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It's like Halloween tonight
By adamg on Mon, 11/02/2009 - 6:09pm
Only instead of kids at the door, it's politicians on the phone. John Kerry robo-called in support of his good friend Ayanna Pressley. Not one minute after I sat back down on the couch, Ayanna her-robo-self called. I hope we don't run out of candy - or my wife's patience.
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Comments
Same here
After I managed to get by all the sign people on Centre St. and squeeze by the news people, Flaherty & the ever-present Doug Bennett at Roche's, I came home to calls from Flaherty, Pressley & Kerry. I'm still waiting for my call from Bill Clinton!
Like Disney World?
That has got to be one hell of a Roche's. It's probably top-ten mentions on UH, don't you think?
I'm gonna get the wife and put the kids in the back of the station wagon and drive down there next weekend.
You'd just be confused and disappointed
It really only makes sense if you're in tune with your inner Westie. Shopping there is as much of a social see-and-be-seen thing as the mere collection of items for the week's meals.
Yeah, they bring your stuff out to your car, but once you turn past the olive bar and the bakery, it's just another supermarket. If you want more selection, in fact, you go to the Spring Street Shaw's. If you want to catch up with all your neighbors once a week, you go to Roche Bros. Wife and kidlet, far more sociable than me, tend to go there, whereas I'm kind of a loser hermit, so of course I prefer the quiet, soulless anonymity of the Shaw's.
You've captured them well.
I end up going to Shaw's during the lonely last hour before they close for that "one item we should get tonight so my wife doesn't have to go get it tomorrow morning" type of thing.
(An aside: I feel like the employees standing outside smoking are looking at me skeptically, in case I might be one of those inconsiderate fools who rushes in at 10 minutes 'til closing to wander around & buy a whole ton of stuff. Not me, fellows! ;-) )
It works like this for us: Roche's for something out of the ordinary, Shaw's during the week or if there're great sales, Stop & Shop for a full, weekend family shopping trip.
I've yet to warm to the mega Stop & Shop in Dedham
I dunno why, can't put my finger on it, I just don't prefer the place - except when they send me coupons for $10 off a $50 order, in which case I like it just fine, like for roughly eight of the past 12 weeks (or if I need my Five Guys fix). If I need a dose of a supermarket that stretches from here to Rhode Island, I'll head to the Dedham Star.
They're complementary in some weird way.
Stop-Shop deli/produce section is a zoo, but $10 is $10. It does seem to take longer to do shopping there, for sure, since it's such a big building. Shaw's is more familiar and employees friendlier.
My wife can't resist the $10 bribe....
...but prefers not to go there otherwise. ;~}
The next three weeks, my heart belongs to the Chestnut Hill Star
$5 off a $50 order - I'll live with it :-).
Bad smell in the cereal aisle
You might not have noticed it, but that's what it is. It makes the whole place creepy. It smells like somebody spilled blood there and didn't clean up well.
Love the self checkout
The best thing about the Stop & Shop is the self checkout. Stop & Shop, Shaws & Roche's are about the same distance for me, but I shop at Roche's 90% of the time, purely for the customer service. They are just nicer there.
Stop & Shop is good when I'm out walking near there & want to get just a few things. Shaws is depressing, can't put my finger on it, but the workers just seem miserable most of the time and the store always feels messy or dirty or something.
The Shaw's is much older,
The Shaw's is much older, which probably explains the grunginess. I can't settle on a grocery store. There's a part of me that likes the Village Market's walkability, but the prices tend a bit high. Roache Bros. similarly suffers on price, though it is gorgeous inside. Still, the parking lot gives me homocidal urges. Shaw's rarely has ever item I need. So basically, I usually try to get most things at Shaw's but still end up hitting Roache Bros. or the Village Market.
My new idea is a complete strategy change involving a trip to Dedham -- BJs for bulk groceries, then Whole Foods on the way home for produce. For anybody who has not yet visted the new Whole Foods at Legacy Place, it is spectacular. I long ago stopped buying meat from anybody but Tony on Washington St.
So far, I've received
So far, I've received robocalls from Bill Clinton on Saturday and a call from former District Attorney Ralph Martin today. Both for Menino.
