Ogulewicz Retires

And Relocates

 



One of the most controversial figures of Pioneer Valley politics in the last quarter of the 20th century was former Springfield City Councilor and radio personality Mitch Ogulewicz. He's kept a low profile in recent years and I know many people are interested in what he's up to these days. This is an email I received from Mitch recently:

Brian Santaniello, Francis Keough and Mitch Ogulewicz in 1986

Tom:

Just had a chance to read your blog. I like the new color scheme. I enjoyed the article on the fundraiser and Scott Brown. Also the analysis of the Congressional races.

Other than doing a lot of unpacking, I haven't done much since moving down here to South Carolina. After 113 days being "homeless" while our house was being built, my wife Cyndi and I are now happily settling into our new home.

The last several weeks have been spent unpacking boxes and figuring out where things are going to be placed. I am sure that we will continue to do this throughout the summer, but it is nice to have a place to call ours.

We have been down here since May 23rd. I retired after 36 years in banking on May 21 and we left for South Carolina the next day. We rented a furnished corporate apartment for a month. Spent our time checking on the final stages, as the house was being built, laying out by the pool at the apartment, going to various stores to check things out.

The house has what they call a bonus room above the garage. That is my room. It looks like the second Kennedy Library with all the pictures etc on the walls. I am attaching a picture I took a couple of weeks ago. But I can assure you that there is even more on the walls now.

The South Carolina Democratic Party (what's left of it down here) has found me and has invited me to a breakfast on Saturday morning. Probably will attend, just to see how things are done down here. South Carolina just concluded its primary and I can tell you that it is rough and tough politics.

The politics down here is very Republican. Although the word is that the Democratic candidate for Governor could pull it off. The Republican nominee is a woman named Haley. Many think she is too close to Mark "I am In love with an Argentinean" Stanford. He can't get along with even the Republicans and they can't wait for him to leave office.

Down here they have a Primary (it was in June). A candidate must get 50% plus 1 vote to get the nomination. If not they have a runoff of the top two 2 weeks later.

Don't believe that Reagan philosophy of the 11th commandment, "speak no ill of fellow Republicans". They eat their own. In Massachusetts they stab you in the back and leave no finger prints. Down here they are 10 times worse and do it to your face.

Cyndi and I did join a wine tasting club. Meets every Thursday. I have actually found that most members are Democrats. They are constantly asking me about the Kennedy's and Massachusetts politics. Of course I just refer to your blog and when I can find something I email it to them.

There is also an organization called "Liberally Drinking", which also meets once a week at a local bar. It Is all Democrats (the 100 or so that are In South Carolina) and they sit around talking about politics. Right now they are trying to figure out what to do about a guy named Greene who won the Democratic primary. He beat an established politician who spent a few hundred thousand dollars. Green spent zero, no one knows who he is, and he didn't campaign.

He is running against Jim De Mint the incumbent, who by the way lives not too far from me in the same town. I live in Travelers Rest, population 4500.

Well just thought I would drop you a line. Hope all is well.

Mitch 

 

Speaking of the Kennedy's, I recently came upon these bumperstickers in a Northampton antique shop.

In the window of the same shop is this 41 year old Westfield Tricentennial banner.

Speaking of the tea parties, here's a cartoon that's been circulating the internet about moss-bound north-Valley Congressman John Olver and his challenger Bill Gunn. (click to enlarge)

In Northampton I came upon this offer for free stuff, but the only things that were offered was rocks! Useless to most people perhaps, but treasures to children. 

Mennonites from Russell singing on the steps of Northampton City Hall last night. 

School for the Dead playing downtown Hamp last weekend. Photo by R.M. Quinn. 

Experimental film and music out of Hampshire College in Amherst. 

Westfield 2010

I was in Westfield yesterday visiting my sister. I see that work is still underway on the Westfield town common, but it's still unclear what they're up to.

Nearby this Union soldier from the 1800's keeps silent vigil over the changing surroundings.

Inside the Westfield Athenaeum is this wall mural showing the exact same Union statue in olden times.

 



That mural looks to me as if it were done by the same artist that did the Emily Dickinson mural in Amherst. There was also an art display at the Athenaeum by someone named Truman Egleston.

 



Not bad, but I think Egleston's work is more decorative than artistic. In any case they are expensive decorations, with paintings starting at $10,000 apiece.

