I cannot tell a lie. There are problems in Newton that frequently rankle. Not enough parking where I want to go. Too many people in line at the bank. A long wait at Cheesecake Factory to be seated and they don’t take dinner reservations after 5PM or so — and my digestive system abhors the “Early Bird” approach! All this sounds trivial, and, indeed, it is, until these daily annoyances magically disappear into the heat of July and August when many of our neighbors ride blissfully off to summer-knows-where to relax, laze, regroup, reconnoiter, refresh and recreate on the beaches, waves, boardwalks and roller coasters of their travels out of town.
And that is when I smile my fondest smile for Newton, a town alive with but the ghosts of crowds, most noticed by their absence –as in no cars on the roads at 9:30pm– yet available for huddling when chosen –as at concerts on Friday nights at Hyde Community Center.
Don’t get me wrong. I love the Cape and the nearby lakes and shores and getting out of town as much as most. But I also delight in the shriveling at home of the population in summer that allows for stretching and reflecting on all that our town offers to us. What a grand place it is to share with those who have noticed this unspoken benefit.
Hate to be picky but…
Newton is a City, not a town. ;)
So is Dodge (Dodge City, Kansas)…but, the Sheriff told the bad guys to get out of town by sundown! Just a little poetic license…
Watertown is also a city.
(And this blog thread has been totally hijacked)
TWT — City is merely a label for our governance preference. North Adams is also a “City”… I like her town reference. It describes the living environment better.
(Not sure why she’s not an Early Birder…. there’s no excuse there.)
@Hoss: I don’t like worms!
Newton is a city, not a school district.
http://blogs.wickedlocal.com/newton/2014/04/28/joshua-norman-on-the-fiscal-year-2015-budget/#axzz36utmDwOO
@Greg – no, NOW it’s been hijacked.
Good post Sallee. There are lots of summer benefits here in Newton. Less lines for Saturday breakfast… Fewer people blocking the aisles at the market. (Let’s admit it, Newton has the highest per capita rate of aisle blockers…) And we now got a Bennington day celebration! Who needs sand?
Sadly, the best early birder situation was Skipjacks… 4:45 and you got the special menu and any seat in the house By the time you were finished, they were lined up at the door.
OMG…I’ve been hijacked anf Skipjacked in one day. And I thought I was alone!
Sallee — Frankly, you brought this onto yourself. I mean, what the hell is a WABAN council PRESIDENT doing at a Cheesecake Factory? Consider yourself lumberjacked too… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL7n5mEmXJo
That’s a hand with at least three Jacks! So, I’ll open and hope I’m not car jacked!
I’m sure Sallee saw this coming, but now she’s been goosejacked! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IxnBr9O5Ss
Be it noted, today I drove down Rte 95 from Newton to Quincy during rush hour and ran into just one section slow-down traffic!
The whole Boston area is so much easier in the summer and the gardens in Newton are particularly beautiful this year.
It’s lovely indeed. I was 10 minutes early picking up my Chinese food order on the way home from work because there was so little traffic. And the crazy college kid cyclists are gone from the Longwood Med Area, meaning that ordinary caution and safe driving are enough to keep me from being petrified that I’ll hit someone despite all my cautiousness.
OK, that’s it. We’re packing up the camp site in the morning and coming home.
@Jerry: If you come back it’s going to add to the gridlock.
I can see Tricia is still as smarmy and snarky as ever.
Other people were make “is a city” references yet Tricia makes a snarky post in response to mine.
Maybe there are no cars on the road in Newton at 9pm, but they are definitely on the road at 9am, and they all seem to be headed to Albemarle to drop their kids at camp. Talk about gridlock – they’ll park anywhere. Crosswalks, handicap spots, the median, doesn’t matter. In fairness to the parents, there really is almost no place to park, because they have too many camps going on in one location (a couple of camps at the fields, swim lessons at the pool, and several camps taking place at Day, which means a ton of staff parking all day.) It’s like the worst Blue Zone situation you’ve ever seen, squared. But to me, “creative” parking in ridiculous situations like this is one thing; parking in a way that creates a dangerous situation for others simply for your own convenience is another. Here’s a news flash for Ms. Big Black SUV: that big empty space with the white lines leading to the bridge? It was not intentionally left empty so you could whip your car in “just for a minute” while you dropped off your kid, then sat there TAKING PICTURES of your little munchkin walking across the field to camp. It was empty because IT’S A CROSSWALK. (And I’m looking at you, too, Mr. Green Honda Sedan.)
