RichardHowe.com – Voices from Lowell & Beyond

Seen & Heard: Vol. 6 

Welcome to this week’s edition of Seen and Heard, in which I catalog the most interesting things I’ve seen, heard and read over the previous seven days. Because the Olympics and the Super Bowl both came this week, this edition is exclusively about TV:

TV: Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony – With the six hour time difference between Europe and here, and my fortunate status as a retiree, I was able to watch the entire opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics live on television Friday afternoon. I think I’ve only ever watched the full opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, and that was on tape because I was still working then, so that’s my sole basis for comparison. This show was hosted by Terry Gannon of NBC sports and Mary Carillo, a former professional tennis player and a longtime NBC Olympic broadcaster. She was a late replacement for Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie whose mother went missing in Arizona last week. Gannon and Carillo were joined by former Olympic snowboarder Shaun White. Much of the show was visually stunning and highlighted Italian history and culture, although I’m guessing at that since the hosts didn’t do more than read brief snippets from a script on those topics. I don’t know if the producers felt the average viewer would be bored by too many cultural references but I felt like I missed a lot. The same was true with the outfits the athletes wore as they paraded. I assume there is both cultural significance to the national athlete uniforms and also an attempt to promote national brands, but I recall little commentary on any of that by the announcers which likely reflected their collective background in sports. (The American athletes looked stunning in long white woolen coats, white pants, and knit red, white and blue turtleneck sweaters, hats and mittens, all made by Ralph Lauren.) The TV hosts were certainly knowledgeable about sports, but there is plenty of time over the next few weeks for sports talk. To be fair, Guthrie’s eleventh hour crisis had to disrupt the plan, so she might have added some non-sports dialogue to the broadcast. The two singers I recall were Mariah Carey who came near the beginning and Andrea Bocelli near the end. Both were good. They are global superstars so the expectations were high. Perhaps the most notable feature of this opening ceremony is that it was the first in Olympic history to be held simultaneously at multiple venues. Athletes paraded at four geographically dispersed sites which was good for the athletes since they could all participate in the opening parade but not great for the viewer because it created a strobe-like jumping from one shot to another without providing time to soak it all in. 

TV: Winter Olympics, week 1 – When it comes to watching sports on TV, my philosophy is shaped by ABC Wide World of Sports which ran on Saturday afternoons for 37 seasons, from 1961 until 1998, and especially its opening narration, “Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport . . . the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat.” You can’t get more globe-spanning than the Olympics (except, perhaps the World Cup), so I try to watch as much of the games as I can. On Saturday, I watched the figure skating team event; women’s ice hockey, US v Finland; and men’s “big air” snowboarding. On Sunday, with competition from the Celtics v Knicks and the Super Bowl, I only caught the teams figure skating competition which was very good with the US winning the gold medal. On Tuesday, I saw more figure skating. My heavy menu of figure skating had more to do with the randomness of my viewing schedule than an intentional selection, although figure skating is always very dramatic. 

TV: Super Bowl LX – I’m a casual football fan who likes to watch an exciting game regardless of which team is involved. If pushed, I would choose the Patriots as my favorite team, but not because of any deep affection to the organization, although most of the players on this year’s roster seem likeable, down to earth, and allied with each other. As for the game itself, I turned it off after the halftime show with the score 9 to 0 in Seattle’s favor. From watching past Super Bowls in their entirety, I knew that each half can be like a separate game so I didn’t feel a Seahawks victory was certain, but when I awoke on Monday and checked my phone, I was not surprised that Seattle had won. That’s because in the first half, the Seattle defense was stifling. I think every Patriots possession ended with a punt. The offense was unable to generate any momentum and was unable to keep the Seattle pass rush away from the quarterback. However, the Patriots defense matched that effort which kept the score so close. I suspect the key to the game was that Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold did not make any costly mistakes. So anytime the home team loses, it’s a disappointment, but thinking back to last summer, the best most fans could have hoped for from this team would be a winning record. To make it to the Super Bowl was an unimaginable-in-summertime bonus. 

