Regional report

The news from the Pioneer Plastic City is grim. The company that originally manufactured the plastic pink flamingo is going out of business. We have a couple of the birds in our cellar, mementos of a sillier time. It's disappointing, indeed, when the arts cannot thrive

What was once one of Gardner's magnificent furniture factories, Gem Crib and Cradle, now houses chain pharmacies. Joe Lieberman even gave tribute to Gardner's industries. (His statements are totally unrelated to the fact that his wife grew up in Gardner.)

I worked at Gem Crib for a short time in the 60s. I was pretty much an idiot then, highlighted by walking off a loading dock. I caught back of my thigh on a piece of metal on the edge of the dock. I quit that job before I got fired. I started my restaurant career at a (now gone, too) small burger and ice cream shop down the road about five miles.

Across the street from Gem Crib is a gasoline station. It had been a Getty station with the cheapest prices in town. Now the station is a part of the LUKOIL chain. As a child of the Cold War, having a Russian business in our midst creeps me out. I'll get over it, though. It wasn't that long after WWII that we were driving Volkswagens.

I answered a call from Sandra's cousin, Jeanette, who lives in upstate New York. She asked if it was snowing here; it had just started where she lives. Although the temperature dipped to the mid-20s this morning, the sky is clear and we can see for miles.

Happy 2^nd Birthday, Cassie.