I believe Watertown is actually “the city known as the town of Watertown”. Does any one know for sure?
Brian, the answer is here.
Brian & Ted, If you do a google on those exact words lots of contracts and agreements come up. Perhaps along the way some lawyer thought “City of Watertown” was sounded like an obvious error so they invented a clarifying phrase?
Actually, Watertown got a Town Manager and a Town Council. What the heck??? The clarifying phrase probably should be “The Town known as the City of Watertown” That is VERY confusing
@Sallee,
Nice post.
PS – I heard that there are fireflies at Bulloughs Pond for any other firefly fans. Hoping to confirm that tonight.
Firefly? Like this?
http://cdn2.nerdapproved.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Firefly.jpg?874fb4
Your neighborhood Firefly fan :)
Sally: Is this post not a diversion to lull residents to sleep while Area Councils plot the annexation of vast unclaimed tracts of Newton? Will Thompsonville be the next Crimea and end up as an island of the Waban Area Council? An unsuspecting population deserves to know the true intent of this post! Come clean Sally!
Hmmm, I wonder where you got this theme?
>>> PS – I heard that there are fireflies at Bulloughs Pond for any other firefly fans.
.. and up in Hemlock Gorge, Evan Westrate’s team of trained fireflies make regular appearances.
I may finally attempt Wegman’s, though I was thinking of waiting till early August, when these environs are usually at their peak of emptiness.
Perhaps I should have mused about the many who have escaped from this municipality to cooler climes and left us to wander the Newton asphalt and concrete among the ghosts of winter crowds, but in the heat of July, “municipality” didn’t seem to drip from my keyboard onto the computer page as easily as “town.” Now, since I had last night’s iced tea and dinner at Casa de Pedro, a Watertown Venezuelan eatery at the Arsenal, (after failing to find Venezuelan delectables in Newton), I claim the right to speak of reasonable designations for either of these corporate entities. Both Watertown and Newton have etymological claims to “town,” as they end in “town” or “ton” and could correctly be referred to as such (but, first, kill all the lawyers). Yes, they are cities in their corporate papers, with a bit of a further distance from self-rule than “towns,” but the summer evacuation that paints them to be so quiet that they evoke meandering spirits, calls out the town character more than the urbane suburban urban!
Now, Hoss, I must address your Skip-Lumber-Goose jacking of my column. I miss Skipjacks, but never got hungry enough, early enough. As far as lumberjacking goes, although I don’t hug or worship trees, I see the need for Mother Earth to hold herself together with their roots, and wouldn’t wantonly cut them down for flooring without a really intelligent reforestation plan. Now, as to your youtube reference to goose-jacking and your link to a beautiful piece of poultry swimming with her babies on her back in the most idyllic setting…The Mama is not a goose. I’ve now been swan-jacked.
@Jerry: Don’t hurry home…although many of us miss you, the fun happened this morning when I observed and cell-photographed the chewing of the rails by Iron Horse across Oak Street from behind Henry’s Depot Coffee Shoppe! And the Upper Falls Greenway marches on! (As soon as I can figure out how to download my camera to the blog, I will!)
@Terry: As I mentioned yesterday, I have no interest in territory expansion, only inclusion of the orphaned residents who were unable to vote for any Council last November because they fell between two Area Council boundaries. Besides, if I were going for territory, I would definitely fjord the Charles and claim ownership of that part of Wellesley abutting Route 128 across from Waban. Then Newton, and Waban, in particular, would have been better considered and represented in the reconfiguration of the Interchange with Route 9 that will begin this Fall.
FORD, not FJORD…Sorry. It’s the heat!
FireFlys? I have seen them on Lake Ave. First time in a long time.
Sallee — Where’s your video? Maybe send it to Greg for posting?
Can’t believe I’ve gotten to this point in the comments and no-one has pointed out the excellent summer recreational possibilities within the limits of our fair CITY, such as: Crystal Lake swimming & sunning (or sitting in the shade in the “new” grassy park), dinnertime concerts & dancing in the parks (and returned to Jackson Homestead!), picnics at the Cove, and of course year-round the biking and walking are great, especially walking in Cold Spring and other parks…