For my 400th review (and probably final "milestone review" in Boston), I'm going home…read more From about the age of 2 until I went to college, and then brief periods thereafter between college and grad school, and grad school and job, I lived here. Longmeadow is the very definition of suburbia: small, quaint town with a few schools, stores, and other random thingies that make it another part of suburban America. Yet it's much more New England suburbia than anything else, and suburbia that's been in massive flux. It's a town where until the late 80s/early 90s, national chains were nonexistant, but now have basically eaten all of the small stores save for a few regionals (Big Y and Friendly's, though the latter could also be called national) or small niche stores. The Movie Shops became a Subway after Blockbuster gouged it. Ryan Drug was eaten by CVS, which then later ate Bliss Pharmacy across the street (whose space was then eaten by Big Y), and Starbucks, well, Starbucks didn't really eat anything. But the Community Market became a bank. That wasn't cool. They had good cookies :(. Socially, it's not too exciting. There are no bars except for the Hu Ke Lau's bar, and really, that's not much of a bar (the bars are across the border in Enfield, CT). In terms of events, other than stuff related to the high school, not much is usually going on (though the small confines (9 sq mi) probably make it tough to have multiple regular events. The town itself seems to be doing okay, though facing the same difficulties that other places are. It's quite well off, something that can get a little grating if you're the middle class kid from an upper class town. The schools and facilities are excellent, and every Memorial Day Weekend, there's a festival on the Green in the middle of town, holding onto Colonial tradition while also moving into the 21st Century. My overall Longmeadow experience is not nearly as bad as I initially remembered it. I hated high school, though I think everyone hated high school. Generally, it's that "nice place you can raise kids in" sort of place that TV shows and sappy songs talk about, save for the fact I outgrew it. There isn't as much here as one would hope, and it's disconnected a bit from the world outside: yes there's a highway, but Springfield, despite being next door, feels like another world away. Overall, Longmeadow is a large part of my life. I had good days and I had bad days, but it made me just as much as any other experience made me. The town did facilitate my way in life through the public school system, though they did also find a way to forget to send me my absentee ballot in '06. Just as Boston is currently a part of me, and Chapel Hill will be, Longmeadow was and still is. :)

If you're driving eastbound on Route 190 (Main Street) toward the town of Somers, you'll probably…read morenotice Somers' very handsome brick fire station with its white pillars and red trim. But if you look very carefully, you may do a double take at the apparent sight of a very short fireman all decked out in a yellow and orange suit, carrying an axe in both hands. It's not an optical illusion. What you saw was a diminutive full color statue of a uniformed firefighter standing on a stone base. It's a monument donated by the Women's Auxiliary of the Somers Volunteer Fire Department in 1988. The fireman stands on vigil guarding the station, he is located in a grassy patch between the front doors of the building and the huge overhead doors of the garage where the fire trucks are parked. He'll sure grab your attention as you drive by.......

Adding TSA Pre-Check to an already fairly easy airport to navigate is genius. More time than not…read morethere are few passengers in this line and that fact alone doesn't trigger some sort of reason for them to start routing others through so it remains clear for those of us that applied and got the pre-screening approved. This is truly the best example of designated "expert traveler" lane.

These folks are amazing!! They understand customer service better than those in a customer service…read moreposition! Pleasure to 'walk through'. Newark and LAX, please start coming here for training!

I was headed into Stafford to photograph the city marker at Town Hall, when I saw this on my right…read more I didn't know it was there, but when I saw the weathered steel beam in front of the fire station, I immediately knew what it was. This 9/11 monument consists of a 4-sided concrete base and each side of the base contains a plaque. One plaque is dedicated to the 2 Stafford residents who were members of the Flight 175 crew killed when their plane struck the South Tower on 9/11/01. One plaque is dedicated to the 343 members of the New York Fire Department killed in the line of duty on 9/11/01. One plaque is dedicated to all the victim of terrorism killed on that day in New York City, Washington, DC, and Shanksville, PA. One plaque lists the memorial committee and sponsors. The memorial was completed at 10:28 AM on September 11, 2011 when a steel beam from the 20th floor of the North Tower was secured into the base to mark the precise time of the first plane hitting that Tower ten years ago. This is the third 9/11 memorial I have seen with a steel beam from the towers. It brought back a flood of memories.

Oh demon alcohol, Sad memories I cannot recall,…read moreWho thought I would say, Damn it all and blow it all, Oh demon alcohol (The Kinks) Not only was Henry Daniel Cogswell a millionaire dentist, but he was a crusading teetotaler who thought that building public drinking fountains all over town would help curb the public from the evil temptations of demon alcohol. In 1883, Cogswell donated this fountain to the town of Vernon. Of course, it was topped with a statue of himself. In one hand he held a glass of water, and in the other he held the Temperance Pledge. Seemed that Cogswell was pretty serious about the evils of alcohol. Turns out there were over 30 bars in Vernon at the time, and those that supported them didn't exactly see eye to eye with Cogswell. So it was no surprise when in the middle of the night, someone took down Cogswell's statue, liberated it from its pedestal, and heaved it into Shenipsit Lake. The local constable fished it out of the lake and set it up again, only to see it disappear once more! It was missing until 1908, when it mysteriously appeared propped up against a downtown building. It was put into storage and melted down into scrap during World War II. The fountain had a stone urn in place instead of the statue for years. In 2005, a replica statue was dedicated and it was returned to its rightful spot atop the fountain for a few years. Recently, it was removed, and again replaced with an urn. The replacement statue is being repaired for rust damage, some cracks, and a missing right hand. Cogswell's message still appears to be meeting resistance over 100 years after it was first broadcast. All I can say is "I'll drink to that"!

Great Fire Department which operates as an all volunteer Department led by Chief Tom Snyder.read more

On December 22, 1999, Holyoke Police Officer John A. DiNapoli was shot to death in his vehicle when…read morean assailant fired ten bullets at him. This memorial honors him and two other Holyoke Officers, John P. Driscoll (1922) and James E. Headquarters.Gatzounas (1977), who died in the line of duty. The memorial is located in the Holyoke Heritage State Park just across the street from the Holyoke Police Department Headquarters. It's a beautiful monument portraying DiNapoli sitting on a bench between a young girl on his right and a young boy on his left. He is talking to the girl and has his hand on her back. The young boy is looking up at the officer and has a pile of school books on the bench. The front of the monument displays a Holyoke police badge. The back of the monument has the city shield and two engraved panels.

Very nice tribute to a fallen officer. I was a teenager when he was killed and remember that day…read morewell. I had met him on a couple of occasions and he was always a really nice guy. Sad that his life ended in this way. The monument is aptly placed facing the police station, in front of a parking lot where many cops park their vehicles. So you get the view they see each day they come to work.

A statue commemorating Jennifer Carter Gray, a 15 year old girl who tragically lost her life while…read moreriding a bicycle. She was born on May 26, 1971 and died on June 17, 1986. Although the statue is not of Jennifer, it is to showcase her youth, positivity, and free spirit. The artist who created the statue is Wolfgang Behl and it was dedicated on September 1988. The statue is located in the courtyard of the Simsbury library. A reminder of a young girl who loved to read. It's a sad story but I'm happy to see her memory lives.

Absolutely Terrible! Stopped in to get documents notarized…read more The woman at the desk was having a social conversation with another employee. Asked if there was a notary there. Her response was that we need to make an appointment! All appointments are gone for the day! There was no one else in there! It takes all of 2 minutes to do it! Thanks for nothing! Does anyone do their job anymore! Totally Lazy! No Surprise! The place SUCKS!