TV: Super Bowl Commercials – As mentioned above, I went to bed after watching the Bad Bunny performance so not only did I miss the second half of football, I also missed some of the best Super Bowl commercials. In the time I did watch, I was underwhelmed by the commercials which are such a big part of the Super Bowl experience. Then on Monday morning upon reading a few “Best Super Bowl Commercials” articles with links to the videos, I realized the best commercials were shown during the second half of the game and the “worst” included many of those I saw live. Two of the best involved topics that are often shunned in the national conversation. The first, titled “relax your tight end” featured many of the top NFL tight ends, both past and present, in relaxed settings. Then former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Ariens emerged as the spokesperson for the product being advertised, a simple PSA blood test from Novartis that helps detect prostate cancer (of which Ariens is a survivor). Historically, testing for that illness involved an uncomfortable and invasive examination by a physician that led many men to avoid the test. In recent decades, a simple blood test has been used for prostate cancer screening but the historic hesitation to delve into that area persists with catastrophic results since if prostate cancer is caught earlier, the treatment is highly effective, but if it is missed it can spread elsewhere with predictable consequences. So this not only advertised a product but also was an effective public service. The other “top commercial” that touched on an untouchable area was for Raisin Bran. It featured William Shatner who shortened his name to William Shat. “Shat” is the ancient past tense of “Sh*t” which is what the commercial was about. Well, it was about how consuming more fiber of the type found in Raisin Bran better regulates your bodily functions in a healthy way. Like the PSA commercial, this one used humor to address an important topic that is often avoided. As for the others, go to YouTube and search “best 2026 Super Bowl commercials” to see more.

TV: Super Bowl Halftime Show – As I’ve grown older and my entertainment tastes have changed, I’m less likely to say, “I don’t like” something and instead assume that if I don’t like something that is popular with many others, I must be missing something. That was the case with Bad Bunny, who before this week I’d heard of but never knowingly seen or heard. That changed last week when he won Album of the Year at the Grammys and, while he did not perform at that show, he was frequently on camera. That introduction plus the knowledge that he would be the star performer of the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show set me on a crash course to watch some Bad Bunny videos on YouTube. That he sings exclusively in Spanish was not a concern; it just made me once again regret not putting more effort into my three years of high school Spanish. As for this year’s Super Bowl show, I enjoyed it while watching live, but was left with a strong desire to learn more about the many cultural and historic markers embedded within. Overall, it reminded me of the musical (on stage and in the movies) “In the Heights” by Lin-Manuel Miranda, a celebration of Latino life and culture in Brooklyn, New York. Finally, as is the case so often, there is a strong Lowell connection to the halftime show but I’ll wait until this Sunday’s newsletter to point that out.

Having a Ball

Having a Ball – (PIP #96)

By Louise Peloquin

Have you recognized any names among the 100 + listed below distributing tickets for the Lowell Centennial Ball?

L’Etoile – February 20, 1926

TICKETS FOR THE CENTENNIAL BALL

__________

On the evening of March 1, admission to the Auditorium will require tickets. – The ball committee, the directors, the City Council, the mayor and the executive committee will distribute them.

__________

     The centennial ball committee has been busy for over a week and has already raised great interest by naming the directors who will have the tickets in hand.

     The ball will take place in the two Auditorium halls. However, it will be impossible to accommodate everyone planning to attend. Since police officers have never been given the task of refusing people when rooms are full, the committee decided to use admission tickets. They have already been printed and will be distributed by the ball committee members, the directors, the City Council, the mayor and the executive committee. Directors and half of the ball committee members have them. The others will have them on Tuesday morning at the latest.

     The ball promises to be the gala event of the year. Formal attire will not be required to attend. This is optional. The celebration is meant to be a birthday party and the program was prepared accordingly. A large cake with the dates 1826-1926 will set the tone. Professionals and amateurs will perform traditional and modern dances. An orchestra will play. Late into the night, paper streamers will be festooned around the hall. That is part of the March 1 celebration.

     Regarding the tickets, once again, all ball committee members present on Thursday afternoon have got theirs. The others received notices this morning indicating where to obtain them.

