Tag: CAPD

This is why other drivers scare me

While on our way to visit my sister and her family in New Hampster, Kelly and I were unfortunate enough to be stuck behind a car that started driving a bit erratically.   Then things really got crazy.

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Since we haven’t talked about the animals in a while…

Smoky is doing much better.  It’s strange to see how much weight he has lost since he got really sick.  He seems so much happier now.  You can actually see some of his little bald patches filling in now, and his chicken legs are growing fur back on them too.  Right now he is lying at my feet as I use the Furminator on him – purring, twitching his tail slightly, and kneading with his front paws –  just as content as can be.

Continue reading “Since we haven’t talked about the animals in a while…”

We survived the Fourth of July

Geoff here- last night was a VERY long police detail for me.  I arrived at the police station at around 6:20 PM yesterday and arrived home this morning around 1:40 AM.  In between was a virtually non-stop flood of cars and people.  Everyone had a good time, and I even saw a few people I knew.  But I am still wondering how so many people manage to get into such a relatively small space.  I am just not that big a fan of crowds, I guess.  There must have been half a million people all together.  Still, it was not too bad, relatively speaking, as at least we did not have a lot of violence or troublemakers to worry about.  There was some of that, but none anywhere near where I was, which was on Mass Ave., along the main route (at least in Cambridge) to and from the Mass Ave bridge and thus prime fireworks viewing area.  I was with two regular Cambridge officers, but even with three of us we really had our hands full.  So many people were not paying attention – drivers AND pedestrians.  It really is a miracle no one was hurt.

I don’t get the people who have lived here for a good while and still haven’t figured out that the night of July 4th is a bad time to be anywhere near that part of the Charles River in your car.  I mean, you expect tourists to not know, but people who have been around should know better.  I could not believe how many people I had to tell “no, you CANNOT go on the bridge – it is blocked to all vehicle traffic”…  and they wanted to argue about it.  I don’t make the rules, I just have to enforce them.  And how exactly do you expect to get on the bridge, even if I let you?  You going to navigate through a crowd of several hundred thousand people, with lawn chairs and beach blankets, watching the show?

Still, the fireworks show was pretty spectacular.  I could not hear any of the music from where I was, which is just as well because you just know they would play that Lee Greenwood song that I hate.

Anyway, back to the routine, which these days has been job hunting and house cleaning.

It’s that time of year again…

They’re invading and there is nothing we can do to stop them.  No proactive measures, no way to seal the entrances, nothing.  And you know what?  There are some people who think that their presence here is actually a good thing.

No, I’m not talking about cockroaches, though I might as well be.  I’m talking about tourists.

Today is the other day of the year when our fair city swells with the ranks of Townies, Suburbanites, and those dreaded infiltrators, Tourists.

When I worked in retail on Beacon Hill I used to have to work on the 4th of July.  It was absolute hell.  I worked in an antique store and that day we got hordes of two types of people, thieves and tourists.  The thieves were there for only one purpose, to steal from us or from the tourists.  The tourists were there largely to gawk or to ask us dumb questions.  The #1 top question was, “Do you have any silver by Paul Revere?”

For those of you not in the know, Paul Revere was a silversmith but not a prolific one by any means.  On the rare occasion that one of his pieces is unearthed in a private collection somewhere it is usually sold at auction and goes for big money.  The last time I remember a piece being sold it was auctioned off by a church and the proceeds were used to refinance the rehabbing of the entire sanctuary.  So, no, the tiny little shop I worked for did not and would never have a piece of silver by the most famous and one of the least prolific silversmiths in US History.

Charles St., where I used to work, leads directly to the Hatch Shell where the Pops play and the fireworks take place.  People who are really insane devoted actually camp out overnight so they can get a space on the Esplanade in front of the Hatch Shell the morning of the 4th and they sit there ALL DAY waiting for the festivities to begin.  That meant that at the end of the day on the 3rd and during the day on the 4th we’d be flooded on Charles St. with drunks, revelers, and all sorts of folks looking to make a dime off the tourists who’d flock to Boston for a “genuine American 4th of July experience.”

July 5th in Boston, and on the other side of the river in Cambridge, looks a bit like Time’s Square on January 1st each year.  Trash is strewn everywhere, food, bottles, and, of course, the results of people who drank too much and couldn’t, ahem, make it to a bathroom.  It is mayhem.  Most locals head out of the town for the 4th.  Or, they do what I do, stay inside and batten down the hatches.

Wherever you are, I hope you have a Happy 4th.  I’ll be at home in air conditioned comfort away from the tourist invasion and waiting for Geoff to come home from his patrol.  Think of him as you watch the fireworks, he’ll be out herding cats tourists.

