Disciple for the dogs
Sometime last month, some heartless bastard tied a pregnant medium-sized mutt to a pole outside of Our Lady of Mount Carmel church.
A kind soul delivered the abandoned girl to the Worcester Animal Rescue League, where immediately Mary Jane Fallon recognized that she was ready to have pups. A shelter is no place to give birth, she knew, so her home quickly became the dog’s “hospital.”
Fallon assembled a makeshift welting box next to her bed, and within days, the mama expertly produced a litter of nine. The family is still living at her home.
This is not an uncommon act for Fallon. A devoted volunteer at the WARL, more often than not she’s sheltering fosters (alongside four of her own dogs, Jack, Tripp, Ellington and Sydney) at her home in Harvard.
Heineken would have you believe it’s all about the beer. But for Fallon, it’s really all about the dogs. In fact, to celebrate her 50th birthday two years ago, her husband Justin asked her if she’d like to vacation in Paris or to fence in an acre of land for the dogs. She figured she had seen Paris, and her dogs liked to roam around. She picked the fence. Likewise, her son and daughter sometimes surprise her with spay and neuter gift certificates for presents.
We chatted on an unseasonably warm day a few weeks ago outside at the Rescue League, where Fallon walked a female pit bull mix named Kookita. While telling her story, she consistently talked to and patted the jumpy inmate.
Fallon can afford to donate – both in terms of time and money. But she doesn’t have to, especially to the degree that she does. And Fallon lacks pretension. A tall woman of medium build, she sports a simple cropped haircut and Levi jeans, a long-sleeve T-shirt and Birkenstocks with wool socks. Her red Volvo station wagon sits in the parking lot, but there is, of course, a dog cage braced in the back.
Unlike a lot of animal advocates, Fallon didn’t grow up enamored by animals. She was a kid who occasionally brought home strays to her family’s one-bedroom Bronx apartment, but only for a short stay. It didn’t happen until later in life – specifically nine years ago, when she adopted her Border Collie-mix, Jack – that Fallon truly became what we can call a “dog person.”
“I never thought I’d have pit bulls sleeping next to my bed,” says Fallon, “or that my birthday present to myself would be paying for $300 eye surgery for a dog.”
Now a reading teacher for special needs kids at Major Edwards School in West Boylston in the morning, Fallon has headed over to the WARL to log time with pooches like Kookita every day for the past year and a half. She stumbled into the shelter about three years ago, when she was coordinator for the Australian Shepherd Rescue League.
“I really became a dog person after I kept Jack, who has a lot of Australian Shepherd attributes,” says Fallon. “So that led me to the Australian Shepherd Rescue, and I got my dog Daisy [who died of cancer] about five years ago. They were just so wonderful to me that I wanted to give something back. I went further than giving back to the Australian Rescue. I don’t do this because I should. I do it because it is amazingly up. I love being in the company of dogs.”
When her term was up as coordinator the rescue league, no one else wanted the role, so the group hooked up with the national representatives. Fallon started to become a regular volunteer at the Worcester Animal Rescue League.
As is common among heroes, it was difficult to pry much self-examination from Fallon. Instead, she often redirected the conversation to talking about the dogs, or methods of dealing with the dogs.
Book-smart and well spoken, it is apparent that she is an avid researcher, as she often alludes to seminars she has attended or books she has read. Fallon is the wife of a brain researcher, and has also done considerable research herself regarding the canine’s brain and what makes it tick. She’s a disciple of animal educator Susan Sternberg, and has paid for many of her seminars, which detail how to evaluate and handle adoptive dogs as they arrive at the shelter.
“Sternberg says that you need to walk down your kennels every night,” she says, “and say, ‘are you a better dog than you were when you came in, and are you a better dog than you were by the end of the day?’ Unless you can say yes, you’re just warehousing them and need to rethink.”
Fallon is a savior, and takes her role seriously – particularly since volunteering at the WARL. At the time she started to volunteer, WARL suffered from a severely fractured reputation – a reputation that was partly rooted in truth. When Hal Currier began to run the place in 1994, and his wife Doreen joined him in ‘98, they started to slowly turn the ship in the right direction. Fallon was a much-needed shipmate.
