Screen Time

Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

On July 1, 1986, my first movie review appeared in The Evening Gazette. I’d been assigned “American Anthem,” which was meant to be the launch of Olympic gymnast Mitch Gaylord’s acting career. I don’t recall my exact words, but I believe I suggested that Mitch moves like a jungle cat and acts like a pommel horse, or something to that effect. His time on this particular stage was brief, then he was gone.

And so am I.

For 35 years I’ve been writing about movies for the Worcester County audience — first at The Evening Gazette, then The Telegram & Gazette, and finally, for more than a decade, at Worcester Magazine. Now I’ve decided it’s time to step away from this wonderful gig to direct my time and capacity toward other pursuits, and to deal with a personal challenge that requires my focus. Besides, three-plus decades at anything is a good run, amiright?

I’ve enjoyed filling this space with observations, criticisms, and silliness, week after week, year after year. The late, great Gerry Goggins hired me in 1986 to write freelance reviews and produce the Film Clips column in the Gazette’s Time Out section after I’d abandoned my short-lived career as a high school English teacher (and lost my reserved place in heaven). I’m not sure I knew what I was doing in those early days — no, on second thought, I am sure I didn’t know what I was doing — so when Gerry, a taciturn guy, would say, “Good column,” I took it as a sign my stuff was passable enough to keep printing for at least another week.

When I started as a critic, Worcester had four theaters within the city limits — National Amusements’ theaters downtown and in Lincoln Plaza and Webster Square, and a General Cinema on the basement level of the Galleria, later to morph into the Bijou. White City Cinemas was just across the bridge in Shrewsbury, and the independent Cinema 320 screened art house and international films at Clark University. All are gone. Showcase Cinema North debuted in 1995, and it’s shuttered, too.

I loved these places. As I write this, the memories are racing through me:

If you attended a movie at the downtown Showcase in the ’80s, you likely encountered Selma, an elderly Worcester character known for her heavily powdered skin and penchant for cackling loudly from the front row, even during slasher movies. I once gave Selma a ride home after the Mikhail Baryshnikov movie “Dancers,” and she regaled me with stories about her own former dancing career. Was any of it true? I hope so, because I bought every detail. (The late Doug Ingalls, then the Showcase manager, always waved Selma through for free, and hosted a Thanksgiving party at the theater for the band of regulars who had no other dinner options.)

When my wife and I were newly married, we trudged through a snowstorm from our apartment off Mill Street to catch a double feature of “Moonstruck” and “Overboard” at Webster Square. The audience was so tiny that the manager came around and chatted us up individually between shows. Cozy doesn’t begin to describe the experience.

On the Bijou’s last night, I drifted away from the party in the lobby and made my way upstairs to chat with the projectionist who spilled his stories about old-time Worcester cinema (including porn). I felt like Jimmy Breslin interviewing the guy who dug JFK’s grave.

My favorite of all was Showcase North, that boxy, beautiful behemoth on Brooks Street where I introduced our two children to the miracle of big-screen movies. I brought them to films that were perfectly matched to their ages and maturity levels, and exposed them to others that proved to be wholly inappropriate. (I regret nothing. Well, maybe “Jackass Number Two.”)

A few days after the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, during a packed screening of “Monsters, Inc.” at Showcase North, the lights came up and we were instructed to immediately evacuate the theater. At the time, everyone was on high alert for the next terrorist strike, and the unsettling sight of firetrucks and police cruisers gathered at the entrance only added to the discomfort of the parents clutching their children’s hands. Finally, we were allowed back in, and as I passed by Deb, the manager, she whispered to me, “Burnt popcorn.”

I’d considered for this final column getting into technology’s influence on the production and delivery of these columns and reviews (yes, I wrote my early reviews on a typewriter) or doing a deep dive into the evolving ways we engage the tsunami of content available to us. But I and many others have already addressed all of it. What’s left to say? Just tell me a story that moves me — to tears, to laughter, to wonder — and I don’t care if it plays on an IMAX screen or a smart phone or is projected on a yellowed sheet in an alley.

I will certainly have more to say after today, and my editors have graciously invited me to contribute to these pages when I’m inspired to do so. For now, this break from the weekly duty is good and necessary. It was an honor to share my thoughts, opinions and whimsies with you across the years, and thank you for reading.

For 35 years Jim Keogh has been writing about movies for the Worcester County audience — first at The Evening Gazette, then The Telegram & Gazette, and finally, for more than a decade, at Worcester Magazine. GETTY IMAGES

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Jeffrey Foucault’s newest album is “Deadstock.”

PHOTO COURTESY JOSEPH NAVAS

Continued from Page 22

ords, Jafet Muzic, Danny Fantom and K’Nen; “The New Normal Pt. I” from Boston hip-hop outfit STL GLD; “Sin Justicia, No Hay Paz,” by DJ WhySham with Eva Davenport & Sophia Islander; and the punk rock “21st Century Failure,” by the Prefab Messiahs. Of course, if you really want to mess with a few relatives at the cookout, you can play the Dandy Highwaymen’s “A Modest Proposal”: “No cake! No bread! Let’s Eat the Rich Instead!” That usually gets a reaction. And if you’re looking for something more positive and affirming, you could do a lot worse than Wildcard Characters’ extremely catchy Pride anthem, “Louder.”

