Monkees Lead Singer Davy Jones Dies

I came off the road and was handing in my paperwork when the word came in that Davy Jones had passed away today. A collective aw swept  though the office. I looked around and realized that most of my fellow employee's were about my age and knew about the Monkees and what the band meant to us growing up.

I can still hear the opening theme song in my head, Here we come walking down the street....As a kid my sister and I couldn't wait to sit down every week and watch the next episode of the Monkess, of course my sister LOVED Davy and would squeal with delight every time Davy would sing or smile.

I'm 56 and Davy Jones died at 65,,,man o man that jolts me. I loved the Beatles and I believe they were our American takeoff of them with with their Hard Days Night type of shows and performances. It's a bummer I never had a chance to see them when they came around on tour. Rest in Peace Davy Jones.

A little part of my youth died today.  

Sen. Scott Brown....

I got up this morning and tuned into WCAP as I do everyday and heard that Sen. Brown would be at M.L. Shaws at 8am in Dracut. I decided to drive over to M.L. Shaws not only to see the Senator but to see my friend Warren Shaw and his crew as I have become friendly with them not only through my last two campaigns but my work with them for the Salvation Army fundraisers. I enjoy going to the remote locations that they broadcast from because it fun to see everyone.

I have seen Sen. Brown four times in the last two years and I'm always amazed at the response he gets. He draws people to him that I have only seen from professional ballplayers and rock stars, and the media is all over him.

What is it that draws people to come from as far away as Manchester N.H. and Haverhill Ma. to take a picture or get an autograph, they are not all Republicans. I watched him work the room and he took time with everyone he met and left them with a smile.

 If you agree or disagree with Sen Browns political views you will have to agree he is a celebrity.

Boat Prep for the Season

Yesterday afternoon when I came home from work I looked at my shrink wrapped boat in my backyard and couldn't help myself. I cut a slit in the side and climbed in,aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah I'm back on my beloved Janet Marie.I put on the tunes cracked a beer and took a look around at what I had to do to get her ready for the season.

I always pull my tackle ( rods ) off the boat and clean them and store the away for the winter along with both battery's. I keep a trickle charge on them to keep them up. I also put a water separator filter between my fuel tanks and my motors.10 yrs ago. Very important to do this,because I can't tell you how many times guys have had to be towed off the water because of water in the fuel. The best filters are the ones with the drain on the bottom. Every now and then during the season I crack it just alittle to drain the water out as water is heaver than gas. It's good to change the filter every year if you use it as much as I do.

As part of my prep I check all my electrical equipment, lights, navigation, fish finder and pumps to make sure they are all in working order. A good thing to do is spray all your electrical terminals on your panel with WD 40 to keep the moisture off. Nothing more aggravating than trying to chase down a bad wire.

If  your boating on fresh water this next step is not necessarily needed but check your anti foul or bottom paint to make sure it's covered well  if your boating in salt water.

I'm so happy I cut a slit in the shrink wrap so I can work on the boat and my buddy's are too.
We have our club house back........


  

The Mohawk Trail a Hidden Jewel

Janet and I just returned from my cousin's wedding in Charlemont Ma. a tiny little town on the Mohawk Trail.
It's just an hour and a half straight down Rt 2 . The wedding was held at the Warfield Inn on top of a mountain,and what a place it was. The inn itself was from the late 1800's and they had cow's, lama's,horse's and a working maple sugar plant that you could tour.

My cousin is a artist and moved out there 25yrs ago and immersed herself into the artist and native american community. She has done very well for herself selling her art in local shops and gallery's but what I loved the most was meeting her friends and her new family.

Her wedding ceremony was very spiritual with at touch of American and Native American traditions. Janet and I were very moved by parts of it. Her friends all have a calmness about them that I wish everyone would have, I don't know if it's because of where they live, because it is truly beautiful or their way of life.

There is something to be said about living a simpler life and appreciating all of what  Mother Earth has given us and to protect her. I was good to be among them.       

