Larry the K's Lineup

  The eight-day Jewish Festival of Lights began Sunday night, with today (Monday, Nov. 29) being the first day of the holiday. Over the years, stretching back more than two decades, of working for The Sun Chronicle, I’d write versions of this column to explain the holiday to those who aren’t familiar with its history and purpose. Here’s the 2021 version of my Chanukah Charlie column: This column was published in the Nov. 27-28, 2021 Weekend edition of The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, MA (LINK to column on Sun Chronicle website: https://www.thesunchronicle.com/opinion/columns/kessler-brush-up-on-your-hanukkah-knowledge-with-chanukah-charlie/article_308bd8bb-e275-57cf-84b2-3ac347465b0b.html For the first time since 2013, when the first night of Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish Festival of Lights, began the night before Thanksgiving, the holiday will once again start close to Turkey Day. That’s right: the first of eight candles will be lit Sunday night, with the last one to be illu...

  At times over the last couple of years, it’s seemed like a cruel joke to suggest that the country can pause one day to give thanks, and that’s still difficult to do. Let’s face it: We’re still impossibly mired in a deadly pandemic that seems like it will never end, thanks in large part to the selfish millions and millions of people who defiantly refuse to be vaccinated and who won’t wear masks or take other precautions in crowded spaces to defeat this lethal and insidious virus. We’re so fractured as a nation this Thanksgiving Day that even the hint of compromise politically brings death threats to the moderate politicians who courageously put the importance of accomplishing goals for the betterment of the nation above party. The destructive philosophies of the far left and far right --- both of whom are risking leading the nation down the road to civil war --- are not only hurting the country, but they're ignoring the moderate majority in the middle. Moderates yearn for the ...

My cul-de-sac in North Attleboro recently lost a giant.  Ada Louise Maslowski, who lived at the end of the street since before it was a real street (it was only a partial dirt road) in 1962, died earlier this month at the age of 97.  Louise, as everyone who knew her called her, will be sorely missed. She could be seen well into her early 90s, riding her lawnmower taking care of her grass in the spring, summer and fall, and in the winter, riding her snow blower until neighbors started clearing her driveway after snowstorms in recent years. We've been here close to 30 years, and Louise was a constant, reassuring presence on the street. When my kids were young, she would be a constant presence on Halloween, giving out candy and treats while sitting in her garage. And, up until she became ill, she was always a generous donor to the Relay For Life of Greater Attleboro for the American Cancer Society, which I've been a part of for 23 of its soon-to-be 24 years. Louise loved her fami...

Kristallnacht, which means “The Night of the Broken Glass,” refers to the events of Nov. 9-10 1938, when hatred and rhetoric reached such a fever pitch in Germany and Austria that it was basically open season on all Jews. That happened in an era in Germany, right before the official start of World War II, when Germany was itching to blame its problems on a minority – never mind one that had helped build the country and kept it going. So in many ways it wasn’t too surprising that Kristallnacht happened. During the riot-like event, Jewish-owned stores, buildings and synagogues had windows smashed, many people were killed and The Final Solution to eradicate the Jewish people was launched in earnest by emboldened German and Austria civilians and paramilitary forces bent on murdering and maiming Jews. They did a pretty good “job,” too, of meeting their goals as h istorical accounts reported that during  Kristallnacht,  30,000 Jews were arrested and incarcerated in Nazi concentratio...

  There’s no question that the older you get, the faster  time flies by. This column, which I was inspired to write during an afternoon walk on my cul-de-sac, captures that feeling. This column was published in the October 2021 edition of Jewish Rhode Island of Providence, R.I. What began as a routine afternoon walk on my cul-de-sac was soon transformed into a trip down memory lane when I saw two families picking up their youngsters from the school bus. When I passed one family’s house, I told them, “The torch has been passed,” referring to the years that I used to do the same thing when my daughters were moving through the local school system. The stroll took place just a few days before the 20 th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and that realization made me feel very old as I realized that my older daughter Arianna had just started kindergarten when 9/11 happened. Now she’s a fifth-grade teacher, glad to be back in person after juggling remote and hybrid sche...