ROUNDING THINGS OUT: There are some songs that aren’t on Spotify which would have worked on any number of levels, such as Sapling’s delightfully anarchic “(Expletive) This Yuppie Barbecue” and Vance Gilbert’s ode to holding community together in the face of profit-based change, “Upon Rockfield.” Still, songs such as Jeffrey Foucault’s meditation on rock ‘n’ roll and commercialism, “War on the Radio,” the Duende Project’s labor-rousing “Crumbs” and the Marshall Pass’ “Blood Riders” — another one about a town facing change in the face of monied interest — bring a certain gravitas and sense of social awareness without being too weighty. This playlist isn’t for everyone of course, but then, that’s the beauty of America: If you feel different about the country and the groove, you can express it through your own mix. It is, after all, a free country.

From left, Danny Fantom, K’Nen and Jafet Muzic are the principal rappers of Stanton Capitol Records.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

It was just after nine that night and our children were sleeping upstairs when I received a message from the New York City Police Department. I dropped to the kitchen floor and squeezed my hands over my face because I already knew that she was gone; I handed the phone to my husband to return the call. My mind often replays this evening and one thing that stands out is the pain in my husband’s voice as he squeezed out the words “she jumped” through his own tears.

The last year was one of communal loss. We lost jobs; proms and graduations; baseball, March Madness, and the Boston Marathon. We lost traveling, and we lost loved ones. On Sunday, October 25, 2020, we lost my older sister Liza.

Approximately 47,500 people take their own lives each year in the U.S. Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death. The statistics don’t include suicides that are misreported as accidental overdoses, heart attacks or falls down the stairs. I found myself in the loneliest place I’d ever been after Liza died; the statistics suggest, however, that I am in good company. Even if each suicide death profoundly affects just five loved ones — a conservative estimate — there are 237,500 of my compatriots walking among us.

Those of us who have lost a loved one to suicide are further isolated by public attitudes. World Suicide Prevention Day is observed on September 10. The primary goal of the largest suicide prevention organization in the country, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, is to save lives and it frames suicide as largely treatable with the implementation of mental health services. Of course, suicide should be prevented where possible, but the prevention message is as oversimplified as Just Say No to Drugs or abstinence-only sex education. It fails to consider that many people will not accept help and you cannot save someone who doesn’t want to be saved. People do not have that sort of control over one another.

Even those who are amenable to treatment may not have access to quality mental health care. It is incredibly difficult to find good help these days, especially for someone flattened by depression. Further, suicide prevention messaging makes the hundreds of thousands of people like me feel like terrible sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons for failing to save our loved ones.

Liza died when her struggles converged in a perfect storm, no single factor was to blame. Her mental and physical illness, substance abuse, divorce, family conflict, financial and housing instability made her a live grenade with the pin pulled. Already unsettled by our unstable national climate, Liza could not hang on in the isolation inflicted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

There was always a passive suicidality about Liza. She didn’t always want to kill herself, but she always knew she would die young. She lived her life like she had nothing to lose; she smoked, misused drugs and alcohol, never slept, made risky financial decisions, and drove her car way too fast. About three years ago, Liza was hospitalized after she tried to die using pills and alcohol.

Liza’s struggles were not the whole of her, though. Those Liza counted as friends are lucky. She delighted in cooking, eating, and above all, feeding people. I can see Liza walking into our parents’ home like a tornado with armloads of baked goods. She would blow right by the dish of olives, hummus, and crackers on the kitchen island to the fridge and excitedly ask, “What are we eating?” Like our dad, Liza was a great dancer and had a passion for all things beautiful, from cars to fashion to women.

She loved music and produced a track that made it to the Billboard chart. Liza had a raspy, mischievous laugh and a gift for delivering one-liners, also inherited from our dad. She made us open gifts immediately — before she even took her jacket off — because she could not contain her glee in watching people open her gifts.

Liza always showed up for her people and would not miss a birthday, phone call, graduation, shower, or wedding. She was one of the first people to hold my son after he was born, even though she had to drive three hours to do it. When our dad neared the end of his life, Liza constantly held his hand and put her face inches away from his when she spoke, ignoring his desire for personal space. It was funny to watch because he could do nothing about it; she finally had him as a captive audience. But then, she always held the ones she loved closely.

I bet you know someone who has lost a loved one to suicide; you do not have to leave them among the 237,500 lonely people. I know you are uncomfortable, but please don’t stand silent or sling platitudes like “everything happens for a reason” or “she’s in a better place now.” Everything doesn’t have to be pretty. Do not ask what happened or the method of their loved one’s death.

Suicide loss is grief compounded by trauma and these questions sting. Put your discomfort aside, and be there; call, go for a walk, send food. Be aware of how quickly the news cycle moves, and that your friend is still suffering six months or six years after their loss. If your friend is willing, talk about their loved one and use their name. People die twice; first when their heart stops beating and, second, the last time a living person speaks their name.

