Heil Coolidge

Cal's Achievements

  Remember last summer when someone put some grease under the nose of the statue of Calvin Coolidge in Northampton's Coolidge Park to make him look like Adolph Hitler?

 

  

That was so disrespectful, so unjustified, so outrageous - and so funny! Cal's mustache has since been cleaned off, but lately another problem with the statue has been rectified. Despite being the only resident of our Valley ever to be elected to the presidency, when alive Coolidge was pretty quiet about his accomplishments, which is part of why he was called "Silent Cal." However, his statue should not be modest, and thus it was with dismay that it was discovered that one of Cal's honors - his service as Northampton's Clerk of Courts - had been unintentionally omitted. The problem was there was no room on the statue to add anymore accomplishments! 

 

 

However the other day I noticed that a portion of the monument was wrapped in duct tape with some poles holding something in place. What could it be?

 

 

A day later - voila! The tape was removed and sure enough there was a special plaque stuck on the side of the monument listing Cal's years as Clerk of Courts. 

 

 

Maybe the prestige of that extra honor will be enough to scare away the next vandal that wants to turn him back into Hitler. 

 

 Classy Lady

   

I'm saddened to read in this morning's paper about the death of former Springfield City Councilor Mary Montori (above). Everyone called her "Betty" and on a legislative body often rightfully derided as the "City Clowncil" she was a person of character and strong convictions. 

If Springfield could only have had more people of conviction like Betty Montori in public office, someone who was willing to stand up for what she believed no matter what the consequences, the city may never have fallen to its current state. May she rest in peace. 

 

 Authentic Journalist

   

Former Valley Advocate reporter and WNNZ radio host Al Giordano (above) was a friend of the late singer/songwriter Jeff Buckley. In fact Buckley's song The Sky is a Landfill is based on an essay written by Giordano. Al had this to say about Buckley's tragic death:  

Jeff Buckley was a singer-songwriter with a voice of five octaves and the big heart of an authentic revolutionary. Jeff dedicated his life to telling the truth. His death by drowning in the Mississippi River in 1997 was pronounced “accidental.” 

Don’t believe it! I was one of the last humans to see Jeff in New York City, on his way to the airport, to Memphis, where he was late in recording an album for Sony. The music company had fucked with him and his ability to tell the truth as he saw it. They wouldn’t let him choose his own producer. They imposed one on him: wanting to exploit his talent commercially, in violation of Jeff’s own vision. 

Some months later, on the night before he was to begin recording at the gunpoint of a contract with Sony, as his bandmates were arriving by airplane, Jeff, drunk on wine, on the banks of the river where signs shout that the currents are dangerous and do not swim there, Jeff entered the river with his boots on: With his fucking boots on! 

He was last heard singing “Wanna whole lotta love” and then he sung no more.... Do you want to know how to kill an authentic journalist or a revolutionary? Do you want to know how to provoke a truth-seeker and truth-teller into taking his or her own life? Play a con game on him or her: that’s how.