My Retirement Decade

It’s been 10 years since I was asked to leave the employ of the City of Fitchburg. Beers For Good is having its annual meeting Sunday, and I’m going to bring a cake with ten candles to celebrate. I’m not sure if celebrate is the right word. Reminisce, maybe.

I never moved away from Fitchburg, and I tried to stay involved in making the city a better place. Readers of my blog (all none of you) know many of the efforts I made post-dismissal, and know that I ran for City Council in 2012. Reading back through this crap, I think to my self “Oh my God who cares about all this stuff?” It sure seemed important at the time. (I’m not sure why the traffic signals at the Upper Common were so important to me, and I had forgotten that I was on the verge of issuing a notice to proceed to the traffic engineers that fateful day.)

If Lisa Wong had just said to me “I don’t like the job you’re doing, and I want you to find another job”, I could have dealt with that. But she was so terrible about dealing with people. I remember the way she handled Dan Curley. She wanted to fire him for ages, and talked to me all the time about it, but couldn’t bring herself to tell him! And when she did fire him, it was done so ham-handedly. And when she did it to me, it was so brutal. I think I talked about it in an earlier blog post.

I wonder how Lisa Wong is doing in Winchester MA, where she’s now Town Manager. That’s where Ann Wirtanen, the former Fitchburg Library Director, works as their library director. Ann Wirtanen alienated virtually everyone she came into contact with, and was the director when Lisa cut their budget by 80%. They deserve each other!

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One of Lisa Wong’ s early projects was to emulate the City of Marlborough (I think it was Marlborough) by having each department put a cost per unit of output that they accomplished. We took turns taking bus trips down to meetings where we’d learn how they do it. Everyone hated it, and enormous staff resources were devoted to trying to accommodate her, and then it was suddenly dropped like a hot potato.

And then the Building Department was put under the Community Development Office, and all their employees had to move out of their third floor space that they had occupied for eons. It was horribly disruptive and was quickly reversed. Others may remember it better.

There were other “brain farts” that escape me right now. That woman was cray cray, and those years were difficult. The last ten years have been much better, if a little more austere.

Retirement. Nice work if you can get it!

Friends who died in 2019 – the year that sucked!

picture of me, Dan and Reed
David, Dan and Reed Rickman

In July of 2019, my dear friend Reed Rickman died. He was my entry to New York City stuff, and to Jewish stuff, and to the infrastructure industry. He was a really generous guy, who took twelve of his friends, including my brother Dan, my friend Trevor, and a bunch of our Studebaker friends, to Cuba a few years ago. Dammit that hurt. Still does.

Rob and David
Rob Skelley and David Streb

Then in September Rob Skelley died. We were best friends since sixth grade or thereabouts. We used to smoke a lot of weed together, and listen to music. He turned me on to Queen back in the day, and he was a good guitarist. He lived in his mom’s house in Canton Ohio all his life, and I loved him. I can’t help thinking I should have moved in with him to help him out in his final months. That might have been weird, but it was a big house, and I could have tidied up while i was there. Go hug your best friend before it’s too late!

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Marcia Ladd and Mary Vielhaber

In December Mary Vielhaber died. She was very close to Marcia, and a great friend to me as well. She was our excuse to go the theater in Chelsea Michigan and to visit Ann Arbor. I like ’em erudite, and she was erudite!

Good riddance to 2019! 2019 blew.

The latest on the Riverfront Park Stage and a little on the Music Festival – updated Aug 4, 2020

Back in 2013 Beers For Good decided that the beneficiary for the proceeds of the brewers festival would be a stage for Riverfront Park. We were tired of spending $1,700 per year on a stage for our Nashua River Brewers Festival each year, and thought that a permanent stage would be a great thing for the city. The Fitchburg Parks Board and the mayor all agreed.

We raised over $12,000 that year, and put it into an account at the Community Foundation dedicated toward a stage. A call was put out to form a stage committee that could direct the project. A number of people from the community heeded that call. David and Robin Streb, Liz Murphy, and Jon Giannetti, former Mayor Mary Whitney, and some Fitchburg State University officials were part of that group. After a few meetings, the committee went dormant and has been dormant for years.