“MJ’s arrival to the shelter came at a time when we needed a new voice,” says Doreen. “She had visited many other shelters before, and we had never seen outside these walls – so she had some insight on what people are looking for when they visit shelters. It has been a tough, long challenge, but we are determined to let people know we are not a bad place for animals to come. MJ has gone beyond what we know as a volunteer. She sees no boundaries between paid and unpaid when it comes to animals.”
“I brought those things,” says Fallon. “But they had to be receptive. I think they were doing the best they could, but I think now it’s revolutionary.”
Whether ugly, old, handicapped, sick or scared, Fallon works at getting dogs back on their paws. For instance, Kookita, the surrendered dog she tends to as we talk, is older and not “conventionally gorgeous.”
“I’m just taking her for a walk – just hanging out,” says Fallon. “I do this with as many as I can. I don’t do it as much with the young, adorable puppies because they’re out of here quickly. They don’t need my help as much.”
Fallon socializes dogs aggressively, sometimes even taking them for a weekend at the Cape, or for spells at the Home Depot, where they can become tolerant of even burly human types. She’s not adverse to taking a shelter inmate out for a cheeseburger at Wendy’s. Her regular veterinarian gives her 50 percent discounts because she brings in so much business.
“She has been an angel sent from doggie heaven,” says Doreen. “Every shelter that exists needs an MJ. She has given hundreds of homeless dogs the chance of a lifetime. She opens her heart and home to them all.”
And cats? Surely she’d help them out, too, if they didn’t make her scratch, sneeze and break into patches of hives. Allergies have certainly shaped Fallon’s preference.
Lots of people like their dogs. But there are few who cross the bridge into becoming a spokesperson for them, taking on their plight as Fallon has done. She just instinctively knows they need her, or perhaps it’s the other way around.
“I don’t know if they need me, really,” laughs Fallon. “I know I need them. They live in the moment. They don’t hold grudges. They don’t dwell on stuff. What you see is what you get. They’re warm, and they’re funny. They’re the other species that we share our lives with in a very personal way.”
Fallon does more than most.
As published in Worcester Publishing’s “Food Book,” 2006
Cars, houses, clothes and music aren’t all that is subject to trends. What we drink has its style phases, too. You see it in the ads; the push for a Narragansett comeback, the vodka drink craze, 1,001 different martini recipes, Fetzer during the holidays. Some of them stick and some don’t. Is anyone else out there ashamed to order a Zima? Did that guy actually just get a Tom Collins?
A good buzz will never go out. Beer and wine certainly always stays in fashion, but you choose for your buzz may change. Here, we talk to two experts in the trade to find out what’s hot in the world of grapes, hops and barley.
Rick Lombardi opened The Vin Bin at 27 South Bolton St. in Marlboro in September of 2004. With more than 800 different wines, they offer selections from every wine producing country. The store also boasts 130 beers and ales, 100 cheeses, specialty food products and fresh baked bread.
Echoed by many experts in the food and wine industry, Lombardi has noticed a strong shift in the consumer’s attitude and knowledge of wine and beer. Thanks to cooking shows and infiltration into the pop culture market, consumers are becoming savvier about the drink. It’s bad news for the Budweisers, Coors and Ruinitis of the world, but great news for the niche market brewers and wineries.
For the first time, studies are confirming that wine is outselling beer in the under-30 segment; the fastest growing consumer of wine is between the age of 24 and 30. “Wine is no longer the drink of older, snobby, middle-aged men and women,” says Lombardi. “It’s the drink of the masses. Thousands of years ago, wine was always part of every meal in every culture. It had taken on a different aspect in this country 100 years ago.””
The beer and winemakers are noticing. More affordable, quality wines are popping up. The Australian line Little Penguin makes a strong showing in many liquor stores these days – “a great wine for the price,” you’ll hear many say. Lombardi maintains that wine is simply made much better than it was 10 years ago, giving more value for the dollar.
In addition to Little Penguin, Lombardi says one of The Vin Bin’s best sellers is Pascual Toso. From Argentina, the company makes a malbec, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc – all under $10, and all delicious. “They represent a much better quality than similar priced wines from other parts of the world,” says Lombardi. “The unofficial motto from South America is ‘twice the wine for half the money.’ There are always good values in South American wine. It’s a fraction of what you’d pay for a wine from California or France.”
