Fading Foe

 

One morning this week I took the bus to Springfield, arriving at Union Station....

 

 

....where you are greeted by Richie Neal. 

Having a little time to kill, I decided to stroll over to the Springfield Newspapers building. 

I was surprised to see that no part of the building is still open to the public, with simply a sign on their tightly locked door with a list of websites and phone numbers to address whatever concerns you might have if you are one of their dwindling subscribers. 

From what I could see through the window, the area that was once the newsroom is now completely deserted. I don't know where what's left of their staff is working from, but it ain't where it used to be.

The building is not totally abandoned. At one end of it there is now a pot shop, which is a bit ironic, since in better days the paper was never an advocate for weed legalization. 

As a kid I had the largest paper route in Pine Point and in the 1980's I used to work in that very building. In the 90's I was a sharp critic of their editorial policies, among others, and I still disagree with their views on a pretty regular basis. Still, I couldn't help but feel a little sad standing there before their shuttered headquarters, seeing first hand how far they have fallen. 

Yet, apparently someone still raises the flag on the corner. 

 

 

I recovered my good mood by visiting Jake's Cafe down the street, one of downtown's few remaining remnants from the old days. 

Meanwhile, you might consider visiting Springfield yourself on the first evening of November. 

 

Back in Hamp, my neighbor Ruthy was gathering the trash downtown without using one drop of gasoline.

 

As a free speech absolutist, I generally agree with this sentiment expressed in the window of Broadside Books - as long as it applies to adults.

 

Keeping sexually graphic material out of elementary school libraries is NOT book banning. 

This is the Jones Library in Amherst. I hope the planned "renovations" don't destroy its historic beauty. 

 

At UMass this kid had a really cool Grateful Dead hoodie.

Key-Z.