City Voices

FIRST PERSON

A visit from Old St. Nick (2019)

JOE FUSCO JR.

None of the younger males would dress up as Santa at the Family Xmas Party so I volunteered. A decision I immediately regretted.

My sister-in-law had put the black boots, red costume, white beard, and a square pillow in a cardboard box by the toilet. With my chronic ailments, it took almost twenty minutes to be in full regalia. Adjusting the rose-tinted glasses, I caught a blurry glimpse of my sweaty reflection in the bathroom mirror.

“Old St. Nick,” I grimaced.

There was a large Xmas bell in the box, so I grabbed the sack of toys, left the bathroom, and shook the Xmas bell to announce Santa’s arrival. The bell fell apart and crumbled to the living-room floor.

“Ho, Ho, Ho, who’s breaking Santa’s bells,” I chuckled.

There was a leather chair set up by the Xmas tree where our family’s children could sit on Santa’s lap, receive their present, and converse with St. Nick just by following a few simple guidelines:

“You can’t sit on Santa’s left knee (upper-tendon repair 2011), watch out for his right hip (replaced 2012), and please don’t squeeze his right shoulder (rotator-cuff surgery 2015),” Mrs. Claus (my wife Cyndi ) explained.

Playing Santa isn’t a job for just anybody!

I needed to replace the rose-tinted spectacles with my bi-focal to read the tags on the presents.

“Why does Santa have Grandpa’s glasses on,” my six-year-old grand-daughter asked.

“Grandpa and Santa have the same optometrist,” I countered.

Things went relatively smooth though I was clueless on most of the gadgets, games, and paraphernalia that my exuberant patrons pleaded for. Santa also whispered sound advice in their innocent ears like “Listen to your parents when they’re sober,”

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“Why isn’t Santa’s belly round,” my four-year-old grandson inquired.

“Santa had a good square meal with the elves before he jumped in the sleigh,” I punned.

When the children and their incessant requests ended, many of the adults adjourned to the family room to watch the Patriots game. Mrs. Claus sauntered over and sat in Santa’s lap.

“Thanks for doing that. What’s sticking in my back?”

“The North Pole,” I smiled.

Then Old St. Nick rose from the leather chair and trudged back to the bathroom.

“Merry Xmas to all … and to all a Good Nap!”

Joe Fusco Jr. is a poet and hu-

morist living in Worcester.

WORCESTERIA

Worcester City Council races already stirring

VICTOR D. INFANTE

THE DEMOCRACY GRIND: It seems these days the wheels of democracy are constantly grinding, seemingly without respite. Putting the last national election behind us has been a grueling process, with a never-ending series of pointless legal tantrums preventing us from completely moving forward, to suddenly the fate of the Senate coming down to two runoff elections in Georgia. Used to be you could at least get a few months in free of electioneering, but no more … and I hate to tell you, but we have one coming up here in Worcester next year, too, and it’s already begun.

RUMOR MILL: Papers aren’t available yet, so no one’s “really” running for office officially, as the great retired Telegram & Gazette City Hall reporter Nick Kotsopoulos pointed out to me when I started poking at things. But that hasn’t stopped rumors from stirring. The first of which was that Councilor-at-Large Moe Bergman is thinking about running for mayor. “Rumors are always out there as you know,” said Bergman, when asked about the buzz. “I’ve always supported Mayor Petty and if he is truly committed to another term as mayor I would support him again. If not – that’s another story, as I imagine many others would say/feel as well!” Indeed. Another bit of gossip was that District 5 Councilor Matt Wally is eyeing the at-large seat being left behind by the departing Gary Rosen. “I can’t express enough how much I enjoy my role as the District 5 Councilor,” says Wally, when I posed the question to him. “Similar to prior election years, over the holidays I will have discussions with my family, friends and supporters to determine how I can best serve the city going forward.” Which is not exactly a denial. Of course, if you’re trying to trade in a District seat for an at-Large one, there’s probably another office on your mind, too. But that’s another column.

ROOM FOR NEW FACES?: The 2019 election drew a pretty sizable crop of candidates, but there were very little changes to either the City Council or the School Committee. This time, is seems, campaigns are starting to form early. “If you’re a newcomer you start early because you want to catch people’s attention” says Etel Haxhiaj, who was a close runner-up in the 2019 election, and who has confirmed she’ll be running again for an at-Large seat. “It’s going to be challenging … it’s a very challenging world to raise funds, especially if it’s a crowded field, and I think people are making those calculations early.” Certainly, there are a few nascent campaigns. Thu Nguyen, who describes themselves as a proud Vietnamese refugee, an artist, a youth worker and the first non-binary candidate for Worcester City Council At-Large, announced their intent to run early, and Yenni Desroches confirmed her run for the District 5 seat in a message. We know of one other candidate, but that person – while confirming the intention to run privately – has not made a public announcement. Perhaps the earliest newcomer to declare her intentions was Johanna Hampton-Dance, who is gearing up to challenge District 2 Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson. “I chose to run for a District seat opposed to at-Large,” says Hampton-Dance, “because it felt like the right thing to do. So many neighborhoods within the district need attention and I felt that it would be better to not spread myself too thin and put my full efforts into my surrounding communities.” She says, “I started my fundraising efforts early because the vast majority of my funding is coming for everyday residents of our beautiful city. We are currently in a pandemic and lots of people are in tough spots. Without the backing of unions, I’m relying on the community and grassroots to help me bring this one home. So an early start was necessary to get together as many donations as possible.” When asked how she felt about having a challenger this early in the race, Mero-Carlson replied, “At this point my focus is representing the people in District 2, as you aware this has been a very difficult year for so many. As Chair of Economic Development in the city my focus has also been working with the mayor and manager on moving the city forward in challenging times.” And so, it seems, the game is afoot.

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