Some money was paid from the stage fund to Haynes, Leineck and Smith Architects for conceptual plans, and some money was paid to a company called River Hydraulics to address the challenges of building a stage in a flood control project area. The hydraulic engineer met with the Building Commissioner and determined that we could, in fact, build a stage in the proposed location. Of course, we didn’t actually try to get any permits, as we only had conceptual plans. This was 2013. And there things languished.

A total of $8,388 remain in the stage fund at this writing, which is now under the control of the Riverfront Parks and Trails Fund Advisory Committee (RPTFAC), a sort of friends group for parks and trails along the river, consisting of representatives from the Mayor’s Office, the Conservation Commission, and the Fitchburg Greenway Committee.

In 2019, there was talk of a new effort to build a Riverfront Park stage. Monica McNamara moved back into town and got a small group together to build a stage at Riverfront park, apparently unaware of previous efforts to build a stage, and of the existence of a fund to do so. She approached the city’s Recreation Department, who happen to be represented on the RPTFAC by its Director, Nate LaRose.

The Recreation Department had discussed holding music festivals for years, and Monica’s interest may have kick-started the “Festivals by the River”, a series of three music festivals with different themes designed to raise money for the stage and other needs of Riverfront Park.

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The first, originally entitled Mardis Gras (but for some reason changed to ‘Folk Festival’ a few weeks before it happened) was presented July 13, 2019. It had three good bands, a professional stage and sound system, and very few people. Beers For Good was asked to sell beer and wine for the event, to generate additional funds for the cause. That didn’t exactly work out due to the lack of customers.

The second music event, A Taste of Steampunk, on August 28, was another good show, featuring pretty cool bands and a bunch of extra stuff like people dancing with fire and people walking around in strange costumes, many or all of whom were being paid to do so! A spectacular failure if you go by the attendees, but a spectacularly good show for those in attendance, especially if you were seated up front and didn’t have to see that there were very few people behind you.

Beers For Good didn’t attend the third event, a Latin festival, as members were out of town and we barely broke even on the first two events. The weather was poor for that third event, and attendance is said to have been even worse than the first two events.

The River Front Parks and Trails Fund Advisory Committee, when approached by the Recreation Department, said that they would front money to help with the deposits necessary for an event of this type. All proceeds, then will go into our fund. The series is said to be a fundraiser to help build a stage at Riverfront Park. Stay tuned, as I need to find out where we are on this. Because, you see, I am the President of the Riverfront Park and Trails Fund Advisory Committee, along with Nate LaRose, Michael O’Hara, and Mary Whitney, and a player to be named later by the Greenway Committee.

Update – I don’t see that any money was taken from the stage account for the poorly attended music festival events, and I’m not sure why.

On July 30, 2020, Tom Skwierawski, the Executive Director of Community Development, contacted Paul Lieneck, the architect who prepared the concept design for the stage in 2013, to provide a price for the preparation of construction design plans. Tom had contacted Nate LaRose, a member of the Riverfront Parks and Trails Fund Advisory Committee, about the availability of funds for that purpose. We did a quick telephone poll and got approval from Mary Whitney, Bill Stanwood, Michael O’Hara and Nate to proceed up to the amount in the Stage Fund. I told Tom that if he authorized Paul to proceed, then we would pay the invoice, as I surmised that the bidding process for the design of a public building may be onerous.

Things I Learned After 60

  1. When I eat toast for breakfast by putting peanut butter on one piece of toast and cherry preserves on the other, and then eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch, I’m eating the same thing for both meals. [turns out I said this years ago]
  2. I like fruitcake.
  3. I don’t like exercise unless it’s a game or a sport. Then I love it. I probably knew that before the age of 60, but I hadn’t thought about it.
  4. Disc golf is fun. Regular golf sucks. I used to think I’d get better at it if I played more. Then it dawned on me that I’m just terrible at it, and always will be terrible, no matter how much I play or how expensive my clubs are.
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Johnsonia Building Relief Fund
August 6, 2011

River Styx Adventures

I told Jackie at River Styx that I used to be an IR Crew member / hotshot / firefighter, and she seemed impressed. She had just seen the movie about the Nevada Hot Shots that were killed a few year ago, and I might have pulled at some heartstrings.