Although American wines still sell more than any other at the Vin Bin, Lombardi finds that shoppers are searching for value wines from Spain, New Zealand and South Africa, and are becoming more conscious of old world wines from Italy, Spain and France. Btu again, they’re seeking values. “They are expressing joy over a gem they can have under $10,” says Lombardi. ”That’s part of the beauty of wine is discovering that one that is inexpensive, but delicious.”
Tim Korby, the “wine guy” (buyer/wine manager) at Julio’s Liquors in Westboro, says it isn’t so much that affordable wines are getting “better,” but that there are more available than ever before. They’re “getting to us,” so to speak. Korby has been buying wine for 30 years – 10 years at Julio’s – and has watched a lot of trends. Right now, he gives us a snapshot of the happening wines he sees flying out of the store. In white wines, rieslings from California, Washington and Germany are on the rise. Also, coming up is un-oaked chardonnay from California and Australia. In the red wine category, pinot noir is still hot, but getting even more attention are malbecs from Argentina and shirazes from South Africa.
“People are looking to go a little bit lighter,” says Korby. “They don’t want the overwhelming white wines. The chardonnays are getting too heavy. Sauvignon blanc is getting too pungent. They are looking for lighter and softer. The malbec is popular with people more educated about red wines and they are looking for something more unique and different; the shiraz for the same reason.”
Give it time, Korby says, and we’ll find better things in boxes. Already, there are a few wines that are making an excellent three-liter box. It tastes great for the value, and keeps for four-six weeks. Called “screw caps,” the Stelvin Closure is finally gaining acceptance, too. Slowly, the idea that a good wine has to have a cork is fading (literally, too, since the amount of quality cork is scarcer). “One out of 15 bottles is bad because of bacteria in the cork,” says Korby. “Wineries are trying to find a way to get wine as pure as they can and the screw cap is the best way to do it. That ties in with the box thing, too.”
Korby’s choice for the best value: The Chilean Concha Y Toro makes a product called Casillero Del Diablo, and for $9.99 the cabernet sauvignon is “amazing.” Try that, say, instead of that white zinfandel you’ve got in your hands. That’s never been in style and is considered the Kool-Aid of the wine beverage industry.
Don’t be afraid to belch
And let us not forget the beer. Ryan Maloney, who owns Julio’s, says the heavily hopped beers are flying out of the store right now. Brands such as Dogfish Head are big. And the beer community has always considered Belgian beers as some of the best in the world. Now, with consumers becoming more educated, more people are picking up on this fact. Another trend? Cask-aged beer. “They usually use bourbon barrels to do that,” says Maloney. “You have everything from barley wines to Belgian triples to stouts, all aged in barrels. When these things come out they are high in demand, but low in quantity. It’s a big trend. When people get their hands on them they are all bought up.”
For the more “mainstream buyer,” Maloney says popular brands right now are products such as Heineken Light. “That lit off with fire,” he says, “and we’re not even into the summer season.” Beers such as the Brazilian Brahma, too, are seeing a push. “People are looking for that lighter style in the summer,” says Maloney. “Beers such as Corona, too – I always see huge increases in the summer. It’s always a hot brand.
“People are definitely stepping up and experimenting more and finding out what beer can be,” he adds. “The big thing now is food and beer pairings. We do that here all the time. With things like Belgian beers, you’re talking about rivaling wines in their complexity.”
Lombardi agrees. Since the Vin Bin specializes in microbrews, his clientele isn’t as inclined to pick up a case of Miller Lite. “I call the Buds of the world lawnmower beers,” says Lombardi. “Although I do enjoy a Bud myself, they are for after mowing the lawn.”
Among the Vin Bin’s fastest selling brands are Lagunitas, a heavily hopped vibrant IPA from California. “That’s similar to many of the beers being introduced,” says Lombardi. “It mimics the wine world in many ways. Their flavors are much more complex.”
Two of his personal favorites are Sherwood Forest from Marlboro and Berkshire Brewery from the Berkshires. The Sherwood beer is microbrew ale with deep flavors, similar to a Sam Adams style. The Berkshires beer is also rich, deep colored beer, which is a little on the sweet side; and only sold in 22-ouncers. The wheat, lighter beers such as Bavaria and Hefeweizen pack the shelves as summer comes, too.