Here are the names of the men who now have tickets:

     Alvah H. Weaver, James E. Reilly, Joseph Legare, Hammond Barnes, Edouard T. Bailey, Arthur Bernier, Roland Boudreau, Raymond Bourgeois, Butler D. Burrage, John Kendrick Butler, Donald F. Cameron, William Canton, Joseph Schiller, Joseph A.N. Chrétien, James F. Conway, Charles E. Delorme, Joseph Desrosiers, Royal K. Dexter Jr., Joseph M. Dinneen, Joseph P. Donahue, Allan Dumas, Arthur L. Eno, Barrett Fisher, John Rogers Flather, Charles G. Forrest, Dr. A.J. Gagnon, Dr. Raymond Gendreau, Frank Goldman, Francis J. Haggerty, Thomas B. Higgins, John J. Hogan, Frank J. Hubin, James F. Kane, Dr. Joseph Kearney, Charles L. Keyes, Julian B. Keyes, Gardner M. Macartney, Dr. Francis R. Mahoney, J.C. Manseau, Warren Mansur, Frank McCartin, John J. McPadden, Thomas J. O’Donnell, H. Hutchins Parker, Arthur G. Pollard 2nd, Richard F. Preston, William C. Purcell, George H. Runnels, John P. Sawyer, Stephen H. Scribner, Ames Stevens, Richard K. Stover, Robert R. Thomas and Carl R. Wenigmann.

     Next Tuesday the following groups will have tickets to distribute and are asked to give them to people they know will use them.

     The committee of directors: Frank K. Stearns, president; Joseph A. Gagnon; George H. Harrigan; John A. Hunnewell; Charles L. Madden; Ralph E. Runels and John J. Walsh.

     The executive committee: councilors James J. Gallagher, Daniel J. Cosgrove, Frank J. Hubin, John J. McFadden, Richard F. Preston, Robert R. Thomas, Francis Haggerty, John E. O’Brien, Frank E. MacLean, Edward T. Bailey, Joseph A.N. Chrétien, Joseph F. Montminy, Arthur Genest, Abel R. Campbell, Thomas F. Inglis, Walter J. Cleary and John R. Kiggins.

Charles E. Anderson, George E. Barnet, John H. Beaulieu, George Bowers, Philip F. Breen, Edward B. Carney, John P. Ryan, Royal K. Dexter, David Dickson, Charles A. Donohue, Eugene F. Fitzgerald, A. Flather, Joseph A. Gagnon, Joseph H. Guillet, George M. Harrigan, James F. Hennessy, Charles H. Hobson, John A. Hunnewell, Patrick Keyes, Richard J. McClusky M.D., Thomas McFadden, Frank P. McGilley, Elmore I. Macphie, Arthur McQuaid, Charles L. Marren, Joseph A. Molloy, William P. Morrissey, George E. Murphy, Parker F. Murphy, Patrick F. Nestor, John P. O’Connell, William F. O’Connell, James O’Sullivan, Franklin S. Pevey, Harry G. Pollard, John E. Regan, John J. Riley, Stanley Robinson, Fred Rourke, Ralph E. Runels, Frederick A. Sadlier, Arthur T. Safford, Alfred P. Sawyer, Frank K. Stearns, Joseph E. Sullivan, William Trottier, Jude C. Wadleigh, John J. Walsh.

     Anyone wishing to attend the ball is to choose a friend from this list. Everyone in the city probably knows one or more of these members and can make their reservations.

     Everyone must not forget that the Auditorium is not made of rubber. It cannot be extended. Consequently, strict rules will be enforced as always. It is better to know in advance whether or not one can obtain a ticket rather than come and wait at the door for an hour only to be refused at the last minute because the hall is crowded.

     An effort will be made to recuperate as many unused tickets as possible in order to pass them around. With the least inconvenience possible, the goal is allowing access to everyone who wants to attend the ball.

__________

L’Etoile – Front page February 23, 1926

A DAY OF FESTIVITIES MONDAY

__________

Since Lowell is celebrating its 100th anniversary next Monday, all shopkeepers are asked to close their businesses at 1 PM that day.

__________

THE DAY’S PROGRAM

__________

     An initiative has commenced among Lowell’s businessmen to make Monday, March 1, a holiday on the occasion of the centennial of the incorporation of Lowell as a “town.”

