I Suck At Going To Lowell

On Sunday, I found out that there is a lot to like about Lowell. For anyone curious, "There is a lot to like about Lowell" was once the slogan used by the "All-America City" of Lowell. To me, I find it strange that a city needs to promote itself. It almost makes it seem like the city needs to repair its shady self-image or something.

I don't know if Lowell has a shady past or anything, but if someone said, "you know, there is a lot to like about Mike... He's an all-american guy..." What would you think? You'd think something is wrong with Mike, right? (Or that he's ugly. Or possibly both.) My thoughts exactly.

Needless to say, I suck at going to Lowell. Karen's aunt (Denise) was having people over for a cookout. And it so happens that Denise lives in Lowell. It is Denise's daughter, Karlene (and her husband Tommy) whom Karen and I generally see during the New Year... along with some other family traditions.

Anyway, as usual the food was delicious. It seems like it has been a long while since my in-laws got together. Granted, we got together last week to celebrate Karen's grandmother's (Nana) birthday. Last week, however, was very brief.

Whether true or not, it seemed like in the past, Karen and I went to a lot of family gatherings. That was, of course, back when Nana was not in the nursing home. Since Nana entered the nursing home, the family get-togethers have been few and far between. (I'm obviously not complaining.) Of course, that's just my opinion.

Regardless, it was nice to attend a family gathering again yesterday. And as it's my nature, I may have instigated a little. Nana's sister (Mary) actually came for the cookout as well.

As long as I have known Mary, she has never had a great memory. At one time, she used to refer to people as "Whosywhatsit". It's like seeing someone who you think you should know, but can't remember their name... and when they say "hi"... you point to them and say "hey... you..." I sometimes fear that I will become Mary because my memory is equally terrible. Unfortunately, her memory has gotten worse with age.

So naturally, I had a little fun with Mary yesterday. Mental note: don't anger the elderly. Mary, after forgetting who I was after telling her minutes before, asked if I were in high school. As much as I enjoyed having a youthful look, I told her that I was in kindergarten. She didn't like that I was teasing her. I was relatively sure that she would forget everything I said in a matter of minutes anyway. In fact, I was banking on the fact that she would not even remember who I was after a few minutes. But when I was teasing her, she sure did give me a nasty look.

All right, so maybe I'm no boy scout. But for the record, I did already tell her that I had graduated college moments before she asked me if I were in high school. I was just having fun.

Anyway, it was a good time at Denise's... even if she does live in Lowell. I found out, by the way, that Lowell has a "Plan E" form of government in which the city's councilors elect a mayor amongst themselves (and not by the city's residents). I found that quite peculiar.

The topic of government came up because Karen thought Tommy would make a great mayor of Lowell, much in the same way that I think my friend (Cass) would make a great mayor of Quincy. By the way, vote Cass in the next election for Quincy's mayor! And for those of you who do not live in Quincy, it's okay to still vote for Cass.

After all, it turns out that the current Mayor (Koch) received votes from non-Quincy residents. Shady? Most definitely. Of course, I still have to convince Cass to run for mayor... which could be problematic. But I can dream... (And for the record, I think Tommy would make a great mayor of Lowell as well.)