Why can't we
go from point A to point B without pointing (and flipping) fingers? How
many times have you lost your vehicular focus while in the midst of an
expletive-fueled exchange with another driver? Much like Sully, though
on a much smaller scale, we have precious children to deliver to
school, yet we drive like Evel Knievel (who by the way, is deceased). I
remind myself to keep calm at all times.

One of my pet peeves
has always been driving in Somerville. Every time I strap myself into
my vehicle, it's on. I'm in the Highland Derby. It's every man for
himself in the war of the roads. Trying to get your kid from Central
Street (their Mom's house) to the West Somerville Neighborhood School
by 8:16 am is nerve wracking to say the least. It's an ever changing
experience that holds new and terrifying twists and turns each day.
Again, I utter: "calm it down, pally…" to myself.

The initial
ritual for the mad morning rush is the coffee stop – the fuel for the
fuel-ish. Here is my experience. I say "large black decaf" and they say
"sugar?" and then I say "no…large black decaf" and they say "cream?"
and I say "no…large black decaf" and they say "milk?" At that point I
say "nevermind" and proceed to just lick the condensation on the inside
of my windows, instead of trying to convey my order anymore. By now I
am livid – and I try to suck a little of the frozen water out of the
plastic bottle that has been there in the vehicle all night. For the
record, the decaf hasn't been helping me keep calm. I finally got hip
and started making my own java in the morning – once more I say to
myself, take it down a notch nut case.

The fun starts with
trying to get the kids out of bed – both boys have to put their contact
lenses in first. I said first – which means the other kid can't be in
the way. I won't bore you with the rest of the routine, because you
probably know how it goes: "where's my sweatshirt?" "where's my shoes?"
"where's my back pack?" (where's Daddy's medication?) Then I hear
something along the lines of "I wanted milk, not orange juice!" You
know that if I had yelled upstairs to ask "milk or OJ", then I become
the first person of the morning who raised his voice – and then it's on
– Daddy is in a bad mood!

At some point every morning, I hear
the words that all parents cringe at: "I still didn't finish my
homework…" Steam then comes out of my ears and no dose of blood
pressure medicine will help. And to make matters worse, here comes that
other daily pain in the ass word: "shotgun!" followed by a minute of
"you had it yesterday" and "but I called it first." I know why they
call it shotgun, because you think about getting one as the squabble
escalates. To make matters worse, my truck is guzzling gas in the
driveway as it keeps warm for the squawking siblings. Count to
10…What would Sully do?

Now it's finally traffic time. Don't
you love those geniuses who scrape only a 4 inch by 3 inch rectangular
spot through their snow and ice covered windshield? Who are these
morons? It's like they are driving a Sherman Tank. They can't see
behind them or to their sides because they were in such a panic to
bring their mayhem to rush hour, they had only one minute to clear off
their car. They couldn't go the extra 10 minutes and finish cleaning
their vehicle? I particularly enjoy when I am behind these jug heads
when the 2 foot by 2 foot wall of snow blows off their crap box and
completely covers my windshield. Thank you for endangering my family!

So
the kids are in the truck, and we're off to the races. The stop signs
and flashing red lights mean nothing to drivers – if anything, they
mean "slow down only a little, glance briefly and then floor it…"
Then it's cat and mouse. Is he letting me go? Should I boot it and cut
him off? If I stop for this guy, I'll be here for an hour. Damn, so
many choices, so little time. I knew I shouldn't have hit the Rotary, I
could have gone through Teele Square. And if you do let someone go in
front of you, like the 3-piece suited guy with too much gel in his hair
who is on the cell phone, don't expect a "thank you." Gordon Gecko is
too busy making deals on the phone to thank the little people.

I
become the biggest idiot at the rotary because I have evolved into a
serious defensive competitor. Sorry, but no one is cutting me off
(unless it's Tim Mitsatkis, Mikey Deveraux, Joe McCain or Bill Nolan –
or some other cop ). I stop at my stop sign, then I'm off like a (fill
in the blank – e-mail me with the phrase you think I wanted to put
there).

And let me tell you, if you think I'm not going fast
enough up Powder House Boulevard and you're on my tail, I will only go
slower! Count to 15…think like Sully.

