This Is Framingham

As I’ve posted before, traffic caused by construction in town has been kind of like a canvas to showcase the darker side of people driving styles.  They block intersections, cut people off, run red lights etc…

This morning while I was inching down Union Ave and came to a standstill, some guy behind me started beeping and then yelling.  Apparently he wanted me to touch the car’s bumper in front of me so he could eek by (and actually thought he’d scrape my car if he did) and take a right. ?????? ??? ??? ?????   I didn’t feel comfortable getting that close to the car in front of me, I don’t know if they have  standard and might roll back a little before they go or what and I have a little rule where I don’t do something I’m not comfortable with just because someone is laying on their horn.  Like when people try to get me to go faster than the speed limit  on a road but yet I’d be the one that gets a speeding ticket. 

Anyway, apparently this individual had enough of waiting for traffic to move and got out of his car and started banging on my window and screaming at me- all sorts of nice words and calling me all sorts of nice names.  I quickly locked my door as I saw him stomping over and grabbed my camera (yes, as a blogger I always have my camera in my bag).
Above is the…person who apparently has a lot of issues going on besides dealing with traffic.
When traffic finally started moving I tried to get a shot of his license plate but all I got was this:

The construction in town is just out of control and making an insanely short commute a total nightmare.  People are really turning into animals and I wish they’d switch to just night-time construction. ???? ????????? ??????   I did contact a senior town employee working in the area of planning/construction but they said they don’t do night construction due to residential disruption.
Also, the police probably have bigger fish to fry but I may report this although I really don’t have much information to give them.  So unfortunately people can act like total lunatics and get away with it. ???? ???? 2024
It was just a scary terrible way to start the day and unfortunately the stress of driving in Framingham due to construction  is becoming a way of life because it’s all over town.

Fun and Games has now completed their transformation to dreadfully boring with their new sign.
It was only a year ago I put this on my “yay” list.  Now because of the subtraction of the spaceship entrance and replacing it with a boring open space plus getting rid of all the pinball machines and having only one classic machine, although it has 2 games (that I don’t play) it gets branded with “nay”.
I’m so disappointed in F&G, they could make more money by keeping games that parents would play while their kids have a pizza party or play those tiny skee ball machines.
I know businesses have to evolve with the times but all these changes seem to be a real effort to make it a less interesting place. 

I bid you adieu, Fun and Games.

I’ll always remember you the way you were:

 
I was curious what “Black Friday” would look like on route 9.  Since it was so nice out, Ethan and I walked up to the hill by Cabot House furniture (and Ginseng) to check it out. ????? ????????
It was pretty much what I expected, lots of slow moving traffic and red break lights, which is what you see above and the reason I try to avoid route 9 in general.

Then looking back down the other side of the hill, traffic was just as bad.  People were just waiting to be able to wait at the traffic lights:

Of course some jerk whizzed past 15 cars in the breakdown lane and then put on their blinker to cut everyone off “merge” when they realized the breakdown lane ended.  Real smooth.

I never even thought of walking to route 9 before but it’s not bad at all for a 20 minute walk on a nice day. ??? ????? 2022 ???????    It’s good to know there is another option to get there besides driving, especially on days like today. ??? ???? ???

Last week my Uncle wanted to meet for lunch and he suggested “How about the Olive Garden?  They have a soup and salad special”  I cringed but I didn’t want to sound like a snob and with his track record he would insist on paying so I figured I should go where he wants. ??? ????
We got the soup and salad “deal”. tarneeb

The dressing for the salad seemed plasticy or something and the soup tasted like it was straight from a can.  Along with this feast you get all the nerf-like bread sticks you want. 

I really don’t want to offend anyone but, why do people go here, never mind wait in line?
Even my Uncle said he’d give the place a “2”.

I got to spend some quality time in my car while trying to get through downtown the other day.
I don’t know what I was thinking, this is exactly why I avoid driving through downtown in the first place.
I’m not sure how city planning works or if traffic light timing is involved in that, but it seems odd that the green lights would be on when you have no where to go because you have to stop 2 seconds later and/or the cars in front of you have stopped (and there actually wasn’t a train). It’s such a tease to see green and not be able to go. ??? ??

For people driving, downtown is just a haven for frustration.  You have the trains, the oddly-timed traffic lights and people cutting you off because they’re in the wrong lane or being in the wrong lane is part of their master plan to cut you off when they are far enough to be able to get back in their lane to take a left and cause people to step on their breaks, causing yet more delay.
I can just tell when someone is going to do that too. ???? ???????   Then you have to decide if you’re going to play the game and inch up so they can’t cut you off adding to the stress of just trying to get out of the gridlock.  It’s so dumb, which again is why I avoid it. ??????? ????? ????????

 

My email isn’t working, I’m not sure what it is but it may be related to what happened the other day. I’m trying to figure it out.
So if you’ve written and I haaven’t responded yet, that’t why.
Sorry, hopefully it’ll be straightened out soon.

The majority of this plaza on Franklin St. is vacant. It’s such a shame because it is yet another area that I can walk to from my house but, there’s not much of a reason to. ???? ?????? ??????? ????????? ???? 2022   I would have thought at least a grocery store could stay in business there, but no such luck. spin palace
They must be pretty confident nothing will move into the old Big D for a while since the thrift store, that isn’t in the space of the old grocery store, got top billing on the plaza sign.  I wonder if this will all just eventually get bulldozed over.  I can’t even think of what I’d want to be in there but I guess its ok for now since I like Dunkin Donuts, bought something from the thrift store and once in a while need to get a bottle of wine or something from the liquor store.
Who knows, maybe whatever the 400 Club becomes will attract something else.  Maybe someone will even occupy the old fotomat hut!
Also, I’d like to give a shout out to the two businesses in what I call “survivor’s corner“.  They must have some loyal patrons because I thought there was nothing still alive in that section.  Good for them!  If anyone needs a haircut or a laundromat please go there. ?????? ????????