“Summer is the time of year that breweries are sending out their lighter beers,” says Lombardi. “All of the microbrews sell. It depends on who comes in, so they rotate in popularity. But the national brands do sell less.”
Adds Maloney: “You’d be surprised what people will buy at a premium beer price. A lot of it is just that people aren’t necessarily drinking more, but drinking better.”
Part of the “Images” series published by JCC Communications for various Chamber of Commerce Publications across the country
Boulder is fortunate in many ways, including having a well-diversified economy. Long a hub for entrepreneurial activity, the city and surrounding areas have high tech firms in bioscience, software and data storage as well as non-tech companies in natural foods, outdoor products and creative class pursuits. Mixed with federal laboratories and the University of Colorado, Boulder bubbles with business.
With the help of the University of Colorado, the Chamber of Commerce and the city, the Boulder Economic Council hopes to create a Boulder Innovation Center (BIC). Considered a “virtual business incubator,” it is one of the steps toward building an economic vitality plan to promote and recruit new businesses, ultimately bolstering a healthier economy for Boulder.
“The BIC will provide training, mentoring and other forms of assistance to start-up companies,” says Sean Maher, director of the Boulder Economic Council, “as well as later stage ventures who need help growing their business.”
Like a Big Brother program, this center will pair experienced CEOs with new entrepreneurs – the CEOs sharing their expertise with hungry new business people. It will also help companies raise early stage capital, assist them in finding affordable space and guide fresh businesses through the process of the oft-dreaded business plan.
For it to work, the city, EDC and the Chamber fuse their strengths, each bringing to the project the nuts and bolts to build and facilitate this plan successfully. The Chamber brings dollars and its broad brush of support to the business community. The BEC has access to leaders in banking, law, marketing and businesses, as well as funding. And the city cooperates with its departments, which businesses deal with on a regular basis. The city, too, has funding.
“Boulder has always been a hub for entrepreneurial activity,” says Maher. “These efforts will bring together all the resources available in the community and give entrepreneurs an easy way to tap into them. The elements of this plan have been extremely well received throughout the business community. “
Originally ran in Worcester Magazine, 2003
Musical beauty is in the ear of the listener, and I certainly don’t mean to belie that notion.
But as a fairly consistent complainer about certain songs (many of which don’t qualify for this article), the editor of this section asked me to spin my whines into words – and create a little roundup of tunes that are begging to hit “out of print” status. Unfortunately, these are not songs that are going to go away any time soon, as they are some of the most popular cover tunes and wedding reception songs out there.
I’m in a cover band (let’s get that out of the way), and I occasionally argue that we teeter on the fence between doing good songs and just songs that people think
they need to hear. I write this article, yet some might protest that because my band includes “Play That Funky Music,” “Bad Case of Loving You,” “Son of a Preacher Man” and “Brick House,” it disqualifies me from being an authority. So be it. It’s still fun to complain.
And we all cave sometimes.
Below please find, in no particular order, the ultimate bad wedding reception and cover songs list – a group of numbers that should be stuffed into a flimsy piñata and bashed to a pulp. It is a compilation that must be photocopied and faxed to every deejay in the country, so they can promptly weed it from their collection.
“Wonderful Tonight” – This song is hardly wonderful tonight, or any night – even the eve of your high school prom (80 percent of you can claim this one). Clapton’s droning, flat voice only mucks up further this dull melody. One really bad song on an otherwise great album.
“Crocodile Rock” – Too goofy. And what the hell is “Crocodile Rock” anyway? This one was in close running with “Only the Good Die Young.”
“Some Kind of Wonderful” – The bass line is some kind of awful. Like that nauseating “Black Velvet” (or even “I’m The Only One” by Melissa Etheridge), the bass tedium just hangs out nakedly to annoy and assault the listener for a good three and a half minutes. Grand Funk stunk.
“Paradise by the Dashboard Light” – Picturing all the feathered-hair cheesies and mullet-heads pointing at one another yelling “stop right there!” is hysterical. But when the entire song is dramatized in front of us – from Meat Loaf swearing he’d love that girl ‘til the end of time to sleeping on it to praying for the end of time, we’re praying for the song to end.
