A Highly-Effective Fundraising Letter

In these days of electronic communication I still get a phenomenal amount of snailmail asking for donations for this or that worthwhile cause. Sadly, my income is finite, so I cannot respond to most.

But one local institution has managed to send me a fundraising letter to which I just can't say no.

The Oak Square YMCA Y put a cute picture of a gap-toothed 7-year-old on a newsletter that came along with a request for a donation. The same adorable picture that the Y also used last year on one of their seasonal programming guides.

How can a father say no to that? The check is in the mail.

Brighton Death of Globe's Latest So-Called Trend

Another week, another so-called trend appearing in the pages of the Boston Globe. Today's trend: cupcake stores in Boston, poised for an even greater surge.

While the story hyped the number of cupcake stores in Boston (six) and pointed to new stores possibly coming soon, it failed to point out at least one cupcake business that has gone bust.

That would be right here in Brighton Center, where Cherry Bomb closed its doors recently at 379 Washington Street after what appears to have been less than one year in business. Bye-bye bacon, beer, and pepper cupcakes.

You would think that balancing the busting, not just the booming, of cupcake stores would be a necessary journalistic ingredient in assessing whether or not there is a local trend.


Image by lamantin provided through CC by 2.0 license.

Soft, Naked Opening

No, not what you think.

Friday night the new Naked Pizza at 433 Washington Street (corner of Foster Street) near Brighton Center -- formerly a gas station that often ran out of gas! -- had its soft opening. Inside it looked very crowded for this take-out only joint.

So, if your insides are craving pizza crust made from oats, brown rice, buckwheat, quinoa, amaranth, teff, spelt, tapioca, and two kinds of wheat -- as well as prebiotic agave fiber and probiotics -- you can get your fix now. Just prepare to wait in line.

Fantastic! A Fox This Morning in Brighton Back Yard

Startling but lovely sight this morning to see a fox trotting into my Brighton back yard. He wandered around a bit, hopped over the fence into the neighbors yard, stretched out and scratched. A chorus of crows surrounded him in the trees, and he left soon after.

Methinks he was looking for rabbits, a few of which live on this block. I've tracked them recently in the fresh snow.