the playoff runs of the Boston Celtics and the Boston Bruins. But with the Bruins on the brink of elimination tonight (Thursday) at home against the Caro

A daughter's first marathon caps off a great Sunday

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Cutlines for the two photos here: 1. Arianna Kessler flashes a big smile after finishing the Providence Marathon on Sunday, May 1 --- her first --- in 4 hours, 47 minutes and 51 seconds. 2. Arianna and her Dad Larry share a post-race embrace. After years of having her encourage Dad in races such as the Around Cape Ann 25K in Gloucester over Labor Day weekend, turnabout was fair play as Dad encouraged Ari as she finished her first marathon. 3.  Arianna Kessler runs strong during Sunday's Providence Marathon. ****** Mother's Day is a week away and Father's Day is a month and half away, but Sunday was a memorable day for my wife and I as we got to see our older daughter finish her first marathon in very good shape. Arianna Kessler crossed the finish line at the Providence Marathon in 4 hours, 47 minutes and 51 seconds on a sun-splashed spring day that started out cool, and warmed up to the 60s. It was one of those rare days that was equally pleasant for both the marathoners an