Here's what they had to say:
"Hello, This is Bill Clinton. I'm calling to ask you to vote on Tuesday for my friend, Mayor Tom Menino. Tom knows what it means to give a person a good job, an affordable home, and a quality school. Mayor Menino works hard to break down barriers. He's done a terrific job as Mayor. Now he needs your help to keep moving Boston forward. So use your right to vote on Tuesday and please vote for our friend Democrat, Tom Menino. Thank you."
"Hi. This is a former District Attorney Ralph Martin calling to ask for your vote tomorrow for Mayor Tom Menino. Mayor Menino has worked tirelessly to make this city better. In the next few hours, you may hear some desperate and untrue attacks from the Mayor’s opponent. Please don’t let 30 seconds of negative ads turn around the years of solid work within our community. On Election Day, Let's vote against negative campaigning and for a proven ally. Vote for Tom Menino on Tuesday. Thank you."
Out here in the wilds of Watertown...
... I've received two robocalls for Clyde Younger (town council president) and two for Michael Hanlon (councillor at large).
And 15 minutes ago, one actual live phonebank call for Tony Palomba. Which caller asked for us "by name"!
Guess who's getting the Toaster household's vote.
[We both swore that we'd quit voting for the robocallers. Perhaps folks should get the hint.]
No, Marilyn Devaney didn't run again. Or we'd have voted for her again. The town council meetings are gonna be VERY boring next year.
Every candidate does live
Every candidate does live phonebanking. Every single one. They called you personally because you fit into a stricter set of criteria; one that warranted the person, as opposed to the automated call.
That's it. Palomba's not special. You just fit whatever parameters his campaign manager dreamed up. Other voters, most assuredly, got robocalls from him. And if not, it's only because he couldn't afford it.
Possibly...
... though I'd be a little surprised if we fit any particular criteria beside "clearly Cantabrigian" (HerrDoktor, not me).
I've been phonebanked before; I've never been robocalled in favor of a candidate in a local election in either Somerville or Watertown before. The most I ever got in Somerville was the "please go vote tomorrow" robocall, and that wasn't every time.
There were also far fewer doorhangers this year than previous local elections -- I've been collecting them on the kitchen island, and there's only 7, when there are 8 candidates for the at-large seat and 2 candidates for library trustee.
At this point, I remember fondly the day when Joe Curtatone, running for his first at-large seat in Somerville, rang my 2nd-floor bell and spent ten minutes talking with me. Of course, he's Mayor Joe, now.
i'm curiuos to know how they
i'm curiuos to know how they figure that out about me, if i've never given my cell phone number out publicly.... In 10 years of cell-only-dom i've had maybe 1 or 2 telemarketer calls, so I think i've kept the lid on it pretty well. So far i've only been called by Menino people the night of the primary, which had me incensed because they must have pulled it from city records (i have called the mayor's hotline and left my number before) but I called and complained and it has not happened again.
So what's the over / under
I'm surprised there's not more chatter about tomorrow's race. I'm excited!! I was lit-dropping in the South End and saw several candidates' literature all over the place - mostly Keanneally (me), along with a smattering of Pressley, Arroyo, and Gonzalez lit (tip to candidates: no one likes it when you stick stuff under their windshield wipers).
Tito Jackson's people must have been out in force; there were several streets that had been covered in depth - several pieces of lit at each address.
I predict a Flaherty win!
Also, Connolly, Murphy, Arroyo, and ... Kenneally. All the robocalls in the world can't compete against a life-long city resident with ties to the community and experience at BOTH a city- and federal-level. (Andrew worked for Joe Moakley, traveled to Belfast, has two masters' degrees, and worked for Mike Flaherty and Maura Hennigan.)
The race will be won in the outer-boroughs. That's why you saw all the candidates out in Westy, today and over the weekend.
Get your predictions in!
Westie powa!
My only prediction: Doug Bennett will not be on the city council come Jan. 1.
I'd like to agree with you on Kenneally, I think he's a smart guy who knows the city, but we have to see what happens with the Menino coattails (you know he's helping out some folks) - even though Kenneally is NOT a Floon candidate, he's run his own race, you know his past work for Flaherty is going to be held against him in some quarters.
Aside from that, though, the quirkiness lover in me wants to see Arroyo, Kenneally, Pressley and Connolly win so we can have four at-large city councilors with at least one set of double letters in their names (I suppose for that scenario, I'd have to go for Bennett over Arroyo, so we could have three of the four councilors with two double sets of letters, but no, I just can't bring myself to vote for somebody who gives the opening speech at a Teabagger rally).