Eagle Feathers #345 – In the ‘Nick’ of  Time

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

Bikes and bike paths, love them or loathe them, they are here to stay. As far as Somerville is concerned, the first owner of a two-wheeled velocipede (or bicycle) was Willie Nickerson in the 1880s.

In spite of the vastly divergent range of opinions held by all of us here in Somerville and in our neighboring communities, we can unite in the spirit of hope and bipartisanship as we congratulate and honor those who took their respective oaths of office last week.

It is so easy to sit back and play “armchair quarterback” as our city officials grapple with the day-to-day and long-term issues that impact our lives to varying degrees. We can question, kibitz, and complain until we are blue in the face. At the end of the day, it is those men and women who have taken up the burden of leadership who must deliver on their promise to serve our best interests in the most efficient and productive ways possible.

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You know, back in the 70’s in college, I had a chance to interview Allen Ginsberg for my campus radio show. He politely declined. So, I asked AI to create a conversation between us … my Christmas Gift to myself:

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Poet Jack MacDonald writes: Blue is about an overdose I witnessed at Porter Square station. It was recently featured at the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare’s 30th Anniversary Gala. MacDonald is a Boston-based writer and overdose prevention advocate. He is a master’s student at Harvard Medical School and 2024 Public Health Voices fellow for the Harvard LGBTQ Health Center of Excellence. Jack graduated from Boston College and has been published in Out Magazine and The Wall Street Journal. Website: https://jackmacdonald.carrd.co/

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) reflected on 2025 improvements across the system, from more frequent service to accessibility upgrades, to safety progress, and new innovative technology, as the agency heads into 2026 with continued momentum in its charge to deliver a quality public transit experience for the general riding public.

If you’re struggling to part ways with your Christmas tree, consider this: More than one-third (35 percent) of U.S. home fires involving Christmas trees occur in January. With this post-holiday fire hazard in mind, the National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA®) is strongly encouraging prompt removal of Christmas trees after the holiday season.

Massachusetts-based comedy group presents a night of playfully dumb and genuinely funny sketches

Field Trip, a local sketch comedy trio that has delighted Somerville audiences since 2022, makes its Rockwell Theater debut with Field Trip – Live at the Rockwell on January 17, 2026, at 9 p.m.

Kids got into the New Year’s Eve fun at LEGO® Discovery Center Boston for their Noon Year’s Eve celebration!

Children may not be able to stay awake until midnight, so LEGO Discovery Center provided little builders a celebration of their own with a bricktastic countdown! The Noon Year’s Eve event took place at noon  New  Year’s Eve with a LEGO “Ball Drop” and was part of their new event Santa’s Brickmas Adventure.