The passing of longtime Red Sox broadcaster Jerry Remy on Saturday night after a long, recurring battle with lung cancer --- he had several bouts of it until the cancer returned in August --- has spawned countless tributes from his colleagues in the booth and the fans, and that's as it should be. To watch Remy interact with his fellow broadcasters over the last 33 years was like listening to your friends or fellow fans calling the game. Remy and his sidekicks --- Sean McDonough, Don Orsillo, Dave O'Brien and, of course, the inimitable Dennis "The Eck" Eckersley -- loved the game of baseball and made every game something entertaining and fun to watch, regardless of how good or bad the Red Sox were doing on the field. Remy brought excellent analysis and so much more to his broadcasts. He brought humor, self-deprecation and relaxed conversations with his broadcast partners that were at once educational, illuminating, funny and, at times, downright hilarious. But more tha...

  My wife Lynne and I are celebrating our 33 rd wedding anniversary today --- not a milestone number such as the 25 th or 40 th or 50 th , but a number worth marking nonetheless --- especially in this day and age. To mark the occasion, I’m posting this column, which I wrote for the January 2018 edition of Jewish Rhode Island of Providence, R.I., in which I shared some of what I learned from being married, at that time, for almost 30 years. The advice remains sound. This column was originally published in the January 2018 edition of Jewish Rhode Island of Providence, R.I. Thirty years ago this Valentine’s Day, I proposed to my wife Lynne in my column in the newspaper where I was working. We were married later that year, and in October we will celebrate our 30 th anniversary. Thirty years certainly pales in comparison to being married 50, 60 or 75 years, but all of those milestones have one thing in common: Staying married for the long haul requires much more than the roma...

The Boston Red Sox won six games in the playoffs, exactly halfway to the 12 they would have needed to go all the way to win the World Series, and two fewer than they would have needed to win the American League Championship Series after qualifying for the playoffs as a Wild Card team. In the wake of their loss in Game 6 to the Houston Astros in the ALCS, which ended their season, here are 12 thoughts: 1. The Sox playoff run was indeed an unexpected gift to Red Sox fans, but that doesn't stop us from being disappointed in the outcome after they took a 2-1 lead in the ALCS against the Astros after blowing them out in Games 2 and 3. 2. What caused the Red Sox power outage from the fourth inning of Game 4 through Game 6? A combination of factors. Part of it was how baseball works; you're never as hot as you seem and you're never as cold as you seem, either. But if your bats go cold for a few days during the regular season, there's plenty of time to recover from that slump...

TUESDAY, OCT. 19 UPDATE: Memo to Sox fans: As crazy as the last two wins have been, do not get cocky. The Astros lineup is still fearsome and the final two games of a seven-game series are the toughest to win. So don't get ahead of yourselves; just root, root for the Red Sox. Boston Red Sox fans can't lose this postseason, which after the way the Red Sox blew a big lead in the American League Eastern Division race in August, was totally unexpected. Be honest, Sox fans: In late August or on Labor Day, you hoped for a wild card berth, but even that end to the 2021 regular season seemed unlikely, between the injuries and COVID-19 outbreak that decimated the team. But then the Sox started to amaze their fans. Needing to win the last three games of the regular season against the Washington Nationals just to qualify for a wild card berth, they did so, and got the No. 1 wild card slot when they ended the season tied at 92-70 apiece with the New York Yankees. (Fans of a certain age wi...

With the 125 th Boston Marathon being run today (Oct. 11, 2021) --- the first marathon since the 2019 race due to multiple postponements and last year’s cancellation and decision to hold it virtually --- I thought I’d share this column that was published April 19, 2006, two days after the 110 th marathon was held two days earlier. The runners who flock to Boston annually from across the globe and country to run this historic race are a special breed, and no more so than this year. They had to maintain their training for two years despite all of the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, and couldn’t be certain that the 2021 race would actually go off on time. But thanks to the perseverance of the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) and the cooperation of thousands of government, health and public safety officials, today’s race became a reality. Enjoy this look-back on the 100 th race, viewed 10 yeas later. *** This column was published April 19, 2006, in The Sun Chroni...