My Dog Brady

I just returned from the East End Club after being chosen as a delegate for the Democratic Convention to be held in Springfield and I'm sitting in my office thinking about something to blog about and I see my 10yr. old yellow lab laying on the rug in front of my desk looking in the stand up mirror in the corner looking at me.
It makes me smile as he is getting more needy as he gets older and sticks to Janet and I like glue.

After losing our first lab Sunny it took a while before I decided I needed another fishing buddy and companion so I stopped at the MSPCA farm and there he was a 9mon old yellow lab named Hugs. I should have known just by looking at all the ripped up stuffed toys in his cage that this boy was going to be a challenge. I took him for a walk in the pouring rain to see how he was and to see if we would bond, we bonded all right all he did was jump on me and covered me with his muddy paw prints.

To make a long story short he hit the lottery and came home to us. I've had dogs my whole life but never rescued one before. I will always rescue a dog from the shelter from now on because I believe they make better dogs and seem  to know they got a second chance . Brady is a good boy and very loyal to us and has brought us alot of joy, accept when I take him down to the docks and the first thing he does is poop on the docks....very embarrassing.

Love your dogs because they love you more.

City Council Meeting

I attended last evenings city council meeting along with 100 other concerned residents of Lowell to address the late night events that have marred the downtown these last few weeks. After listening to the Superintendent of police and all the stakeholders that came up to speak, I came away with the feeling that a positive solution to the problems in downtown are on the way to be solved. Too much is at stake to allow the activities that have occurred to continue. Many idea's were presented ,and I think that the city council and the administration will be able to find a common ground to satisfy both the residents and the bar owners.

Goodbye to Saint Josephs Hospital

I heard some sad news today that St. Josephs Hospital that the U Mass Lowell purchased will be torn down. I was hoping that they would be able to save the oldest part of the hospital that sits on Pawtucket St over looking the Merrimack River. I first visited St. Joe's on Oct. 6th 1955 at 10:57pm the evening I was born, as many Lowellians were. I visited many relatives and friends there over the years and was even a hospitalized there after having my tonsils out when I was a kid.

I remember the Grey Nuns that worked there coming around to the rooms and hearing the rosary being broadcast over the P.A. system mid afternoon. My wife told me she worked as a candystriper doing odd jobs and help to comfort the patients.

It will be sad to see the old hospital go.....I guess that's urban development.

Please share any memories of Saint Josephs.      

Licence Commission going Overboard

So today I hear on WCAP that the Licence Commission wants to roll back the Lowell  bar hours to 12am. Knee Jerk reaction is what I call it. Now instead of looking at the problem establishments they decide to punish all of the citys establishments. I started a discussion on rolling back the hours to 1am to conform with the majority of the city and towns in the Merrimack Valley to curb the influx of young people that run to Lowell to catch the last hour of drinks. I hope all this is, is a negotiation play to settle on a 1am closing.

I have received some heat from local bar owners and musicians and I am one also, but I believe this is not anti business but for the better good of the city. The Commission I believe is taking this 12am closing a little to far

I'm afraid to ask....What to you think?

America's Cod Collapse

Where a dynamic global capitalist economy meets a scenario of ill-defined property rights, over-exploitation of finite resources results. Hence our troubles with climate change and hence our troubles with cod:

But data released last year indicated that the fish was so severely overfished that even if all fishing on it ended immediately, it would not rebound by 2014 to levels required under federal law.

As a result, fishermen were looking at an 82 percent cut in what they were allowed to catch last year, a reduction that would have wiped out not only regional fishermen who rely on cod. Restrictions on cod severely limit fishing on other groundfish species with which the cod swim, like flounder and haddock.

Obviously that would have put the cod fishermen out of business, so they're happy to hear that NOAA will instead promulgate a special emergency rule offering only a 22 percent cut. That's a great compromise solution except for the fact that it still leaves the fishery on the road to destruction. If appropriately managed with quota-trading systems and the like a technically competent modern government can create a market solution for the tragedy of the commons created, but once a fishery reaches a state of extreme depletion it's very politically difficult to set quotas low enough.

