Say It Isn't So, Mike

8/12/2019 Say It Isn't So, Mike

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19T HE C HRONICLE OF S TURBRIDGE C OUNTRY L IVING THE STURBRIDGETIMESMAGAZINE

that he could not get elected dogcatcher after his last

term. The Duke has his academic sinecure and enjoys

the plaudits of his class.

Contrast Dukakis with another Massachusetts pol,

the late Congressman John Joseph Moakley. You re-

member him. Well, you probably don't. He was not

flashy and though he had a long career, his congres-

sional accomplishments escape my mind. His con-

stituents probably don't remember them either.

His big claim to fame was that he defeated Louise

Day Hicks. If you remember her, you are either a pol-

itics nerd or you are giving away your age. She had op-

posed forced busing when chairwoman of the Boston

School Committee. Louise was crazy enough to think

that the idea of putting kids on buses and shipping

them off to neighborhoods not their own in an ethni-

cally fractious city was absurd. She was delusional

enough to believe that her opposition could lead to a

successful political career.

All the great and good got behind Joe to defeat

Hicks' congressional re-election bid. Joe said nothing.

It was better for him not to. He won and went on to

an extended tenure as a mediocrity in the nation's cap-

ital.

I was reminded that he was still alive shortly before

his death. A new federal courthouse was to be named

after him. On WBZ news one morning, I heard it

mentioned and one of the solon's flacks was asked

about it. I can never forget his comment, “Joe, in his

own humble way, this was the only building he

wanted named after him.”

The John Joseph Moakley United States Court-

house is an ornate architectural monstrosity. Maybe

it's not on the scale of the pyramids, but Joe was no

Amenhotep. When looking at it, one would not say

this is the memorial to a humble man.

On January 31 The Boston Globe reported that it

was proposed that South Station be named The Gov-

ernor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at

South Station. No news there. As noted above, struc-

tures are named after public figures. Usually a man

who, in the words of Macbeth, “struts and frets his

hour upon the stage and then is heard no more.”

There may be a couple of geezers left who remember

Maurice Tobin of Tobin Bridge fame, but who the

heck is Leonard Zakim of the Zakim Bridge?*

It was Michael Stanley's reaction that shocked me.

He said No. Had I a pacemaker, the battery would

have shorted. This may not be unprecedented, but

who has years to research it? One should not cavil at

the act. Even if his reasoning might not be mine, it's

still a noble sentiment and it pains me to say, a hum-

ble gesture.

So Governor Duke, you have my admiration, but

I will never forgive you for making me give up my re-

sentment.

*I looked him up once and completely forgot who

he was a minute later. All I remember is that he was,

in the words of the late Jerry Williams, “not a bad

guy.”

Former Massachusetts Governor, Michael S. Dukakis

In the words of the

late talk-show host

Jerry Williams,

Dukakis is not a bad

guy, after all.

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Say It Isn't So, Mike