If you were friends before the loss, you must get to know the new them. The pieces just don’t fit together the same way they used to. Grief doesn’t vanish, but it changes. We who have experienced profound grief get brave; we can jump in with reckless abandon. If we can withstand pain like this, we can do anything.

Abigail Salois lives with her husband, two children, and dog in Holden, Massachusetts. She has been a practicing attorney in Worcester since 2012. Follow @mourning_runs on Instagram to learn more about Abigail’s writing and to join the conversation about destigmatizing suicide loss.

Approximately 47,500 people take their own lives each year in the U.S. Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death. ULRIKE MAI

The band moe. will perform at 6:30 p.m. July 3 at Northlands, Cheshire Fairground, 247 Monadnock Highway, Swanzey,

N.H. PHOTO BY JAY BLAKESBERG

Richard Duckett, Veer Mudambi and Victor D. Infante Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK

Since emerging from Buffalo more than 30 years ago, moe. has been one of the premier groups on the jam band scene and a fan favorite. As one reviewer noted, “Not only do they play with peerless skill and energy, they have an extensive catalog of songs that are complex and feature multiple mood and tempo changes; it is music crafted to allow the band maximum opportunities for improvisation.” Fueled by an impassioned fan base, moe. has spent much of those 30+ years on the road, and the band is back at Northlands in Swanzey, New Hampshire (formerly Drive-In Live when it played there last October) for a show at 6:30 p.m. July 3. Also at Northlands 6:30 p.m. July 2 is singer-songwriter and former Allman Brothers Band lead guitarist Warren Hayes. (RD) What: moe. When: 6:30 p.m. July 3 Where: Northlands, Cheshire Fairground, 247 Monadnock Highway, Swanzey, New Hampshire How much: Single tickets available for this show. One pod purchase for five people is $29-$32 per person. www.northlandslive.com.

For dog lovers, there’s not much better than watching our canine companions flying after a frisbee on a summer day. Mike Piazza and his border collies take this to a whole new level (literally and figuratively) in Flying High Dogs this Tuesday at the Tatnuck Magnet branch of the Worcester Public Library. As the current holder of the world record in K-9 frisbee, Piazza and his collies have performed for the NFL and NBA, as well as on Animal Planet and ESPN. Space is limited so register at WPL website via the online calendar. Masks and social distancing required. (VM)

What: Flying High Dogs When: 4 to 5 p.m., Tuesday, July 6 Where: Tatnuck Magnet branch of the Worcester Public Library How much: Free, but register beforehand at mywpl.org and select Classes and Events. Bullet, 6, a Border Collie, lands on her front two legs, after making a difficult catch of a frisbee, during a demonstration of Mike Piazza’s famous “Flying High Frisbee Dogs”, at the Oak Street Middle School in

2015. T&G FILE PHOTO/STEVE LANAVA

Primal Soup is a jamband super band, comprising members of Skyfoot, the New Motif, A Phine Connection and Don’t Let Go. For this show, the band is coming together to raise money for Skyfoot drummer Aaron Morey, whose Franklin home was destroyed in a fire. The band will be playing songs by Phish and the Grateful Dead, and promises there will be guest performers sitting in. (VDI)

What: Primal Soup When: 9 p.m. July 2 Where: Electric Haze, 26 Millbury St., Worcester How much: $10 A scene from Greater Worcester Opera’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music,” which was halted mid-run in March 2020 when the coronavirus hit. T&G FILE PHOTO

Poet Susan Roney-O’Brien will be on of the presenters for the virtual panel, “Poetic Beasts — a Virtual Panel of Poets Discussing Animals,” July 9 for the Worcester Public Library.

Greater Worcester Opera returns to live performances with a new outdoor Summer Concert Series starting with “The Great American Songbook” July 7 at the West Boylston Bandstand. Bring a chair or blanket. The four concerts in the series will be every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. July 7-28 (rain date Thursdays). Besides “The Great American Songbook,” themes will be “Gilbert & Sullivan Night” (July 14), “Classic Broadway” (July 21), and “Contemporary Broadway” (July 28). GWO promises that the shows will feature “many singers you know and love, and a few new faces.” Olga Rogach will be the piano accompanist. The concerts are free, but donations will be accepted “with gratitude.” (RD)

What: Greater Worcester Opera presents “The Great American Songbook” When: 6:30 p.m. July 7 Where: The West Boylston Bandstand, Church Street and Route 12, West Boylston How much: Free; donations accepted. For more information visit www.greaterworcesteropera.org

Like animals? Like poetry? Then tune in to “Poetic Beasts” this Friday, a virtual panel of poets discussing writing about animals. Panelists include Maura MacNeil, Susan Roney-O’Brien and B.G. Thurston, who will share their work as well as pet stories and animal encounters that inspired them. Presented by the Worcester Public Library, registration is required via the WPL online calendar. (VM)

What: Poetic Beasts — a Virtual Panel of Poets Discussing Animals When: 4 to 5 p.m. July 9 Where: Virtual event How much: Free, but register beforehand at mywpl.org and select Classes and Events.