I will not watch the Patriots, I will not watch the Patriots, I will not watch the Patriots. I’ve been repeating this mantra and testing my resolve since November, but my gripe is not specifically with the team. It’s the National Football League that I can no longer support.

Here I am, in Patriot Nation, hoping that the Pats will flaunt another Super Bowl win in NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s face, but the league’s indifference to the health of its players is infuriating me. How can I support a business that’s uncompromising in its policies about pain relief while its employees develop devastating addictions? Read more…

Massachusetts legislators last week pulled a fast — but legal — move last week when they delayed the deadline for allowing the sale of recreational marijuana. Voters sent a clear message when they passed the ballot question by a wide margin on Election Day. Given that Governor Charlie Baker, Attorney General Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh vehemently opposed the legislation,  the passage of Question 4 was a big deal.

Nearly 1.8 million people voted yes but only six legislators voted for the delay. More importantly, the public does not know the identity of those six state senators because the the legislation was passed during an “informal session.” Such sessions require only one Democrat and one Republican to vote although votes must be unanimous. Think about that: One Democrat and one Republican can introduce and pass legislation, but taxpayers will likely not know the identities of those people.

I don’t care about the delay nor do I think this will be the last delay pertaining to this law. What I do care about is that Massachusetts legislators can do an end run around the Open Meeting Law to pass any laws. How is it that a bill can become law without the public knowing who sponsored it and who voted for it? How can it be legal to skirt public scrutiny?

Behavior like this is why people don’t trust politicians.

More than 40 years have passed since two neighborhood boys sexually assaulted me, but lately I have been reliving the incident like it happened yesterday. After hearing Donald Trump boast about forcing himself on women, I’m suddenly an ashamed 12-year-old girl who doesn’t understand what happened to me.

For the first time, I think about the men these boys turned into, and wonder if they know, or care, what they did to me.

Do they remember dragging me into the dark corner of a neighbor’s yard, throwing me on the ground and taking turns sticking their hands down my pants and up my shirt? Do they recall how I fought? Do they ever wonder what they might have done if I didn’t bite the hand that was covering my mouth, allowing me to escape? Read more…

Photo by Amit Lahav

I just learned that Care2.com, a social network with about 37 million subscribers, is going to publish my commentary about sexual assault. They offered to link back to my website. Great news, right?

The only problem is that I’ve been tinkering with this blog for a while now and the only other person who has seen it is my husband. I have about 24 hours to turn into something moderately respectable. I work best when I’m on deadline, and I know I’ll get it done, but please know that this is not the final product. Please enjoy some of my previously published work in the meantime. And please come back and visit me! I promise to be more appropriately dressed.

Sesuit Creek view, from walking tour in Sesuit Neck in Dennis, MA