     Here is the proclamation launched to the public by the Lowell Centennial Executive Committee:

An appeal to the public

     On Monday March 1, Lowell will mark the hundredth anniversary of its incorporation as a town. Up to now, all of the projects by the local government and the residents have been planned to celebrate the anniversary appropriately.

     With this in mind, the Lowell Centennial Committee has prepared a program with three distinct ceremonies.

     At 9:30 in the morning, Lowell schoolchildren will have commemorative ceremonies in their classrooms and at Memorial Auditorium.

     At 2 in the afternoon, adults are invited to an official ceremony at Memorial Auditorium with guests of honor from various cities across the State.

     At 8 in the evening, a Centennial Ball for all Lowellians will be held at the Auditorium. The Centennial Committee hopes the day will provide everyone the opportunity to pause for a moment and to reflect upon the importance of the anniversary – upon the fact that their city is 100 years old. With this in mind, the Centennial directors appeal to all shopkeepers to close their businesses at 1 in the afternoon on Monday March 1 in order that all residents and outside visitors may know that Lowell is celebrating a momentous event.

Lowell Centennial Board of Directors,

Frank K. Stearns, President,

Joseph A. Gagnon,

George H. Harrigan,

John A. Hunnewell,

Charles L. Marren,

Ralph E. Runels,

John J. Walsh.

(1)

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1) Translations by Louise Peloquin.

A novel dive into masculine alienation by Marjorie Arons-Barron

The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons-Barron’s own blog.

Flesh by Hungarian-British author David Szalay was recently announced as the winner of the 2025 Booker Award. Although the Booker board called it “a propulsive, hypnotic novel about a man who is unraveled by a series of events beyond his grasp,” I found it hard to get into. At best, I saw its protagonist, then-15-year-old Istvan, as an expression of an aspect of contemporary masculinity: alienated, apathetic, inarticulate, defined by a sense of powerlessness.

Istvan lives with his mother in a large apartment complex in Hungary. He grudgingly accepts her demand that he regularly help an older resident bring home bags of groceries from the local market. The “older woman” turns out to be 42 years old, and, over time, she seduces him. His conversational skills are limited to grunts, answering questions with monosyllabic questions like “yeah?” and learning from her the tools of sex with near-total lack of agency. In this, as in others of his relationships, sex is presented solely as an animal function, never equated with love and rarely paired with introspection that leads to self-understanding.

In the earliest chapters, the reader gets no sense of Istvan’s interior life or, indeed, if he has one at all, even when he does time at a juvenile institution in the wake of the seducer’s husband’s death in a lethal fall in the apartment building. His incarceration taught him only that he was capable of being a fighter.

He later enlists in the army and serves five years in Iraq.  By now, we are getting drawn more deeply into his story. Persuaded to see a therapist to deal with what is clearly PTSD, Istvan has a vague sense that war violence and the death of a friend have changed his life but, even with the therapist, he is hard put to articulate why.

Heavy smoking, excessive use of alcohol and abundant illegal drugs are themes across the ensuing years, as his life moves propulsively through jobs as a bouncer in a sleazy pole-dance bar, an employee of a private security company, then as a bodyguard and driver for ultra-wealthy private individuals.  That role requires him to learn how to dress in suits, improve his boorish behavior, and move discreetly in different circles. But his exterior changes don’t reflect similar development of his thought processes, his understanding of why he does certain things. The reader wonders more about where his passivity – just waiting for things to happen to him – will lead him than does Istvan himself, who seems to have no regard for his future at all.

The setting lurches from Budapest to London. He gets drawn into a sexual relationship with his wealthy employer’s wife (simultaneously with a side affair with another member of the corporate titan’s staff). I won’t go into where this all takes him, his rise into the world of material wealth, or where he ends up.

In many ways, Istvan’s relationships echo that of his first sexual encounters as a 15-year-old.  In one of his rare reflective moments, he says that, with women, “It’s hard to have an experience that feels entirely new, that doesn’t feel like something that has already happened, and will probably happen again in some very similar way, so that it never feels like all that much is at stake.” Good grief!

In middle age, Istvan’s potential to be more than a rote sexual animal becomes clear when he becomes a father and, perhaps for the first time, shares a little interior emotion. He hopes that adolescence for his pre-teen son will be less stressful than the years of his own burgeoning physicality. But, when tragedy strikes, he sinks deeper into alcoholism. As he ages, he begins to understand that his life has been changed by a handful of people who have played roles in it, but he never gets to the point of being able to express, even to himself, exactly what that process has entailed.

