Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan is reminding those struggling with addiction, those who care about someone struggling and members of the public about the availability of Narcan and how to access virtual support amid an uptick in overdose deaths. In Middlesex County, between October 14, 2020 and November 16, 2020, there were17 overdose deaths, six ​of which occurred over last weekend.

As the holiday gift shopping season intensifies, it’s important to remember that our local merchants are depending on us all to do our best to shop local. With the challenges they have dealt with over the course of the year, many are struggling to stay in business. Let’s help them to get through this trying time and be here for us in days, months and years to come.

— Photos by Bobbie Toner

An Oak Street house in Somerville was blown to one side, threatening damage to a neighboring home, as a powerful storm hit the region Monday evening. The house, which has been undergoing renovation, leaned precariously to one side as the weather system blasted through the area.

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Leftovers, it’s what’s for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. But in this case, breakfast! When I went to fetch the eggs and milk for the French toast, I stumbled upon the eggnog and decided to use it instead. Let’s just say the final result did not disappoint. The combination with the sliced almonds and syrup are a match made in heaven. Give it a try.

Here comes the holiday shopping season, and we are ready to embrace the opportunity to celebrate with the spirit enthusiasm and optimism, in spite of the trials and tribulations we have all faced in the past several months.

We know how to lift ourselves, to rise to the occasion and make the most of what we have, in spite of whatever challenges may confront us.

Socially distanced volunteers lined up in the rain to help Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services with Thanksgiving Meals on Wheels deliveries on November 24. The 69 volunteers delivered roughly 550 meals.

By Nathan Lamb

Nearly 70 volunteers braved a rainy November morning to help Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services (SCES) make Thanksgiving Meals on Wheels deliveries on November 24. 

SCES delivers a Thanksgiving meal – with turkey, mashed potatoes, vegetables and pumpkin pie – to local older adults who want one each year. The program usually gets around 320 requests, but this year there were almost 550, said SCES Nutrition Director Meghan Ostrander.

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Pier Gustafson writes on his website, “My studio in the real world is rather like the studio here in the virtual world – a bit on the busy side with lots of things going on. I may be researching a map in this corner, painting a sign-in board in that. My drawing table may be covered with sketches for a monogram which must be moved to make way for a stack of envelopes which need to be addressed.”

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Our featured poet writes: “My name is Gina Ingrando and I am a freshman English major at Endicott College. My concentration is creative writing, and it is one of my favorite things to do. It is also my favorite elective at the moment. I am currently having another poem published in a poetry collection called Together. My biggest goal is to get my poems out there and have people read and enjoy what I love to do.”

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

By William C. Shelton

The poet Federico Garcia Lorca wrote that La Rambla was the only street in the world that he wished would never end. It is a linear plaza running three-quarters of a mile, from Barcelona’s center to the Mediterranean.