The Aftermath


I have met Stephen Hawking but it was only a brief moment of time in the history of the universe.


   It has been a tough week, friends. I had friends in the Boston Marathon and friends that just wanted to spend the day in Boston with their kids during Spring Break. Not only was it the last full week of classes for me but my attention remained vigilantly with my home state of Massachusetts. I am relieved that the suspects were killed or caught and that my New England family is safe.
  Let me remind you, we are a tough lot, us Northerners. We don’t take anything for granted. Our lives run faster than a New York minute but nowhere near as fast as our tongues. We are the type that when a friend calls us, we don’t ask why, we help them bury the body and forget it ever happened. So when anything happens to a friend or family member, you can be sure that justice will be swift and mighty.
  We are upstarts. We are not all liberal but we like to rock the boat so much that it scares everyone on it that they will roll and tip over. We laugh when we do this and watch the expressions on the other person’s face. We find joy in the quick and fast breath of life, that moment of pause a sniper uses in his heartbeat before releasing the killing bullet.
  In Massachusetts, everyone knows your name and it does not end at a bar called Cheers. The population is used to being among the stars. We know who they are, wave, say hi, and let them be on their way. So I had to laugh when Henry Winkler was in Roanoke this past week and all the excitement. My high school drama teacher is his best friend and college roommate from Emerson College. These big things are everyday occurrences in life 45 minutes away from Boston. Not two hours CBS, you guys need to check your maps again or learn to drive 85 mph everywhere while leaning on your horn.
  Massachusetts has a heavy focus on multiculturism in their public school curriculum. Even then, we sometimes screw up. However, I don’t know anyone personally that will blame the whole nation of Islam for corrupt characters. All religions have their village idiots. We know this, two of the planes from 9-11 came out of Logan Airport in Boston. We were home to the Unabomber. We were also home to the Catholic priests and the abuse scandal. The first case was from Fall River, two towns over from where I grew up. We didn’t condemn a church, we investigated and prosecuted. That’s the way it works. I expect it to work like that everywhere else in this country. What kills me is that it took the state of Massachusetts to do in one week what it took two presidents, trillions of dollars, and thirteen years to do.
  Massachusetts houses the smartest people in the country. It is a state of colleges and universities, from all 5 UMASS campuses to MIT to Harvard to Boston College, etc. I cannot name all the colleges in one fell swoop, there are far too many. Yes, I feel like I came from one of the best educational systems in the nation. No one can accuse me of being short-minded or unwilling to listen to reason. However, I know what you are going to say so let me finish your sentence for you! Terrible habit, but “ain’t nobody got time for that!”
  One step in Massachusetts and outsiders will automatically accuse us of being ADD/HD. Actually, that is how we are. When I moved here, it was a bit of a culture shock in how s-l-o-w life moved. I have slowed with it, but not my mind. I refuse to let my mind slow down. 
The sun is shining and I am inside Roanoke County Library, settling down to work. I have a lot to do and better get to it! 

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