I'm not sure what to make of this good sportsman billboard in Westfield.

 



Helped injured opponent win? Hey, I can see helping your injured opponent, but to the point where they win the game? I'm all for good sportsmanship, but there's no point in being a damn fool about it.

Here I am at my sister's house, posing by her Janis Joplin wall covering.

Later some more relatives came by and we all went out to eat at Bickford's.

 



Like a lot of Irish families I have a ton of relatives, including ones I don't even know who live in Westfield. My father used to say that his father told him that we had relatives in Westfield that our branch of the family had become estranged from long ago. My father didn't know the reason for the split, which I guess is a classic case of Irish Alzheimer's - you forget everything but the grudges. Most likely one of the Westfield Devine's did something unforgivable to my grandfather, like refused to lend him money or buy him a drink.

Meanwhile, I stopped by Northampton City Hall the other day to buy a bus pass and noticed these signs promoting voting registration.

 



Many mid-term elections are a bore, but this year much hangs in the balance. Don't miss the chance to elect two new congressmen - Tom Wesley and Bill Gunn.

A sign on a bus in downtown Hamp.

 



T-shirts in the window of the Northampton gaystore.

 



A reclining Buddha greets the travelers to this Hamp door.

 



Getting way out there in Easthampton yesterday.

 



Springfield's bridge over the mighty Connecticut by Mark T. Alamed.

It's About Time

 

When I was in grammar school at The World Famous Thomas M. Balliet Elementary School I used to like this show called It's About Time. The Wikipedia explains:

It's About Time is an American fantasy-based comedy TV series that aired on CBS for one season of 26 episodes in 1966–1967. The series was created by Sherwood Schwartz, and used sets, props and incidental music from Schwartz's other television series in production at the time, Gilligan's Island.

It's About Time was virtually two different series aired under the same title. The first version of the series saw two astronauts, Mac (Frank Aletter) and Hector (Jack Mullaney), accidentally break the speed of light, and get thrown back in time to prehistoric days. There, they have to adjust to living with a cave family led by Shad (Imogene Coca) and Gronk (Joe E. Ross). 

Approximately halfway through the season, the show's lower-than expected ratings resulted in the producers suddenly retooling the series by having the astronauts repair their space capsule and return to 1967 with the cave family in tow. The remainder of the season was spent with Shadd, Gronk and their family adjusting to life in the 1960s, reacting to the unfamiliar surroundings, setting up home in 20th-century New York City.

I suspect that if I saw an episode of the show today I might cringe at the corny humor, yet I did find myself recently contemplating whether time travel is an actual possibility. I often think about weird stuff like that as I traverse each day the woodland way into downtown Northampton. 

Of course Einstein famously said that if you exceeded the speed of light then time would appear to move backwards, an optical illusion created by the fact that you were catching up to "old" light that had already passed you. But it would be only an illusion, and a short-lived one too, since matter, particularly water-based biological matter like ourselves, would be quickly atomized into non-existence at such a speed.

So if Einstein's suggested means of time travel is completely impractical, is there some other way? It occurred to me that one way that time travel might be possible would be via computer simulation. Computers already are playing a major role in the way we learn about the past. By analyzing satellite pictures of the Earth, computers are able to recognize useful archaeological digging sites invisible from the ground and help to analyze the objects that are dug up there. In such ways we are learning much more about the past then we ever thought would be possible just a few decades ago.

But is it possible to use computers to learn about the past in more specific ways? Can we actually pick and choose historic subjects from the past, and be like those astronauts from the TV show who visit the Stone Age? Well, it seems to me that might be doable, if not now, then sometime in the future. That is because everything that exists is the result of a chains of cause and effect, each chain being both logical and dictated by the laws of physics. Therefore, if you knew all of the chains of cause and effect that created all the aspects of present day reality, it should be possible to reverse that chain by computer simulation and "see" what things were like in the past. You wouldn't actually go into the past, but you could see what it must have been like based on what had to occur in order to create the present.

Pretty cool eh? For example if you could run the chains of cause and effect behind everything now existing at that famous plaza in Dallas back to 1963 then you could see if Lee Harvey Oswald really was the lone killer of John F. Kennedy. Indeed, such a technique would enable us to double-check all historical events. Perhaps it could even be fine tuned to the point of being able to check the past of anyone's life, our own or of any ancestor.  