This is a dark book. It has a way of pounding from one stage of Istvan’s life to the next, with our grasp of events revealed often after the fact. It is a world of empty people, of understanding only through often meaningless physical experiences, of loneliness and anger.

Ultimately, I came to understand the Booker board’s decision. Szalay’s writing style is minimalist, his sentences truncated, replicating how stunted Istvan himself is emotionally. The spare prose sadly captures an emptiness experienced by too many men today. Flesh fosters an understanding of what drives a large cohort of alienated  people in today’s fraught political world and is an important, if difficult, book to read.

Lowell Politics: February 8, 2026

Before getting to the February 3, 2026, city council meeting, here are the results of the same day’s special primary election for the state senate seat left vacant when Edward Kennedy died last year. In the Special Democratic Primary, State Representative Vanna Howard defeated State Representative Rodney Elliott. Here are the unofficial results from each community in the district:

DISTRICT WIDE

Elliott – 2369
Howard – 3326

Dracut

Elliott – 496
Howard – 359

Dunstable

Elliott – 98
Howard – 154

Lowell

Elliott – 1499
Howard – 2159

Pepperell

Elliott – 151
Howard – 445

Tyngsborough

Elliott – 130
Howard – 219

There was no candidate on the Republican primary ballot, however, Sam Meas ran a write-in campaign. To achieve the nomination, he would need 300 votes, which is the number of nomination signatures needed to make it onto the primary ballot. It looks like he achieved that number by enough votes to withstand any challenge to the validity of the count. In other words, if someone wanted to keep Meas off the general election ballot and he had only received 301 write in signatures, if someone challenged the validity of those write-in votes and two were tossed out, he would be knocked off the ballot. I don’t know the total number of write in votes Meas received, but it was enough to safely place him on the ballot.

Returning to the Democratic Primary, Howard won a substantial victory. Because every election is different, I’m hesitant to speculate on the reasons for this outcome. I received numerous pieces of campaign literature in the mail from each candidate so there was not a disparity of mailings. In a low turnout election, it’s generally thought that the candidate who does a better job of identifying and turning out their votes will most likely win, but that kind of turnout operation is easier to pull off in a smaller district like state representative or city council districts.

It’s also possible that ideology, or perceived ideology, may have played a role. Although an active Democrat, Elliott is seen to lean conservative on some issues, whereas Howard is unapologetically progressive in her positions. In special elections across the country, we are seeing enormous swings from the conservative candidate (usually a Republican) to the progressive candidate (usually a Democrat), so that possibly played a role here. It’s long been said that all politics in local, but in the Age of Trump, all politics is national.

As for turnout in this Democratic Primary, here are Tuesday’s vote totals compared to the vote totals in the 2018 Democratic Primary which is the last time that seat was vacant after incumbent Eileen Donoghue resigned to become Lowell City Manager. That race was won by Ed Kennedy, who held the seat until his untimely death last year. In order of finish, the other candidates were John Drinkwater, Rodney Elliott, Terry Ryan and Bill Martin.

This is not an exact comparison because redistricting following the 2020 census replaced Groton and Westford with Dracut, but the other towns – Dunstable, Lowell, Pepperell and Tyngsborough – were in the district for both races and the comparison in votes cast in each community between the two elections shows how low the turnout was this time:

Districtwide turnout in 2026 was 5,756; in 2018 it was 19,594

Dunstable turnout in 2026 was 253; in 2018 it was 431

Lowell turnout in 2026 was 3,686; in 2018 it was 11,593

Pepperell turnout in 2026 was 601; in 2018 it was 1,215

Tyngsborough turnout in 2026 was 353; in 2018 it was 1,394

[Dracut turnout in 2026 was 863; in 2018, turnout in Groton was 1,624 and in Westford was 3,337.]