“Mustang Sally” – Does this one really require an explanation as to why it ought to be recalled? Does not everyone hate this song?
“Old Time Rock ‘n’ Roll” – Just take this old record off the shelf, and throw it in the garbage. Usually the “party starter” at most weddings, the opening piano riff is meant to bring us to our feet, but instead sends us to the bar for another shot.
“Brown Eyed Girl” – I feel bad sometimes about damning this song to death. Van Morrison is a monster songwriter, and one of the most soulful white singers on the planet. However, this tune has entered a stage where if I hear one more band break into those easy chords, I’ll – well, I’ll stay and play pool, but I won’t like it.
“Celebration” – End this song some time, come on! There is so much better out there in the disco/dance category that we shouldn’t have to bear this weak entry by Kool and his Gang. “Ladies Night” would be much more welcomed.
“Mony Mony” – Hey you? Hey what? … get Raid… this sucks! Let’s spray this drunken bug of a song-chant along with the “So good, so good!” in “Sweet Caroline.”
“Love Shack” – If we had some separation for awhile, this one might not be so bad. But as with the “stop right there!” during “Dashboard,” it’s just hard to deal with the “tin roof … rusted!” theatrics on the dance floor.
“YMCA” – We’ve all proven we can form those letters (though everyone makes the “M” a little differently). Let’s shelve this baby for awhile.
That “Shout/Twist” medley – Now waiiiiit a minute. This pesky mix does makes us want to shout, at the deejay, to turn it off and put on something superior like “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” or “Best of My Love.”
And lastly, we line ‘em up: Bring back the “Alley Cat!” Thoroughly revive “The Hustle!” “The Electric Slide,” the “Chicken Dance” and the “Macarena” have become sad attempts to pluck wedding guests from their assigned seating. Usually, however, three or four women and a guy or two fumble through the steps enough to annoy that one person who knows the dance by heart – their “Achey Breaky Heart,” a song we’d welcome back over many on this list.
And a few suggestions from the staff: “Lady in Red,” “I Will Always Love You,” “Always and Forever,” “December 1963 (Oh What a Night)” and “Wind Beneath My Wings.”
Brown and Brown segment in Worcester Business Journal’s Book of Experts
There are so many options in the financial world these days. Gone are the times when a wad of cash stuffed between the mattresses would suffice for “emergency savings” or “education funds.” It’s hard to know where to start when so many opportunities exist to channel your hard-earned money through. That’s where Brown & Brown LLP comes in with a confident hand, guiding you and your funds to achieve your financial goals.
“In today’s marketplace, people are bombarded with financial information and choices related to their personal financial needs,” says Carolyn Stall, partner, “including investments, insurance, estate planning, retirement funding, tax savings strategies, educational costs, etc. If is often difficult for them to determine what they really need.”
Most importantly, Stall says it is difficult to tell if the products or services you’re being offered are appropriate and at a fair price. Brown & Brown provides wealth management services through its affiliate, Brown & Brown Financial LLC, which is a registered investment advisor. Since Brown & Brown doesn’t directly sell any products or services, you can count on the firm to be unbiased with its advice (a markedly important attribute).
“We help people obtain the best products and services,” says Stall, “and at the appropriate price to help them reach their goals. We continue to meet with them regularly to be sure they are making progress toward their financial goals and help them fine tune their plans as changes occur in their lives and in the marketplace.”
Brown & Brown provides its services on a fee basis, which allows them to avoid any conflicts of interest. Stall and her associates, with years of experience behind them and a finger on the pulse of the financial market, remain independent and objective when dishing out advice.
Here are some of the services Brown & Brown takes care of:
Identify client’s long and short term goals and objectives
Develop a financial plan to achieve those goals and objectives
Perform an in depth review of their current net worth statement
Analyze and restructure debt
Review income tax returns and develop tax saving strategies
Evaluate current insurance needs and coverage
Develop appropriate asset allocation and assist in selection of investment managers
Assist with business succession planning and valuation services
Review estate plan and develop effective wealth transfer techniques
Ongoing investment monitoring and wealth management services
Simply put, Brown & Brown acts as a client’s advocate and works hard to ensure that they are getting the most out of their money, in more ways than one. And that, you can take to the bank.