Even at Christmas there
was nothing but hatred and competition on the road. And I believe some
people's cell phones are glued to their ear and their arm is stuck that
way. What, do you have the 20,000 any-time minute plan? Hang it up! In
the old days, we just waited for a call from the school nurse or
principal to discover that Bobby got stuck with a pencil or Billy threw
up on the teacher's desk. We all have to chill out.

I usually
spend the entire ride to school reading another chapter of the riot act
to my kids. Today's lesson was: "don't use that tone with me – I'm your
father and you will respect me…" Yesterday's was: "if you mumble
under your breath at me again, I am locking the Play Station 3 in my
closet…" So as you can see, parenting, along with competition
driving, goes hand in hand. Count to 20…be like Sully.

I can't
wait for them to experience the bus – you are not a true Somerville kid
until you have frozen your cheeks off waiting for the bus to school.

My
kids are young and I am old. I am a 55 year old dyed-in-the-wool
Somerville kid. I will be out there driving them around for quite some
time to come. I love my city passionately, but I hate you when you are
on the road. I also hate you drivers from surrounding cities and towns
who wreak vehicular havoc also. I hate you especially when you are at
the rotary. And to you lazy drivers – and you know who you are – clean
the whole car off for God's sake. Get up earlier, buy some gloves, get
a scraper, and become a member of the human race. And let's all try to
calm down – especially at the rotary – because I follow the rules and I
am definitely going to win. I have had 38 years experience at it. And
to all you other seasoned Somerville drivers like me – we should get
some kind of special flashing beacon (or finger) on top of our vehicles
so we can recognize each other, and be extra courteous to our peeps.

What would have happened if that hero pilot "Sully" lost his cool and drove like the nuts we share the road with in the morning?

By
the way, I had a friend named Sully (or Fitzie or Obie) who once saved
a 16 ounce can of Budweiser from rolling off the rocks at Powder House
Park! Ok, not the same, but a little bit relatable, no?

From
there, it was a dizzying spectacle of carefully organized window
dressing, with the swearing in ceremony and speech thrown in for good
measure.

President Obama's speech was deliberately somber, in an
attempt to lower expectations, while at the same time, energize a
nation to stand up together and move forward. "Starting today, we must
pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of
remaking America," he said.

The
event, sponsored by the City of Somerville, the Somerville Public
Schools, the Early Childhood Advisory Council and Somerville's Human
Rights Commission, and hosted by the co-chairs of that latter
organization, Ify Mora and Barry Rafkind – focused this year upon Dr.
King's "legacy of community service." Through speeches, a choral
performance, a dance routine and the presentation of awards to those
who have "excelled in community service," the event was a
"celebration," as well as a "remembrance and a tribute," in the opening
words of Walter Pero, president of Somerville's Board of Aldermen.

The
audience was chatty but patient as organizers waited for snow-delayed
stragglers, and then rapidly fell silent with the screening of an
introductory clip in grainy black-and-white of Dr. King delivering his
famous "I have a dream" speech. While the clip set a tone of somber
reflection – Dr. King's voice seems never to lose its spine-tingling
power – the imminence of Tuesday's inauguration of President-Elect
Barack Obama infused the atmosphere with a sense of hope and optimism.

Nearly
all of the speakers made reference to Obama's election, and many spoke
of his inauguration as emblematic of the progress made by the civil
rights movement Dr. King once led. "Rose sat for Martin to walk; Martin
walked for Obama to run," student speaker Rahel Ghebermichael said in
her speech, quoting, in fact, a poster hanging in the hallway outside
the auditorium. The audience responded with spontaneous shouts of
approval and applause.

In his keynote address, Ron Marlow,
Assistant Secretary of Access and Opportunity in Deval Patrick's
administration, began by recollecting a childhood lived under the
racial tension of Boston in the 1970s before waxing philosophical.
Quoting a Martin Luther King line that, he joked, no one else had yet
used, Marlow read that "although the arc of history is long, it bends
towards justice."

"I disagree," Marlow said. "It only bends when
individuals like yourselves are willing to tilt it in that direction,"
when "thousands who see a wrong correct it." "On the day before the
inauguration when we swear in a president who ran with a fierce
urgency, let that urgency motivate you to affect those around you,"
Marlow concluded, to applause.

But even as he echoed the other
speakers by emphasizing the symbolism with which Obama's inauguration
is laden, Marlow cautioned against complacency in the face of
persistent racial tension. "In the euphoria of the election, this
notion of being 'post-racial' gives pause to many invested in civil
rights," Marlow said in response to an audience question about how to
document past civil rights struggles in the face of Obama's success.

