Reality Bites by James Norton for the week of July 19

Bridge over troubled train tracks – doesn’t ease my mind

Let me just get it out of the way and admit that I‚Äôm a nerd – sometimes.  Don‚Äôt get me wrong – I have really cool stuff and I live a good life – but I also seriously enjoy some more ‚Äúnerdy‚Äù type things like movies, art, writing and computer/console gaming.

  I mention the computer/console gaming for a reason – I have been playing an online ‚Äúwar‚Äù type game on the PS2 console for more than a couple of years now ‚Äì with men, women and kids of all ages, races and locations across the country.
  Anyone who knows me knows that I am very proud of where I have lived my whole life ‚Äì but honestly it has become increasingly difficult to actually tell anyone online where I come from, because lately I have been getting quite a number of people who either know Somerville for some asinine reason (you pick the topic ‚Äì missing money, reality television, gay marriage and so on and so on) and they give a hearty chuckle or they just get a kick out of laughing at Massachusetts in general.
  I am starting to wonder, especially after recent events, that if we didn‚Äôt have our (mostly recent) sports teams, JFK and that minor little thing that happened 230 years ago (The American Revolution), we would be laughed out of the union. 
  The joking standards (for people across the country) as far as Massachusetts is concerned has shifted from liberals with a Republican Governor, Whitey Bulger and the Big Dig to, well, I guess they haven‚Äôt shifted much over the years have they?  I may have been too young to personally remember, but I am convinced that it all started with those images of Teddy in a neck collar walking out of Mary Jo‚Äôs funeral Mass 37 years ago this Saturday.
  Every decade since has its defining embarrassments around here:  1970‚Äôs = Taxachusetts, 1980‚Äôs = Mike Dukakis in a tank (and the beginning of The Big Dig), 1990‚Äôs = where in the world is Whitey Bulger, ultra-liberal Democrats with a Republican Governor and The Big Dig, 2000‚Äôs = repeat 1990‚Äôs but put The Big Dig first on the list this time, please.
  Can you imagine how they‚Äôd laugh if they knew about some of the silliness that happens here in our little big city every day?
  This city needs to get itself collectively back on track.  Mayor Joe is doing a good job, but it‚Äôs not enough.  We need to heal as a community and come together on issues.  Yeah, I know I‚Äôve ranted about some of this before, and I will certainly have to rant about some of it again in the future.
  I find it difficult to swallow that in 2006, we can‚Äôt solve the mystery of who took the money at Traffic and Parking, why there‚Äôs no reasonable explanation as to why money was kept in a drawer in a metal desk that was sent to a dump that, oh yeah, doesn‚Äôt take metal, why we are still fighting over Assembly Square even after it‚Äôs too late (oh yes, that‚Äôs a whole other Reality Bites) and could we please keep our city out of the national news for stupid reasons for just a year or two?
When it comes to getting rid of the old perceptions about our community, the reality is that bad news is truly bad news ‚Äì plain and simple.  This isn‚Äôt politics 101, Teddy, people remember the stupid things that have happened when they‚Äôre looking for a city to move to ‚Äì a city to call home.
  I am not na√Øve ‚Äì I know it‚Äôs hard to explain to ‚Äúold school‚Äù Somervillians that for this city to survive in the future, it needs to evolve through smart, efficient long term planning ‚Äì on multiple levels.  We need to become the next Brookline (for example) or else we will see nothing but frustration as a community in the future ‚Äì coupled with disillusionment and disconnection from everyone around us.
  Back a decade ago I tried to start talking about condo conversion and how it plays a role in the future of this city, more recently I‚Äôve tried to sound the rally cry to come together and form some of the community action groups that were so prevalent in the 1970‚Äôs locally.  It takes more than one or two or ten people to make changes ‚Äì start sending emails to each other, have conversations with people when you see them at the local store or at a local eatery ‚Äì do it soon ‚Äì do it before its too late.