Even in hospital bed, Tom Menino still worried about city

Mr. Mayor.

Best wishes, Mr. Mayor. I wasn't always your biggest supporter, but you had the interests of the city and its residents at heart.

BUR was reporting that he was diagnosed with advanced cancer in February. I'm assuming that he knew long before about the cancer, but it just wasn't made public until that time.

... yet Tom Menino did so much good for this city, after years of being sort of meh. He and his family will remain in my prayers.

Really hating cancer right now... :(

Menino as mayor cared about the city in so much as he cared about what he could do for himself that benefited the city. In a symbiotic way, what was good for Menino was good for the city, so in that way we're better off that he was at the helm for so long. However, there was plenty that was good for Menino that wasn't good for the city and we got that too. It was always a balancing act and in the end it's pretty evident that we came out ahead fortunately, but it's hard to tell whether that's by his machination or just dumb luck on our parts.

Either way, Menino as a person cares about people and people care about Menino. Sometimes that definitely showed through his actions as mayor more than anything else. How could it not.

I hope for his sake, and his family's and friends', that his inevitable passing is as calm and easy a transition as it can be.

I heard this same comment on WBUR and it made me smile and cry both, and I've been crying since I heard the news yesterday. Of course he's worried about road flooding, etc,

For those who had the privilege of working for Mayor Menino (me included), we know that his love for the city trumped everything except his love of family. He and Angela gave Boston the best years of his life, without regret, ambition for higher office, or desire to cash out. How many of us could say the same.

real boston. my sister was a neighborhood friend of the mayors son and daughter in law. angela menino took her turn driving the kids to school just like any other nana in the neighborhood. real boston people.

When Tom Menino left his hospital bed after the Marathon bombing and all of the sudden was on TV propped up by a cane, I tried to imagine the short conversation between the Mayor and his Doctors about his leaving the hospital early.

I just went out to walk the dog here in Readville. There is a police cruiser posted outside Menino's house. That's only happened a couple of times since he left office. There are also a couple of reporters in SUVs idling across the street (at midnight).