Well kids, it’s been a week. A week that seems to blend from one to another because here we are just about at the end of June already. We’re halfway through the year for crying out loud and still plugging along. Not much else we can do but look ahead and keep it moving. Here’s what I’ve got…
1. We took a stay-cation this week people to get some work done around the house. What was an ant hill quite literally turned into a molehill as Al unfortunately found out when replacing the railings on our deck. Again, not because the conditions of the railings posed any safety risk to his family but posed a risk to his dog knocking the railings down and running for the hills. Like mice, there is never one ant. One ant leads to two ants, then three and then before you know it, you find out that those rotten bastards and their entire extended family have taken up residence in the wood that holds the deck together. They have been evicted, terminated, done away with, however you want to slice it. Those who may have escaped unscathed and scurried away best tell the rest of their insect friends that we are not messing around here on our corner and their free loading selves are no longer welcome. Good luck and Godspeed.
2. Have we mentioned woodland creatures lately? Probably, but that’s too bad, we’re going to talk about them again. Those adorable fuzzy wild bunnies that have been bouncing around all over our fine city in droves, are also no longer welcome here at the Kap house. No thanks to their healthy appetites that has been satisfied by every single flower petal from every perennial we used to have blooming in the yard, their nutritional needs have been met. Thanks for nothing Harley, clearly, she has better things to do than chase away critters who are eating their weight in flowers. Get it together. Exhibit 1, It's been too hot, Harley has better things to do than chase off wild critters.
3. All we do here in New England is talk about the weather, it’s embedded in our bones. We don’t need the t.v. meteorologists when we have amateur weather watchers amongst us who keep us up to date on the latest in meteorological activity in our local areas and beyond. Because I am so blessed to have chronic weather reports given to me on a loop all day every day, I’m here to tell you I don’t need those damn weather alerts that go off on our cell phones in the middle of the night to tell me there’s a thunderstorm coming. Unless that is because the National Weather Service is trying to kill me. When it’s heading directly for the Woo, rest assured I don’t need accu weather or the state alert system to inform me, I have Al and Parenteau up there on the hill who will let me know with enough time to spare before running to the basement. They have us covered for at least a 200-mile radius - every single day. All day long. 24/7.
4. In the event that last night's storm did turn into something, please let it be known that Al was taking care of himself and his dog. As for the rest of us, we were on our own.
5. Despite heading out to Fenway last Friday night with one of my favorite weather watchers, we still ended up in a thunderstorm, soaked by the rain, and in a rain delay waiting for Bare Naked Ladies and Hootie & the Blowfish to take the stage. Apparently, a little bit of lightning is enough to shut everything down, go figure. Hanging around trying to keep dry, we found ourselves sitting on a set of stairs that, unknown to us, led to the VIP section. Eventually the announcement was made that the delay was over and BNL was getting ready to take the stage. We got up, started heading down the stairs and out onto the field like a herd of cattle, shoulder to shoulder with everyone else. The guy walking next to me looking vaguely familiar says, “unbelievable…none of these people realize that Hootie’s guitarist is walking down the stairs and heading onto the field with them.” I look at him realizing who he is and say, no shit, right? That’s okay, no one cares who I am either…it was Hooties guitarist, Mark Bryan…even when we're out and about with a day off from doing the work of the people, we’re still protecting anonymity here at The Antics. You’re welcome. Exhibit 1, not Mark Bryan, but who needs to see him when you can go to Fenway and run into George Jones?
6. In other news, exhibit 2. For those of you Dunkin regulars who frequent the Tatnuck Dunkin Donuts, they’re closed for the next two months. Remodeling is one thing, but driving by there today it looked like they were gutting the whole place. Plan accordingly and head up to the Paxton Dunkin's, they've got the good stuff. No need to have all of Tatnuck square decaffeinated all summer.
7. Another celebrity sighting for a member of the Kap pack this week...doesn't everyone find themselves relaxing at the beach while sitting next to ML Carr?
8. This week in angry vegetables, we have the disgruntled zucchini otherwise known as Zesty Zucchini. In the event you're disgruntled and in need of assistance in the form of fruits and vegetables, give the youngest Kap kid a call...she can manage all of your produce needs. Exhibit 4 does not feature the disgruntled zucchini as his appearance was not fit to be presented to the public.
9. If it's one thing you don't do is mess with Sue Miller's cable. She's had her share of technological issues as of late and she's just about had it with Spectrum messing with her t.v. time and her programs. We called last week and the Spectrum tech's came out, did what they needed to do and assured her all was good in her hood. This week she's back to square one, and not having it. I spent some time trying to reach them by phone before giving up and going online and getting a rep via chat. I'd like to think this conversation was being had with a person, but was more than likely Artificial Intelligence, so figured I'd mess with it a bit. Exhibit 5, just so you all know, nothing was fixed before Jeopardy came on.
10. Somewhere in Worcester, Spiderman has blown his cover and is fighting crime unmasked. Keep an eye out.
And last but not least, we talk and joke about doing the work of the people all the time, because if we didn’t, we’d get worn down and wouldn’t be able to continue on with the job we’ve been given. We talk about being kind and doing the right thing; doing what you can to improve the lives of other people and giving back. This guy was all of that
and more. He was resilient and smart. He knew he wasn’t perfect and made mistakes. He was brave and never afraid of starting over even if starting over was hard and the road less traveled. He understood everyone has their own story and didn’t judge you or anyone else for whatever the contents of that story held. He believed in second chances and helping people make something of themselves. He was always doing what he could to make another's life a little better, less chaotic, a little bit easier. He never thought he was better or more important than anyone else. He didn't just listen to what you were saying, he heard you. He was a helper and a fixer, especially of those who would have otherwise been discarded of. The underprivileged and less fortunate, those no one else could be bothered with, those were some of the first people Jeff helped and made sure they were treated with respect and dignity. He made everyone feel important and worth something. Thank you, Jeff, we’ll do our best to follow your example of kindness and service and continue the work you dedicated your life to. Rest easy my friend.
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