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...

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...

  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 jo...

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...

  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...