Once a Villen, always a Villen…

You know, there was an ongoing joke for the better part of the late 80’s and into the 90’s about whether if you went off to school outside Somerville, and grew up here, that you would be classified by the “common folk” as just a step and a half below a “barney.” Seriously. You could have lived here your whole life, but, if you went to Matignon or Pope John or Bishop Fenwick or Arlington Catholic or some other school outside the Ville, then those of us who went to Somerville High thought you had abandoned the community.

It never really mattered much to me – but I was always taken aback by how easily someone was discarded by those of us who never left (or stayed into their mid 40’s like me). To qualify that last statement, I only stopped being a resident in this city a short time ago, I live barely 7 miles away – and my business is still based out of Somerville. To be honest, I feel like I never left. Oh sure, I will run into someone every once in a while who will say “oh I haven’t seen you in so long, but I read your column” or “hey it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you around, but at least we catch up on Facebook,” I find those statements humorous, because I am in the city a lot more than you’d suspect.

Like a lot of my friends, I had kids at a young age and spent a considerable amount of time working in and around the city – I even took a couple of swings at serving as an elected official in two different decades. I stayed busy, for sure. Well, this isn’t about me so much as it is about how much the city I love has changed – and mostly for the good. I think Mayor Curtatone, albeit flawed in delivery on occasion, is the best Mayor Somerville has had in the close to 50 years I have been breathing. We have come a long way from a very blue collar/family community to embracing a very diverse cross-section of population/residents and I personally love the diversity that is now part of the fabric of this city.

The economic, political and sociological landscape has changed quite a bit, but, there’s always old friends – Villens – to run into from time to time. In the last few weeks, I have run into people I know at The Neighborhood, at the Stop and Shop, at a small corner store in Winter Hill and even the Mayor when I was having lunch at a Thai restaurant in Union Square just last week. In so many excellent ways, the community has changed, but equally impressive is the ability to still run into old friends and associates you haven’t seen in two or three decades. That’s an excellent blend and is one that pushes me to come back and be a resident again, maybe.

This city has so much to offer for people of all ages – excellent schools, a diverse cross-section of arts, music and culture you would be hard pressed to find anywhere else in the country short of San Francisco, restaurants and bars and local pizza/sub shops – it’s pretty much the same as when I was a little kid, only magnified by a thousand. There are plenty of differentiating opinions to be had when it comes to public safety, the message our government sends by its actions and our own personal choices for those who will best serve us in elected office – on any level.

These are the times where our kids and grandkids will have tough choices as they become adults. Hopefully we as parents and grandparents will continue to instill in them the right to make choices, even bad ones, in order to figure everything out as adults. For me, as the years float by, and the oversupply of information 24/7 continues to bombard our senses, I strive to stay grounded and remember that in this life, we are all held accountable for the choices we make.

Live a good life, and a good life will let you live, happily. Be well, friends. #GMK