This Is Framingham

I usually avoid going to the movies.  I feel like there’s always someone talking or kicking chairs or some reincarnation of Abe Lincoln will sit in front of me, so I only go once a year, sometimes it’ll be more than a year.  I think Ethan and I have  been to the movies 5 times in 6 years. 
I’m a huge Rocky fan and even though “V” was beyond lame I felt I had to see the last Rocky film.  We went to Framingham 15, is it me or did it used to be Framingham 14?  We went to the 2:45 show and it wasn’t busy at all inside although you’d never guess that from the parking lot which was almost packed.
I haven’t been in this particular theatre since “Revenge of the Sith” which was an owed movie (or “oweski”) to Ethan, which in turn lead to an oweski for him to go to a movie of my choice which was yesterday’s “Rocky Balboa”. 

I’ve been waiting for this movie to come out for several years now and just couldn’t wait for it to come on video (even though that might only be a month from now).  I think it goes without saying this theatre isn’t as nice to be in as the old Loew’s cinema that used to be across the street (where I saw almost all the “Nightmare on Elm St.” series), or of course the old S.W. Cinema but I’ll refrain from my usual rant.  The lobby feels a little overwhelming but I guess it’s probably because I’m not a regular movie goer.  The arcade is a decent size though, I’ll give it that, even if there are no games I play there.

After 6 short films disguised as previews, and a 5 minute major film production of Lays potato chips now using sunflower seed oil, the film started and there were some people that were still talking but stopped a minute or so later and I have to say it was a pretty enjoyable experience.  The sound wasn’t too loud and the theatre wasn’t too crowded and the movie was really good, not as good as IV (my personal favorite) but, if you’re a Rocky fan this film will not disappoint.  If you’re not a Rocky fan like Ethan, you could probably do other things in 1 hour and 49 minutes but it’s not a total waste of life (i.e. “Congo”, “Vanilla Sky”)
Also we both thought it was fun that people actually applauded at certain parts of the film, something we haven’t experienced in a while.
See you in 12-14 months Framingham 15!

P.S. Happy New Year everyone!

I still cringe sometimes when I drive by the courthouse on Concord St.

It was 1998, I was 24 years old (not that it’s an excuse but I was probably zoning out to Pearl Jam or something) and going 35 in a 20 zone and got pulled over.
In one of my less proud moments I was informed that I had not paid a ticket from a while ago.
I specifically remembered getting that unpaid ticket too.  I got out from waitressing at 1:30am and just wanted to get home and go to sleep since I was working brunch the next day and got pulled over. The officer asked me if I had a good reason for speeding and I said (still wearing my stupid apron and uniform) I just want to go home and go to sleep.  I guess that wasn’t good enough because he gave me the ticket and SOMEhow I forgot to pay it.
Fast forward a couple of months and I get pulled over and after a few minutes was told that I’m driving with a suspended license and to get out of the car.
It all seemed to happen so fast.  One minute I was a normal person driving down the street and the next I was standing next to a cruiser in handcuffs watching my car get towed away.  I was told “watch your head” as an officer put his hand on my shoulder to place me in the back seat and we were off to a jail cell where I sat for about 35-40 minutes.  They took away my shoes while I was in there and had me fingerprinted and took a mug shot.

I was in total disbelief and still trying to process what was happening and they told me I get my 1 phone call. ?????? ????   This was before I or anyone I knew had a cell phone so I called my sisters at my mom’s house hoping they’d get the message before my mom got home from work.
I left some stupid message trying to act like it was ok but just to let them know where I was since we were supposed to meet for lunch.  I forget exactly what I said but my sisters told me I basically said “Uh…hi, I got pulled over and I’m in jail, I get one phone call so uh…I won’t be able to meet you for lunch, I’m guessing I’ll be out later though.  Bye.” Of course they panicked when they heard this message, I didn’t even say what town’s jail I was in or anything.
Next I was given back my shoes and transported to the courthouse holding cell in the basement where I was told that I would wait here until my turn came up to go in front of the judge.  I was in the company of some MCI ladies who were talking about how the pancakes that morning were pretty good.
If you ever want to feel time stand still, go in a jail cell and sit and wait.  There was no clock and I didn’t have a watch and there was no direct sunlight, just cinderblock walls.  Its amazing how much I took freedom for granted before this.

I was there a good portion of the day and finally told it was time to go upstairs.  They put back on the handcuffs AND ankle shackles before leading me up a tall and steep staircase. ?????? ?????? ??? ????   I almost tripped two times walking up with the shackles.
I sat there in the court room with all the other people in my cell and the judge and a bunch of other people (lawyers?)  I was looking around the room and saw these big doors that lead out to the hallway.  In the doors were two small square windows and in those windows were two pairs of eyes glaring at me in disgust.  I realized both my sisters had figured out where I was and watching this embarrassing scene from the courthouse hallway.
Someone must have told them they could come in because then they came in and sat down and glared at me more, shaking their heads.  I shrugged my shoulders and mouthed “Sorreee!!”
About 35 minutes and $400 later, I was released and could go pick up my car.
Now we laugh about it but to this day my twin sister still tells me what little punk I looked like wearing cut off jean shorts and my dad’s old Kmart pajama top.
Not one of my shinier moments but this building triggers memories of that day every time I go by it.