"Clearly
November was a momentous occasion," he said, but reminded the audience
that only a few weeks ago, an unarmed black man – 22-year-old Oscar
Grant – was shot in the back, allegedly by a California transit police
officer. Noting the tension between remembering past suffering and
focusing energy on the future, he opined that "we must never lose sight
of history, but we won't allow it to remain a shackle."

Two
awards were presented by the Somerville Human Rights Commission. The
first, for an organization "upholding Martin Luther King's values,"
explained Mora-went to the Jonathon M. Tisch College of Citizenship and
Public Service Scholars Program. Nancy Wilson, Associate Dean of the
college, accepted the award on behalf of the college.

She
praised the role Somerville's community plays in the college's
community service. "Somerville is a great partner for our faculty" and
the community is vital to "holding us to task" and prompting
reflection, she said.

The second award, this time for an
individual leader in community service, went to Dora Tevan, founder of
the Ethnic Arts Center of Somerville. For over thirty years, explained
Mora, Tevan has been designing cultural programs and fostering
intercultural understanding.

"I knew that I wanted to bring
cultures alive through an anthropological approach, so that one can
have pride in one's own culture and appreciate other cultures," Tevan
said in explaining why she started the center. She closed with a
poignant look back across the past thirty years. "When I first started,
little black children and little white children didn't want to look at
each other. Things really have changed."

The remarks of both
speakers and awardees were punctuated by both song and dance. The St.
James Episcopal Choir, under the direction of Pat Michaels, performed
three pieces, including "We Shall Overcome," in the performance of
which the audience was invited to join. The Indo-Pak Dance group,
counting three Somerville High School students and one
audience-charming eight-year-old among its members, performed to an
audio montage of Indian and Pakistani pop and dance songs.

In
her closing remarks, Mora interwove, one more time, the legacy of King
with the promise of Obama. "Some think it's a coincidence that we
celebrate Martin Luther King on the eve of Obama's inauguration," she
said, before drawing parallels between the civil rights movement that
King led and the political movement that grew around Obama's
presidential campaign.

In these movements, she implied, lies the power to confront future problems.

"As
we face a worsening economy and growing challenges in our communities,
we must keep the spirit of 'yes, we can' in our hearts."

Residents and visitors will see Somerville as an
arts destination, with a full roster of dance, theater and visual arts,
Debra McLaughlin explained as she gave a quick tour of Armory building
at 191 Highland Ave. A 7,000-square-foot performance space, a tidy art
gallery space featuring exposed brick and soft light filtering into the
windows and an airy cafe that will seat 50 were just a few of the
highlights.

"It's been a massive project with a lot of moving parts," said McLaughlin, the chair of the board of directors.

The
final piece of the puzzle will fall into place once the center obtains
an entertainment license. The license hearing will take place Monday,
Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. at the Somerville Senior Center, 167 Holland Avenue.
McLaughlin encourages people to attend the meeting to learn about the
Armory's mission and to ask questions.

A benefit concert
featuring nationally known musicians will also be held at the
Somerville Theater on Jan. 24, at 8 p.m. Comedian Jimmy Tingle and
local "legends" Mission of Burma and The Neighborhoods, as well as
newcomers Faces on Film will lead the performance. Visit
http://www.artsatthearmory.com for more information.

With the
granting of the license, the center can officially open the cafe and
performance hall. The actors for the center's first performance,
Coriolanus, can start rehearsing.

While great community
centers exist in other parts of the region, the Armory is one of the
largest-boasting 34,000 square feet-to afford a great variety of
cultural activities, McLaughlin said. The performance hall, which seats
395 people, will offer theater, dance and music productions. The four
first-floor gallery spaces will allow visual artists to show their
work. There's also plenty of room for after-school programs and adult
art classes.

The Armory staff will unveil the programs in
stages. The first priority is getting the hall opened, McLaughlin said.
The second will be creating after school and summer arts programs for
elementary, middle and high school students. The Armory will pilot a
February school vacation arts program. (Visit
http://www.artsatthearmory.com for upcoming information).

The
Armory hopes to offer a summer institute for teenagers called Be SmART.
They will offer tracks in photography, film, music and "art
entrepreneurs," to show young people that careers in art exist. Staff
is putting the faculty together. Armory staff have also talked to the
Somerville public schools about other possibilities, McLaughlin said.