~Kelly

A very long but good weekend

Geoff here – Kelly and I managed to survive the very epic weekend, and what’s even better is that we actually had a pretty good time all around.

Kelly’s mom – Jo – arrived Thursday night and we picked her up from the airport.  After I got off work on Friday we went out to dinner at the Fireplace.  Jo had never been there, but she seemed to really like it.  The food was pretty fantastic, as usual.  I tried something different and got a special – hake.  Boy, it was good.  And Kevin, the awesome manager, actually donated some gift certificates to their “Fireside Chats” special events for us to sell at the auction.  It was very cool of him.  Stuff like that is why we like the place so much and are glad to have our rehearsal dinner there.

Saturday we had to split up as Kelly and Jo went off to do their own errands, and I had to run a bunch of my own before my police detail.  The detail ended up being a lot of fun, as we got to meet the Red Sox mascot, Wally, the Green Monster.  So I got his autograph for Kelly and then got some pictures with him.  I will post those as soon as I can.  After the detail was over, I ran home to shower and change and then the three of us went to the auction at our church.  Kelly and I had contributed several items to the auction:  a series of dog training lessons from Kelly; a few hours of IT tech support from me; and an entire home-cooked four course Portuguese dinner with table and dessert wines.  So together Kelly and I raised over a thousand dollars with our donated items.  It turns out that the family who bought the dinner from me is pretty interesting – the husband was the auctioneer for the church, and his wife is the one who kept bidding on the dinner.  I am looking forward to making them dinner.

Kelly has already talked about the concert, but I wanted to throw in my two cents worth.  I had a slightly different perspective, since I was running around at the front tables and doors while Kelly was running around inside and then performing.  We were quite pleasantly surprised when people kept showing up, even after the concert had started.  I think the last ticket I sold was at around 4:15, well over an hour after the concert started.  But people seemed to really enjoy it, and the reception afterward was a lot of fun too.  I got to watch one of the Deputy Superintendents talk with our landlord, who it turns out was in the CAPD himself from the late 1940s to the early 1960s.  Apparently they knew a lot of the same people.  And this couple from our church had nothing but praises for all of the help that they got from the officers on the detail.  So although we were pretty exhausted by the time we got home Sunday night, we were quite happy that everything had gone so well and everyone had such a good time.

Thank you!

I don’t even know where to begin, but I owe a lot of people a lot of thanks.  Today was the St. John Passion concert that I feel like I’ve been preparing for for months.  In fact, it felt like the least of my duties was nailing my aria.  I was coordinating with the St. Paul Adult Choir (SPAC), I was running everything relating to the Front of House, I was marketing my fool head off, arranging for flowers with the florist, proofreading the program book, the list just goes on.  It feels like this has been a really long process and now that it is over, I feel awesome.

Was the performance flawless?  No.  Live performances never are, which is something that we, as a CD listening society of studio perfected work have come to forget.  Was it spectacular?  Yes.  Do I feel like I left the best version of my aria in the room for the concert?  Absolutely.

As a concert manager did I learn something from this?  Oh HELL yes.  Did everything I organized run perfectly?  Of course not, it never does and it never will, such is human nature.  But that is ok, there were no catastrophes, no major fires, and everyone seemed pleased.  I can absolutely live with that.

So, in no particular order, to the Cambridge Auxiliary Police Department officers on our detail, to our crack Ushering Corps, to the Stage Crew, to the women of SPAC who helped coordinate everything with me between the two groups, to John, Jim, and most especially Jennifer, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.  The words seem inadequate, but there they are.

To our fabulous and supportive landlord Marvin who came out to hear this concert when I am sure there were a 1,000 other things he could have been doing and for being so generous as to take us out to dinner afterward.  Thank you, sir.  You are a true gentleman.

To Amanda, Leigh, Mackie, Donna, and every single member of COOS who braved Harvard Square parking to come out for this concert, and to my Mother and Liza who braved the TSA for this concert.  I thank you.  You have no idea how much it meant for me to see friendly faces in the audience.

And to my betrothed, my darling, Geoff, who was the Head Usher, the liaison with the CAPD, who worked his behind off all day and way above and beyond the call of duty.  I cannot tell you how much it means to me to know that you’ve got my back.  Thank you and I love you.

Till next time,

~Kelly

Officer Geoff

 

Geoff as your friendly neighborhood police officer
Friendly Officer Geoff

 

This past week the Cambridge Police Department sat down for our formal photographs, thanks to SGT Lashley (who normally does crime scene photography).   So I got my picture made as well, and since SGT Lashley was making me laugh with his running commentary my photos came out with me grinning from ear to ear.

Holiday photos coming soon!

-Geoff