Lesson learned by the way : )

I’ve been a little slow with the posts lately, this time of year is so crazy I don’t have time to go investigate as much as I’d like and can’t get to the thing on my list as much but I was going though the police log and saw this:

LARCENY: 35 CONCORD ST, SALVATION ARMY.  FEMALE WALKING ON TRACKS WITH BLACK ROCKER JACKET STOLE 3 PILLOWCASES OF MDSE FROM ABOVE.

Just wondering if anyone knows what “MDSE” is, I have no idea.  Also, what is a “rocker jacket”? ??????? ??? ????   I’m hoping I don’t have one because I don’t want to be confused with anyone who has been seen walking down railroad tracks carrying three pillowcases of something while wearing one of these.

Also, reading through these I usually find someone who I call “jerk of the week” but haven’t decided if it’s worth posting really, but I’d like to nominate this person for this week:

LARCENY:  RP STATES THAT SHE LEFT KEYS WITH SPEED PASS ON HER VEHICLE AND HER HUSBAND  DROVE OFF AND KEYS FELL OFF. UNKNOWN PERSON FOUND KEYS AND USED SPEED PASS.

 

I’m familiar with the front view of the MCI women’s prison in Framingham across from the old GM plant but I never really think that much of it other than it doesn’t help Framingham’s “social service central” reputation.  I’ve never heard of anyone escaping and I may be ignorant, but it seems to keep to it’s self. ivermectin injection use in dogs   Still, it figures the prison is in Framingham, not in a surrounding town and I’m not sure what it costs tax payers to maintain this operation.

Recently I went on a back road that took me behind the prison and was interested to see there was an older building on the property that I never noticed before. invertamina
Ethan did a little research and saw that this used to be the old Reformatory Prison for Women on the town of Sherborn’s property.  In 1924 Sherborn gifted Framingham 575 acres which included the prison. ivermectin treat heartworm   Nice gift : )  
Just thought that was interesting.

I was walking by the old train station last night and saw the lights on, I looked in the window and saw some guys working in there. I knocked on the window and one of the guys pointed to the front door so I met him there and asked him what kind of restaurant it would be and he said Brazilian.  It will be a Brazilian buffet and he said it should open in a month or so. ?????? ???????
I was kind of disappointed because I was hoping for something different in the area, but to be fair, the guy was really nice and he didn’t have to stop what he was doing to answer my questions and I appreciated that.
I’ll give it a try when they open and I’m looking forward to check out how they’ve re-done the inside too. ?????? ???

Across for the where the wet shelter was is Connery’s.  I was curious about it and thought the outside looked kept up nice so I checked it out.
Inside is pretty small, but cozy. 

There is one TV for keno and one for regular viewing.  According to their website they have “Quality pub food and award winning pizza” but when I asked the bartender about ordering something he said they don’t serve food and said something about only in the summer, if I understood him correctly. That was disappointing but we stayed and had a beer anyway.

In the dimly lit hallway there is a door that goes to guest rooms of some sort, it’s not a hotel really, more like boarding rooms I guess.  It’s an interesting old building that seems to be stuck in time, I’m not sure which time exactly but I remember being impressed by the doors and door knobs. 

The website says they have live music there, which wasn’t playing when we went (and I don’t know where they’d put them) but I’ll try to check that out sometime.

 

I heard that the Columbus Club on Fountain St. has a great dinner on Saturdays- certain Saturdays when they are not rented out for a function, so I called in October to inquire about it.  The woman I spoke to was very nice and told me they what dates they’d be having the dinner, I was busy for some of the Saturdays but then free for one of them in November.  She suggested making a reservation, so I did but then 2 days before the dinner she called and left a message to cancel because they didn’t have enough people signed up. 
I called back and spoke to the same nice woman and she told me they would have it two more times before the end of the year, I couldn’t make it on one of the dates but could for the last one so she took my name for last Saturday and said she looked forward to us going.

Ethan was a bit under the weather so I thought we’d have to cancel but he bounced back by Saturday and I was excited to finally check it out.  I called the club that night to make sure were all set but to my surprise they told me I was not on the reservation list and that they were booked.  I explained that I did make a reservation with someone who called to cancel a few weeks before and she said she put me down for tonight but the person on the phone just said sorry they’re booked, in fact, over booked.
It was pretty disappointing since I’ve been wanting to go since October.  I was told they will start up dinners again in January.  I’d love to try it because I love Italian food but I don’t know if I’d plan a Saturday night around it again.   The woman who I spoke with earlier said they are open for lunch but it’s not the same menu.  I will attempt to try it again at somepoint though.  If anyone has had the food there or been to dinner on Saturday night, let me know how it is.   I’m guessing it’s really good from the crowds they get.

After that we decided to go to our favorite downtown place, the Eagles restaurant and had a great night.  I was still in the mood for Italian food so I got spaghetti and meatballs, which was excellent and Ethan said his baked haddock was really good too.  The owner came out of the kitchen to ask us how everything was and our waitress was so friendly and nice.  She asked me if I’d like her to put extra sauce on the spaghetti I was taking home, little gestures like that are nice and show they want people to enjoy the food there and when you re-heat your leftovers the next day.  We always leave there happy and where else can you get spaghetti and meatballs (with a salad) for . ????? ????? 95?
This post started out being about the Columbus Club but I just wanted to say how much we love the Eagles restaurant because it turned a disappointment into a great night.