Mass. Saltwater Fishing Permit

Just a reminder to all my saltwater anglers to get their saltwater fishing permits this year.
You can go on line at MassFishHunt and buy it, print it, and get your receipt.The fee is $11.85 for the year,

I didn't like the idea of saltwater fishing fees when this started,I never saw them enforce it at all last year by any agency. The Mass. Div. of Marine Fisheries say the fee's are to improve public access to our resources and to build programs that advance management of our fisheries.....I thought they already did that (sigh).

In my opinion other  fundraiser

13 arrests and 3 police officers hurt in bar melee in less than a week in Lowell at 1:30 am

I started a discussion about rolling back the closing times for bars in Lowell to 1am to coincide with the rest of the citys and towns in the Merrimack Valley to curb the violent incidents that have occurred in the city recently.

Last evening a brawl  broke out at 1:30 am in a club in downtown requiring assists from the state police and neighboring towns. It's time to take a look at the ramifications of all of these recent events. The city as invested years of planning and development. to make this a city to visit and invest in.

I encourage any stakeholder and residents to attend the special City Council meeting Thursday Feb. 16th at 6:30 to voice your concerns. 

Should Lowell Bars Close At 1AM

There will be a special City Council meeting next Thursday to address the concerns of the downtown stakeholders and the violence that as occurred when the bars empty out at 2am. I mentioned over on the blog Left in Lowell that rolling back the closing time to 1am may curve the violence and the draining of our Lowell Police manpower. I also mentioned that the kids come in from the surrounding towns for that last hour of drinks because there towns close at 1am. So to answer Joe from Lowells  question I called the surrounding towns Police Departments and here's what I've got.

Tewksbury  1am
Andover      1am
Methuen      1am
Pelham N.H.1am
Hudson N.H.1am
Haverhill        Mon.-Thurs 1am  Fri.2am Sat. 1am
I did not hear back from Dracut.

Is this a public safety issue? I believe it is.
Is this a quality of life issue? I believe it is.

Lobstering

With my political aspirations behind me I'm back to concentrating on my charter business and lobstering.
This mild winter as been great to take inventory of my gear ( traps) and make sure it's ready to fish this coming May. My 1st mate and I have held non-commercial lobster licence's for years which is 10 pots per person. There is nothing like a fresh bug (lobster) 1hour after you take it out of the water. I never use butter because the meat is so sweet when it's that fresh.

Tom and I like to fish the 2x3 ft traps not only because we can fit them all on the boat but because we are getting older and pulling the traps by hand can get abit much when a commercial lobsterman lays his 10 pot troll on top of our single pots.

Every year we check with the Massachsetts Marine Fisheries for the non-commercial lobster regulations.
This year Min. size is 3 1/4 thats placing a gauge from the eye socket to the bottom of the body.Max.size 5".
!0 traps, Escape Vent 1 15/16 x 5 3/4 Bag Limit 15 per day.

As the season gets closer I'll talk more about the gear and the differences between male and female lobsters because you can't take the females. There's nothing like a fresh bug.....

Before you buy a boat.

It's boat show season and with this mild winter folks are getting the fever and biting at the bit to get on the water. Going to a Boat Show is a good afternoon and it's great to see all the brand new boats big and small on display but don't get caught in the trap. Before you go to the show think about the kind of boating you want to do. Will you boat on small ponds and lakes? Will you boat on big lakes and the ocean? Will you just cruise or will you fish? What options do you what on your boat..examples fishfinder,gps, size of motor, head (bathroom) standup galley, sleeping quarters, fuel capacity,seating, trailer, will you need a slip or a mooring just to name a few. I have found out that there are great deals on 2nd hand boats with many options already on them with very low hours  if you take the time to search  them out. Example...My buddy was looking for a 42ft Novy style fishing boat for fishing, lobstering and tunafishing. He found a 2011 Downeast loaded and just they way he wanted with very low hours for 250,000 at a broker in Maine. The boat sold for 60.000. TOYS are the 1st to go when the going gets tough. Take your time and look around boats are fun but B. O. A. T. stands for Bring on another thousand. Have fun looking!!