That’s me!
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Both her and Scott are so nice to me. They are really doing a great job with their beer making. If was still working for the city, I’d be so psyched that we have what I honestly feel is a destination site. Also, Jackie told me that they (River Styx) had gotten an email that the British Beer Works bought Super Fans store and are opening a bar there. The guy wants to stop in next week. I read the email and I think someone that worked at British Beer Works is starting out with another guy to start a business, and his email signature implied that it’s something to do with the British Beer Works. Sounds to me like it’s just two guys starting out. Six draft lines, and they hope to get River Styx as one of them. Hey, more power to them!

Unfortunately, River Styx delivers to choice sites in Boston and the Worcester area, but not too much in Fitchburg. I told them that their beer presence is a bit of cachet for a new business, and that if I went to the location it would be nice to have the River Styx option.

Their Typhon Father of all Monsters DIPA and Venom of Cerberus TIPA are among the finest beers I’ve had in a long time. But what do I know? I don’t have much of a palate – I just know what I like. And I like those beers. I should probably not bother with all other beers.

In New Orleans

The trouble we had with New Orleans coffee 40 years ago? We didn’t drink cafe au lait! Now we both love it! And why have I never had beignets before? Had two at Cafe Dumond and loved them. On to Crowley, where we can see what stuff is like there.

Well, we tracked down where we used to be Vista volunteers, and it hasn’t fared well over the years. Particularly Standard Mill Subdivision. We had to go to the county assessor’s office to even find it. Most of the houses are abandoned or gone. I guess we didn’t accomplish much! I have old pictures I should have brought with us, mostly of Moses (Mose? Not sure which) Dronet. 

Moses Dronet and his wife Bessie
I used to collect religious imagery, and was struck by this scene in their house.
Marcia at a meeting in Crowley LA
Marcia community organizing in Crowley.
One of the Standard Mill houses in October, 2018

Most of the homes had been torn down. Some were empty and uninhabitable. I wish I had tried harder to knock on some doors and that I had my old pictures with me. We didn’t fix it, that’s for sure.

My Life – Post Retirement

In many respects I live an idyllic life. I work when I want to in a field that is largely a hobby, and much of my job involves helping people, which I love to do. I’ve always liked computers, and I have had the opportunity to learn much more about them that I ever knew before. My wife is really pretty, and works a few hours at the same Library I work at, enough so she doesn’t go crazy. She’s easy to be around, and doesn’t care if I go out without her. And, God bless her, she doesn’t spend very much money! I am a lucky man.

I’ve gotten to know the people that run the new brewery downtown, River Styx, and I love their demeanor! I also love their beer. We are lucky as a community to have brewers that brew such good beer. They have a wonderful vanilla bean stout and a coconut stout that are both outstanding. And they have at least two NE Style IPAs that I just love, the Proteus 8 being the latest.

Testosterone is a hormone that is actually a chemical substance produced purchase levitra online check out now by the body. This will lead them to be better informed on this incredible new treatment and how you devensec.com purchase cialis can buy this drug as well as where you can buy it from . devensec.com levitra uk Wearing jeans frequently will make the temperature of the seat. Impotence buy tadalafil is proved to be one of the most prominent reasons for divorce or breakup in relationships. Our hope in trying to attract a brewery from my days working for the city was the ancillary benefits from downtown activity. I hope they start happening soon! The Local Spot became a barbecue place, and that’s something. And it’s nice to see the  new home of Stratton Players being cleaned up. I hope the city steps up to renovate the Library. It sounds like they will. But otherwise downtown still sucks.

Destare and Chaibo both closed. It looks like Chaibo is reopening soon as another coffee place. And Destare will become Tryst at some point. We’ll have to see what they ends up being like. And poor Beemer’s is not doing what people hoped. It’s a long road to rejuvenation, apparently, and Fitchburg is still on it.

