Larry the K's Lineup

  The author heads to the finish line of the 2021 Arnold Mills race. Yesterday, during my daily jaunt --- OK, so it’s been called a walk more than a jog or run by most people --- I was heading back after doing one of my shorter courses when, as I passed a house on the route, I heard these words from a guy: “There’s the old man walking.” Now, having been subjected to any number of catcalls --- of both the good-natured ribbing and harassing type --- since I started running and jogging in 1974 and then non-stop since April of 1975, I knew instinctively that this wasn't a friendly taunt, because the words were uttered with a dismissive, or derisive, undertone. I know the difference, because I've over the years also have had people stop their car or SUV and just tell me, in an encouraging voice, "Keep it up," or "I see you walking (or jogging) all the time, keep it up." Clearly, this gentlemen's tenor and tone weren't of the encouraging type, but rather...

  This column on the 24 th annual Relay For Life of Greater Attleboro was published on Monday, June 20 in The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, MA. Every year, the event brings together people to raise money for the American Cancer Society --- and this year’s event was particularly meaningful, as it was the first full event held since 2019, because of the coronavirus pandemic. As of this posting, close to $75,000 had been raised, and that amount may climb over the next few weeks. Here's the link to the column, as it appears on the newspaper’s website: https://www.thesunchronicle. com/opinion/columns/larry- kessler-one-huge-miracle/ article_0dfbb035-db0f-5327- bc84-3b8762b4efad.html ******* I’ve often described the Relay For Life of Greater Attleboro, a team fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, as being composed of several acts of kindness and inspiration that, taken together, create a miracle --- and that never rang truer than the just-concluded 24 th annual edition held at...

  This column about the pandemic-related hardships that the Class of 2022 at area high schools faced due to the coronavirus pandemic appeared in The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, MA on Monday, June 13. While covering one of those graduations, King Philip Regional High School in Wrentham, MA held at Stonehill College in Easton, it was easy to feel good about the students about to graduate, because they had clearly surmounted a number of obstacles put in place by the sudden shutdown of schools in March of 2020, their sophomore year. In hindsight, it seems obvious that schools in Massachusetts and across the country shouldn’t have remained all virtual for so many months; to do so was a huge disservice to the students’ education. The link to this column on The Sun Chronicle’s website follows: https://www.thesunchronicle.com/opinion/columns/larry-kessler-heres-to-you-class-of-2022/article_0dcb9147-063e-5c78-9d35-e23a579d59eb.html ***** Graduations have always been a cause for celeb...

The graduation of the King Philip Regional High School Class of 2022 took place June 5 at Stonehill College in Easton. Like all of the graduations that took place in the Attleboro area over the last few weeks, the speakers all discussed the many obstacles that they had to overcome after their classroom education was abruptly shut down in March of 2020. That’s a lesson that school and government officials should heed before they ever decide to opt for an all-virtual education again. Here's the link to this story in The Sun Chronicle as it appeared on Monday, June 6, 2022: https://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/local_news/kp-grads-praised-for-deep-resilience/article_341ba018-e595-532f-95b5-4707b0bdd107.html The pandemic’s effect on the 316 members of the Class of 2022 was the focus of the speakers at Sunday’s King Philip Regional High School graduation held at a packed Sally Blair Ames Athletic Center at Stonehill College in Easton. Surrounded by hundreds of family and friends -...

  Ike and Sylvia Kessler This column, which was published in the June edition of Jewish Rhode Island of Providence, was written as a tribute both to my late mother Sylvia on the occasion of her 25 th yahrzeit (memorial observance) and to my older daughter Arianna because of an interesting coincidence in their respective lives. Or was it a coincidence --- or an example of divine intervention? Read on and you can decide.  (Link to the column on the Je wish Rhode Island website:  https://www.jewishrhody.com/ stories/the-worst-of-times- the-best-of-times,14494 ? ****** As I write this, I’m observing the yahrzeit of my mother Sylvia on the 25 th anniversary of her death on May 15, 1997, which corresponded to the ninth day of Iyar. At first blush, it seems difficult to fathom that it’s been a quarter-century since I spent the last Mother’s Day with my mother at her nursing home bed, where she was unresponsive and was basically waiting to die after several years of battl...

  Photo courtesy of the Relay For Life of Greater Attleboro Luminaries, which are lit both in memory of cancer victims and in honor of cancer survivors, line the track at a past Relay For Life of Greater Attleboro. This year's event, to which the public is invited, will be held Friday, June 17 through Saturday morning June 18 at the Norton Middle School on Route 123 in Norton. The Relay For Life of Greater Attleboro will return to a full event for the first time in three years when it holds its 24 th annual team fundraiser to benefit the American Cancer Society on June 17-18 at the Norton Middle School. It will be the first relay featuring teams camping out overnight since 2019 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The relay will be held at the middle school instead of the high school this year due to the construction of a new turf field there. With the state still mainly locked down and large gatherings banned in 2020, the relay was limited to a virtual event and a small one hel...