A few years ago a friend of mine tuned me into a local blog named "Wormtown Taxi" that was written by a man named Jeff Barnard. The blog was a collection of Jeff's thoughts and observations as he drove his cab around central Massachusetts, particularly the city of Worcester. Jeff also reminisced about events of his life, moments he shared with his wife, took pictures with his cell phone of scenes around the area and posted them with his thoughts, delved into local history, and shared his views on a wide range of subjects.
His was the first blog that I ever followed, as did many people in the Worcester area. It became part of my morning routine to see what subject Jeff was going to touch on today. He was always entertaining and insightful, and for myself and several friends, losing his blog was like losing a part of our lives.
Jeff was diagnosed with melanoma a couple of years ago. During his convalescence, Jeff would often share in his blog what he was going through with his chemotherapy. He told us of his feelings, his trials, and his triumphs. I found him to be especially brave to share his thoughts with us for as long as he could. His life ended last November, but his memory continues.
A good friend of mine has prodded me to follow in Jeff's footsteps because of my penchant to write, and my knowledge and experiences in the Central Massachusetts area. While in no way could I ever fill the shoes of Jeff Barnard, I have been waiting for someone else to step up and continue the genre of work that he started. To date, no one has. So, being a the kid who usually took the dare that his friends put out, I have decided to give it a try. As I said, Jeff's shoes are too big for me to try to walk in. I may not be able to produce the volume of work he did, but in his memory and honor, I will try to measure up to the quality of content.
This will be a work in progress and I will gladly take suggestions for subject matter.
So Mikey boy, let's see what happens.
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