So I have lived in Worcester all of my life.
I am not sure if I am proud or ashamed of that fact. In any event, when I saw that this platform had been started I thought it would be perfect for the people of Worcester to write about the things that matter to people who care about this city. I am not sure how much how many people really care about this city anymore but I do know that in the last decade there have been improvements and I think that there are parts of it that are getting better all of the time. I would like to think that this website will be a platform for people to continue to educate themselves on the things that are going on in and around Worcester.
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About a week ago I contacted Bill about writing for this site. When I asked him what he would like for me to write he told me “anything” so I do look forward to writing about whatever comes to mind and obviously things that interest me. I thought for my first column I would just do an outline of all of the things that have effected and interested me over the last year or so and hopefully in the coming months I can expand upon each and every one of them.
- The commuter rail. For 3 years I worked in the financial district in Boston and took the commuter rail probable 80-90% of the time. In reality, the train was quite empty until we arrived in Framingham and I think there are several reasons for this. Keep in mind, I haven’t taken this train in a couple years and some of these things could have improved but even with minimal research I see that certain things haven’t. With the cost of one round trip ticket the savings between gas, tolls and parking just wasn’t enough to give up the luxury of using your own car to drive in on a daily basis. The amount of weather and maintenance delays led to me not only missing several early morning meetings and deadlines but also led me to be late for several social engagements back here in Worcester. The length of the trip in was always at least an hour and twenty minutes, even at 540AM, which was the train I took 99% of the time. At the time I was living off of Greenwood Street in Worcester, if I drove at that time in the morning I would be at my desk a full hour earlier. I look forward to exploring which things have improved and what they need to continue to work on to perfect the commuter rail.
- The closing of the Post Office’s mail processing center in Shrewsbury. To me, it seems like simple math. Keep the newer more centrally located plant open and close down the older one in Boston and sell the valuable real estate it sits on. For an entity that has been hemorrhaging cash for years now this just seems like another in a long line of blunders.
- Paternity leave in America. Where did this all go wrong? My wife and I welcomed our first child into this world last December. What little time we got off was a real eye opener to both of us and when you compare what we have in America to that of other countries it is a real joke. The only reason we weren’t leaving a 10 week old child with a stranger is because we were lucky enough to have some family in the area that were willing to watch him for us. I want to compare and contrast how things have gotten better and worse over there years concerning this and if there are any improvements on the horizon.
- Worcester airport. I know this is a topic that will probably be written about too much on this site but there is finally something too feel good about with what is going on up there. It finally feels like they are taking their time and doing things the right way.
- And lastly, sports. There are few things I enjoy more in this world than sports. A few things I hope to touch upon:
- Soccer. The World Cup is right around the corner and I for one can not wait. I know people have been saying it for the better part of 3 decades now that Soccer is the sport of the future here in America and it hasn’t happened but with the release of NBC sports networks ratings numbers for their coverage of the Premier League I do feel like it is finally starting to gain some traction.
- The Patriots and the NFL. America’s game. Love them or hate them the Pats are going to be a force to be reckoned with yet again this year. I would also like to touch upon how the league is flooding the market with itself. Does it really need to expand the playoffs? Besides maybe the NCAA tournament what is better than the NFL playoffs? I already strongly disagree with what they have done with the draft but who can argue when they ratings are through the roof?
- Golfing in Central Massachusetts. I enjoy playing terrible golf at many courses around Central Mass and Cape Cod so I look forward to offering my thoughts on each of the courses I play at.
- And of course, there will always be Red Sox stuff to talk about.
So these are just a few of the topics I look forward to expanding upon in the coming months. Of course, things will change and other things will pop up that I choose to write about but for now, these are my main interests. I hope to create dialogue on the subjects above and inform not only myself but you the reader on all of these things. And of course, if there is anything else you would ever like to see me delve into please let me know.