My adopted home state of Connecticut is often derided by residents of the remaining New England states, many of whom experience Connecticut as merely the traffic between Boston and New York.
But get further from the highway than the rest stops and you’ll find that derision to be no more than sibling rivalry. THE petty jealousies of New Englanders whose states fail to thrill or care, like my little state that could!
Three-weeks ago the University of Connecticut won the National Championship in college basketball for the second year in a row, no small feat in the era of the Transfer Portal.
The win brought the Husky’s their sixth March Madness Natty; a half-a-dozen more than the remaining New England states combined.
One-week later Bruce Springsteen played a concert at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut bringing his stadium-sized energy to the intimate Sun Arena–capacity 10,000.
THE setting allowed Bruce to create an “I remember when” moment for fans lucky enough to be in attendance, few of whom had likely ever seen the Boss perform in so small a venue.
Famously born outside of New England but in on the joke, Bruce gave voice to the anti-Connecticut narrative mentioning Uncasville and asking, “Where the fuck am I?” