Big Freddy was tapping his morning newspaper with one hand while reaching for his coffee cup with the other when I joined him.
"What's this all about?" I asked.
"Idle thoughts," Freddy said.
"About what?" I asked.
In World War II, he tamed America's allies and conquered its adversaries. As a conservative college president, he defended liberal professors caught in a virulent red scare. As NATO commander, he projected strength without projecting force. In the White House, he presided over the sort of peace and prosperity that today's presidential candidates can't plausibly promise.
So there I was, sitting on a comfortable bench at the Registry of Motor Vehicles office at the Liberty Tree Mall and reading Robert Kelly's 2011 book on "the closest presidential elections," which I'd been saving for election year 2012.
Welcome news arrived this week that will go a long way toward fixing a big part of what ails Plum Island.
The Army Corps of Engineers has set aside $3.5 million for emergency repairs to the island's south jetty, the half-mile-long granite jetty that has contributed to erosion on the island. The money will be used to rebuild the slumping jetty to its designed height, which will prevent currents from washing through its breached sections.
Having lived to what was once known as "a great age," I find myself dealing with what I hadn't seen coming. It wasn't there when I was born, and it wasn't there when I came home from the great war more than a half century ago.
© 2012 Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. ·
CNHI Classified Advertising Network ·
CNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2012. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope. Some parts of our site may require
you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
Privacy Policy |
AP News Registry privacy policy
Terms and Conditions
Advertiser Index
NewburyportNews.com, Newburyport, MA 23 Liberty St. Newburyport, MA 01950
Sandusky on having to stay inside and people turning on him
Wookie Sensation
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Woolly Mammoth Caught on Camera?
Sandusky makes a statement
Did JLo 'Assault' Marc Anthony on Camera?
Christie Brinkley's Runway Slip
Toddler forced to run half-naked in snow
Halle Wants to Leave the Country
Northern Lights shine above earth
Plane makes perfect belly landing
Kris Jenner New Face of Arousal Oils
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
Trending: Zip it!
What's in Steve Jobs' FBI file?
SJP Talks About Replacing Demi Moore in 'Lovelace'
Over 200 dead dolphins wash ashore
Lady Gaga's Battle With Bulimia
Evacuation at Sea
Osama Bin Laden Zombie Movie: "Osombie" Teaser Released