The catch is that this would require computer software of mind-boggling complexity, far beyond anything that is even remotely possible today. Besides, even before you could create such software you would need an incredibly indepth and wide ranging understanding of all of the chains of cause and effect involved, which is no small feat in itself. Yet it does not strike me as impossible that someday, as computer capabilities continue to evolve, that such an understanding of the interconnections of reality might make the past retraceable with great accuracy. If so, then this biblical quote on a lawn in Westfield may prove to be true:

 

I doubt this is something that will ever happen in my lifetime, but who knows? In the meantime, I may as well hangout at the Haymarket Cafe. Here is the giant mirror in the entranceway.

The front staircase. 

In Westfield yesterday I ran into the legendary activist Doug Ariel, formerly of ol' Pine Point. He once ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Springfield. Doug was also my late father's boyhood friend, and recently turned 81 years old.

I also ran into former Local Buzz writer Bill Peters at UMass. Since the Buzz went bust last year Bill has been living down South working on a freelance writing career. He's already made some sales and is working on a book!

A spin through downtown Greenfield with Tony Mateus. 

 

A Deadhead's dashboard lament in downtown Hamp.

 

Tax Day 2010

April 15th, the due date for taxes, brought two statues of liberty onto the streets of Westfield to the rescue of late filers.

The real action however was in Boston, where the former Governor of Alaska was speaking.

You would think that Ms. Palin would have worn a different color outfit. Didn't the original tea party have something to do with being against the redcoats? Here a sign holder makes an election prediction.

This is Joe Ligotti, the fastest rising star of Boston media.

Another Tea Party protest was held in Worcester. Here Pat Gouin captures former Valley newsman Jim Polito being interviewed.

 



Dr. Jay Fleitman, who is running against Rep. Richard Neal, was also in Worcester, shown here posing with a sign waver.

There was also a Tea Party rally in Springfield, as seen in this photo by Sheila Pecor. That's Tom Wesley kneeling, who is also running for congress against Richie Neal.

 



Yesterday I went to Raos Coffee Shop in downtown Amherst. School had just gotten out, and kids were playing hacky-sack outside.

There are paintings on the outside wall of Raos, such as this portrait of the heroic Paul Revere.

 



There is also a coffee drinking Miss Emily.

Now they have added a new portrait, this one is of Amherst's other poetic superstar, Professor Robert Frost of Amherst College.

 



Cool bumper stickers on a car outside the Amherst Survival Center.

 



The Donut Kings in downtown Northampton.

 

Around Westfield

.

The Sorority Sisters were getting frisky on the UMass concourse this week.

A rainy street in Ware.

I took the bus to Westfield, where Mr. Liberty was offering tax services.

One of the best stores for outdoorsman is in Westfield. It's called Witeks and has everything, provided you're lucky enough to find it open since it has no set hours.

I'm saddened to see that it will soon be going out of business entirely.

I went to the Westfield Athenaeum.

What the hell is an atheneum? According to Springfield's Merriam-Webster:

ath·e·nae·um
Variant(s): or ath·e·ne·um \ˌa-thə-ˈnē-əm\
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin Athenaeum, a school in ancient Rome for the study of arts, from Greek Athēnaion, a temple of Athena, from Athēnē
Date: 1799
1 : a building or room in which books, periodicals, and newspapers are kept for use
2 : a literary or scientific association

Later I crossed the street to The Westfield Tavern where Chris was putting up the St. Paddy's bouquets.

 



That night I went to Jester's in downtown Westfield for supper. Joining me was my sister Bev and cousins Margaret and Pauline.

Jester's has a cool menu based on musical themes. (click to enlarge)

I had "The Hendrix" which is a straight ham and cheese sandwich. Jimi never could tolerate any kind of baloney. I like this psychedelic sun by the cash register.

 



Garrison Keillor at the Calvin in Northampton last weekend.

 



Former Valley Advocate reporter Al Giordano reunited recently with Johanna Lawrenson, the widow of Abbie Hoffman. Al and Abbie were arrested together at a UMass protest rally in the 1980's in the company of Amy Carter, the daughter of President Jimmy Carter. The resulting trial in Northampton was one of the biggest local media circuses of the decade. Abbie Hoffman committed suicide in 1989.

Screaming psychedelia from Amherst's Conduit.

 



Now look, I like him too, I like hippie Johnny.