The
Armory also applied for funding to act as an economic development
catalyst in the cultural sector to work with local partners, including
local artists, the Somerville Museum, Vernon Street Studios, and
restaurants. Together, they can promote Highland Avenue as an arts
destination.

"Davis and Union Squares are recognized for their
artistic endeavors," McLaughlin said. "We are right in the middle.
We're trying to see what we can do to be a good neighbor, literally, as
well as economically and culturally."

Once the Armory is up
and running in full gear-by this summer or fall-it will also foster an
active volunteer community. They will need ushers for its performances,
gallery assistants, open studio staff and box office assistants, among
others.

The center will also put together an advisory board
comprised of three neighbors, a representative from the Somerville Arts
Council, the Armory, and an Alderman to address ongoing issues, which
include compliance with the 41 conditions (governing various issues
around hours, noise, etc), McLaughlin said.

The Armory,
designed by Boston architect George A. Moore, was constructed in 1903
for the Somerville Light Infantry of the Massachusetts Volunteer
Militia. Over the years, the National Guard and the State Police
occupied the space. In April 2004, Joseph and Nabil Sater, owners of
the Middle East club in Central Square bought the decaying property
from the state for $2.6 million.

In
a preview of tonight's public hearing on the operating hours of College
Avenue's Golden Light Restaurant, residents showed up at last
Wednesday's Board of Aldermen Licenses and Permits Committee meeting to
make their case for and against allowing restaurants to extend their
hours until 2 a.m.

"For ten years I went through hell," resident
Jim Campano said of living near an establishment that stayed open until
5 a.m. "Nothing good happens after 12 midnight."

Brendan Kearney
was among a handful of Golden Light supporters who showed up to make
the case for owner Bruce Lam, who came with a second petition asking
for the restaurant's hours to be extended.

The Board of Aldermen
first singled out the Golden Light Restaurant's reputation for staying
open the latest in town in October. The Chinese takeout place had
bragged about being open the latest in Somerville for 26 years.

When
the issue was brought up at a Board of Alderman meeting last October,
Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz defended the establishment, saying its
operating hours have not been an issue for her constituents – including
Ciampa Manor, a senior center across the street from the restaurant.

"I
have not gotten any complaints," Gewirtz said. "I have a petition here
from Bruce [Lam] and every signature going onto the third page is 27
College Ave (Ciampa Manor). I just want to be clear that it is not my
sense that this is a raging issue in the community."

The Golden
Light's license had allowed it to stay open until midnight on weekdays
and 1 a.m. on Saturdays, while it is reported to have regularly stayed
open until 3 a.m. throughout the week.

In defending the
restaurant's request for extended hours, Kearney said having food
options like the Golden Light in Davis Square makes life easier for
residents who would otherwise have to seek out late-night food in
Boston.

"I want Somerville to be the location where I want to go
out and where I want to live," Kearney said. "I don't want to have to
go to Boston and spend $20 on a cab both ways. I'd rather walk to Davis
Square.

"Especially the way the economy is these days," he
added, "I don't think we should be hurting people who are willing to
work hard and stay open until 1 o'clock or 2 o'clock in the morning."

"We're
not trying to hurt anyone," Committee Chair Bruce Desmond responded.
"We want the businesses to do well … we want folks to have a place to
go and eat and we want the neighbors as well not to be disturbed in the
early morning hours. We're trying to find the comfort zone on this
whole thing – certainly not to hurt anyone."

Responding to
concerns from Somerville Police Captain John O'Connor, commander of the
Western district, that police have already dedicated too many resources
to enforcing operating hours, Heuston said any violator should be
forced to appear before the committee.

"The ultimate fine – as
you know with one establishment in my ward – the thing that really made
them tow the line is you push back their hours," she said. "If there is
such a business, you should communicate to us that there is and we will
schedule a hearing to revoke their hours. I will be the first to do
that."

Heuston then requested that the owners of Royal White
Laundry and the Burger King on Somerville Avenue appear before the
committee to account for repeated violations of their operating hours.
She also asked Inspectional Services Division Chairman George Landers
to find out if Red House in Union Square is violating its hours.

The hearing on the Golden Light Restaurant's hours will take place Jan. 21 at 6 p.m.