Back in MA. Was great to see young master Liam and his proud parents (pics on blog soon), and we were able to visit with just a few other folks during our short visit. We plan to return to Minnesota for a longer stay in mid-June, after the end of the school year, and will definitely have more time to connect with people then.
Heidi headed off early yesterday morning for an anthropology conference in Philadelphia, a 5-hour train ride from the nearest Amtrak station in Springfield. Will return on Saturday.
Yeah, Springfield – 30 miles south of us, it’s the nearest metro area (150,000 people, plus a few small suburbs), birthplace of basketball and the Indian brand of motorcycles, and home to the Basketball Hall of Fame and Dr. Seuss – but beyond these the city’s reputation is less than stellar. Crime, slow economic development, and underperforming schools are part of the equation. Several former city leaders have been convicted of a variety of corruption charges, and the city’s financial situation was so dire a few years ago that a state-appointed Finance Control Board was brought in to provide strict oversight for all mayoral and city council actions. A bit sketchy, indeed, though a slow turnaround does seem to be in progress.
However, there’s definitely some positive buzz about that town these days, too: article from 3/25 edition of the Springfield Republican, the city's daily newspaper.
- jbc
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I would just like to point out that Jay, who takes an impossibly long time to read anything, has updated his reading list almost every time there is a new posting on the blog. However, Heidi, the more intellectual and literary person in the Heidi and Jay liaison, has had the same book posted for the last two months. Again, just thought I'd point that out...
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