Being a Vegan

I understand the argument about being a vegan for the sake of the earth. It seems to me that eating vegan does reduce one’s carbon footprint. But it’s hard to do and still get complete proteins, and not as tasty, at least to this palate, unless a skilled chef makes some awesome vegan food. And Marcia and I are not into cooking.

I just saw a reference to the awareness of plants. I think we’re beginning to realize that the divide between plant and animal is largely a construct.

Maybe our next generation will bail us out. Fusion power will be a nice technological advancement that should make doing and getting energy easier. Maybe a similar food source will arise that will sustain us sustainably.

As long as we kill and eat our animals with respect! And plants, too! Plants don’t get enough respect in this world. Let’s all be mindful when we eat and use our plant based brothers and sisters.
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I hear of concerns about puppy mills, cattle factory farms and the like, and they are not misplaced. Rarely, however, do we hear the same things about plant mills. Large scale greenhouses churning out crowded flats of plants. Why? Because it’s not the same thing. Duh! But the thought does cross my mind. Which probably says more about my mind than anything.

No, I’m not high. This post may be edited for clarity as time goes by. This is already the second edit.

 

But the guy can be exasperating!

Since no one reads my blog I can say, it’s not all roses with Larry. there’s a reason we’re always arguing. He’s nuts. He’s torturing his body by running so much. Although it does keep him slim. He likes to snack, and eats a lot of chips and cracker type stuff, all the healthy variants perhaps, but still…. All you need to do is just control on some of their habits because they purchase cialis online http://videoleadspro.com/?shop=2988 can spoil their intimacy. They have getting cialis sildenafil citrate, which works to promote feeling of sensuality in lady.It is miraculous product made by the scientist for ladies who are fighting with such incapability problem. This energetic substance lets the ED sufferers to ordering cialis regain their vigor in bed. This drug should not be combined with other treatment viagra online sample http://videoleadspro.com/?shop=5602 options such as counseling and behavioral therapy, depending on your needs and the severity of your anxiety disorder. He should do less, and I should do more.

I’m up to 203 pounds. I was 185 at some point in the last 7 years. Beer has gotten much better. I blame the brewers. We are in the golden age of beer, just in time for my golden age.

Larry is retiring

In 1992 I was offered the job as Planning Coordinator for the City of Fitchburg. The same day (or thereabouts) I was offered the job as GIS Manager at the South Eastern Michigan Council of Governments in Detroit, Michigan. I was in a quandary, because I had been trying to move back to the Midwest to be closer to my children’s grandparents for years, and the job sounded really interesting and fun. I went running with Larry that weekend, and he convinced me to take the Fitchburg job by saying he’d help me with it.

For the next 17+ years I took him up on that offer.

Some of the larger budget items in our office were the CDBG and HOME Programs, and there are very few people out there that knew the regulations for the CDBG and HOME programs like Larry did. And probably no one who could argue the nuances and fine points and interpretations as well as Larry. He was a good man to have around when the auditors came calling, which they frequently did. I was always confident that our operation was squeaky clean, because I could count on him following the rules.

We sure would argue a lot. I would often hear stories from people in other departments about our arguments echoing in the back hallways of old city hall. And when we get into it nowadays, people remark how it reminds them of the old days. Because we still get into it. I was always too naive or too much of a Pollyanna, and Larry wouldn’t delegate or wanted to tear down an old building somewhere.

Larry served this city well. The problem is, unless you know what’s involved in the work he did, it’s hard to know just how well. His reputation with the state got us hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants, because the agencies knew we’d spend it right and report on it properly! Of course, every four years or so a new mayor or councilor would come along and say that all that sausage was just a waste of time and that you didn’t really have to follow all those rules.

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I can’t speak to the last seven years. But I’ve been working part time at the Library for the last three, so I could stop in to his office occasionally.  It seemed that he was always too busy to take time off during the day to go play disc golf, even during his last week with the city.  He’s a hard worker, and always dedicated to doing what’s best for the city of Fitchburg. The world could use a lot more people like Larry Casassa, and I’m proud to call him a friend.

David and Larry at McNeils