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Democratic nominee Vanna Howard will face Republican nominee Sam Meas in the March 3, 2026, special election. Unenrolled candidate Joe Espinola will also be on the ballot. The winner should be seated in the State Senate soon after the vote is certified. However, the winner will also have to remain in campaign mode because the seat will be on the ballot again in this fall’s election. Also, if Vanna Howard prevails on March 3, the state representative seat she holds now will be vacant, which should attract several candidates.

Here are the offices on the ballot this fall with the number of nomination signatures needed to be on the primary ballot shown in parentheses:

• U.S. Senator (10,000 signatures)
• U.S. Representative (2,000 signatures)
• Governor and Lieutenant Governor (10,000 signatures)
• Attorney General (10,000 signatures)
• Secretary of State (5,000 signatures)
• Treasurer and Receiver General (5,000 signatures)
• Auditor (5,000 signatures)
• Governor’s Councillor (1,000 signatures)
• State Senator (300 signatures)
• State Representative (150 signatures)
• District Attorney – (1,000 signatures)
• Register of Probate – (1,000 signatures)

Nomination papers should be available on February 10, 2026. Nomination signatures must be turned into local election offices for certification by April 28, 2026, then certified nomination papers must be transported from the local election office to the Secretary of State’s office by May 26, 2026.

The State Primary is on Tuesday, September 1, 2026

The State Election is on Tuesday, November 3, 2026

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As for the city council meeting, two issues discussed at the prior meeting – a moratorium on data centers and a combined city and school facilities department – were back before the council this week.

Regarding the data center moratorium, recall that Councilor Belinda Juran questioned whether the initial draft from the city solicitor was overly broad in that it would capture someone using a server to operate a small business in their home. In my newsletter last week, I explained that Councilor Juran was correct to be concerned because the definition of datacenter as written would apply to something like the registry of deeds which is not the kind of operation the council seeks to prohibit. Considering that concern, the council sent the draft back to the solicitor for clarification.

Here is the relevant language from the January 27, 2026, draft:

“DATA CENTERS: a building or series of buildings that houses and supports the high-performance servers, storage systems, networking equipment, and related computing infrastructure and equipment necessary for storage, processing, and distribution of data and applications.”

Here is the same section from the February 3, 2026, revision with the added language shown in bold:

“DATA CENTERS: a building or series of buildings, with the intended primary use being commercial, that houses and supports the high-performance servers, storage systems, networking equipment, and related computing infrastructure and equipment necessary for storage, processing, and distribution of data and applications.”

Councilor Juran was skeptical that the added language fully addressed the problem, saying that a bank has a “primary use being commercial” and, because it holds servers, storage systems, etc., it, too, would be covered by this moratorium.

Juran’s criticism of the new language is well taken but for some reason other councilors seem more concerned with getting the moratorium enacted rapidly than they did with its consequences. Because of that vibe coming from the council and because the proposed ordinance must first go to the planning board for its input, Juran relented on her objection to this iteration of the ordinance in the apparent hope that the planning board will further clarify the language.

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This “need for speed” also created confusion with the combined school and city maintenance department proposal. This issue also arose at the January 27 meeting with a motion by Councilor Corey Robinson motion to draft home rule legislation that would allow the city to create a centralized facilities department. The council passed that motion but also asked the mayor to bring the issue before the school committee and to schedule a joint meeting of the school committee and city council to answer any questions the school committee may have.

At this week’s council meeting, not only did the draft home rule petition return to the council, but it did so in the form of a vote to file it with the state legislature. With varying degrees of consternation, councilors said it was premature to consider filing this and asked that it be continued for a month to allow consultation with the school committee.

To review, state law specifically grants the school committee with authority over maintenance within schools while the city council is responsible for maintenance of the school buildings. State law also allows these functions to be consolidated in a single department provided both the city council and the school committee consent to it.

When the proposal to combine maintenance departments reached the school committee last year, the committee overwhelmingly rejected it. Mayor Gitschier will now take a shot at getting concurrence from the school committee, however, if that does not happen, some councilors seem determined to go it alone with this special legislation route.

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This week in Seen & Heard, I reviewed the movie “One Battle After Another”; the Grammy Awards telecast; the email newsletter MASSterList; a Globe article about the last Patriots and Seahawks Superbowl; and a Times article about how a Cambodian dance troupe in Portland, Maine, has been disrupted by immigration enforcement activities.