How I Spent Tax Day
Ok, so this April 15 isn't really Tax Day because it's a Saturday. In fact, as often happens, Tax Day falls one day later in Massachusetts than the rest of the country this year, because the next regular business day, April 17, is also a state holiday (Patriot's Day). I may have more to say about that later.
This morning I walked with my friend and his kids in a 5K walkathon for the Blackstone Valley Youth Leadership Academy. The group raised money for several local charities researched and selected by the students themselves. Now, considering that 5K is just a bit over three miles, and I've developed a routine of walking about that distance each and every day for the past six weeks, it wasn't much of a stretch for me. Of course I felt obligated to impart such nuggets of wisdom as "Oh you have it so easy! Back in my day we had 20 mile walkathons, in blinding snow, up hill all the way!" Isn't that what uncles are for?
The walkathon started at Blackstone Gorge, and crossed the state line into Woonsocket, Rhode Island. I've never been to downtown Woonsocket before. It's a stereotypical New England mill town where the whole structure of the downtown area is dictated by the twists and turns of the river that powered the old mills. The streets are narrow and windy and numerous bridges join neighborhoods over the ever-present river.
To add a dash of education to the day's events, the walkathon organizers arranged several stops along the way. The most interesting of these was the Stadium Theatre, a National Historic Register site being restored to 'vintage 1926' conditions by a group of dedicated, enthusiastic people. They have accomplished quite a bit already with a lot of money and a lot of hard work, and there's still more to go. It's a really beautiful building, and they're working hard to restore it as much as possible to it's original state, subject to modern regulations for fire safety, handicapped access, etc. Next week, April 20 and 21, the theatre is hosting the 2006 Miss Rhode Island Pageant. Sounds like old mill towns still have some life in them yet.
This morning I walked with my friend and his kids in a 5K walkathon for the Blackstone Valley Youth Leadership Academy. The group raised money for several local charities researched and selected by the students themselves. Now, considering that 5K is just a bit over three miles, and I've developed a routine of walking about that distance each and every day for the past six weeks, it wasn't much of a stretch for me. Of course I felt obligated to impart such nuggets of wisdom as "Oh you have it so easy! Back in my day we had 20 mile walkathons, in blinding snow, up hill all the way!" Isn't that what uncles are for?
The walkathon started at Blackstone Gorge, and crossed the state line into Woonsocket, Rhode Island. I've never been to downtown Woonsocket before. It's a stereotypical New England mill town where the whole structure of the downtown area is dictated by the twists and turns of the river that powered the old mills. The streets are narrow and windy and numerous bridges join neighborhoods over the ever-present river.
To add a dash of education to the day's events, the walkathon organizers arranged several stops along the way. The most interesting of these was the Stadium Theatre, a National Historic Register site being restored to 'vintage 1926' conditions by a group of dedicated, enthusiastic people. They have accomplished quite a bit already with a lot of money and a lot of hard work, and there's still more to go. It's a really beautiful building, and they're working hard to restore it as much as possible to it's original state, subject to modern regulations for fire safety, handicapped access, etc. Next week, April 20 and 21, the theatre is hosting the 2006 Miss Rhode Island Pageant. Sounds like old mill towns still have some life in them yet.
posted by RoverDaddy @ 10:40 PM
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