Larry the K's Lineup

  Easily one of the best things that The Sun Chronicle, in its role as a community newspaper, does is to present its annual salute to volunteers at Christmastime. Its True Santas, which feature 12 volunteers in accordance with the 12 Days of Christmas, remind us that our existence doesn’t depend on the noise of those petulant, foolish, irritating and non-sensical hot-headed talking heads featured on cable news, or the nasty, hateful rants that dominate social media --- the bane of life in the 2020s. Nor does our existence depend on the acerbic, nasty and bitterness spewed by the extremists on the right and left. No, our continued survival as a society depends on decent people who aren’t afraid to reach out and help others not just around Christmas, but during the entire year ---- never-ending pandemic or not. These True Santas featured in the Christmas Eve edition (Friday, Dec. 24 of The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, MA) exemplify that spirit and personify the Christmas spirit at...

Need to escape our new reality of never-ending fears about the world ending due to COVID-19 as more than 831,000 Americans have died from our 21 st century plague, and we’ll soon be approaching A MILLION DEATHS or nearly 400,000 more than the death toll from the 1918-20 Spanish flu pandemic? Are you feeling frustrated because that death toll to coronavirus is DESPITE 203 million Americans (nearly 62 %) getting fully vaccinated, and millions of those getting booster shots? Are you at the point where you’re thinking that the pandemic will be with us forever --- especially if you’re over 60 --- then take a break immediately before you lose your mind. One thing you can do is to do what my wife and I did on a recent evening: Watch “The Wizard of Oz” for the millionth or so time, so you’ll be able to fall asleep and wake up humming all of the classic tunes from the 1939 film, especially “Over the Rainbow” and “We’re off to see the Wizard, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” That’s one way to ...

  It's always enjoyable to share upbeat, positive stories on this blog, and this one is especially pleasurable to share. My friend and colleague at The Sun Chronicle, Staff Writer George Rhodes, has a wonderful knack for doing historical interviews, especially those about veterans of World War II, Korea and Vietnam, and he’s done it again with this feature story on Attleboro resident Bob Dion. Dion, a retired Attleboro police officer, has been keeping scrapbooks filled with newspaper clippings about local news since 1953, when he was 25. Now 93, he has announced his plans to “retire” from his lifelong scrapbooking duties at the end of the year. That will be a major loss to people who enjoy thumbing through the pages of history --- literally. Eventually, his copious scrapbooks will be donated to the Attleboro Historic Preservation Society, but for the time-being, his labor of love will be stored at the Museum at the Mill on South Main Street in Attleboro’s historic Dodgeville sec...

  I’m thrilled to share this column that my daughter Arianna wrote on the Netflix documentary “Found,” which tells the story of three teenage girls adopted from China who eventually discover that they are blood relatives. We adopted Arianna from China in 1997, and the movie resonated deeply with her, so she decided to share her thoughts on the film and the issues that it explored. This column appeared Dec. 9, 2021, in The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, MA. The column link:   https://www.thesunchronicle.com/opinion/columns/guest-column-is-blood-really-thicker-than-water/article_15055b6e-1e60-5d1d-be12-272ac041cf97.html On Oct. 20, 2021, Netflix released a documentary titled “Found,” which was directed and produced by Amanda Lipitz. The documentary follows the story of three teenage girls adopted from China who ultimately discover they are blood-related through the common genetics test, 23 and Me. The film shares the stories of cousins Chloe, Lily and Sadie, raising themes of ...

A few sports thoughts while waiting on the Red Sox to corner the market on every pitcher who’s recovering from Tommy John surgery ….. LOCKOUT DISRESPECTS THE FANS: Baseball’s latest work stoppage --- a lockout declared in the early hours of Dec. 2 after the collective-bargaining agreement or CBA expired at midnight Dec. 1 --- is a slap in the face to the fans. It’s clear, from the rhetoric of both the owners and the players that neither party really gives a damn about the fans, who still pay their salaries. Following the embarrassing wrangling over whether and how to restart the game in 2020 for what proved to be a 60-game season, this is more proof that neither side has the fans’ interests in mind. That became even more evident after the owners signed several players to huge free agent contracts to the tune of $1 billion on Dec. 1, the day that the lockout was due to expire at midnight. That smacks of hypocrisy and complete disregard for the fans. If they had the fans' interes...

  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...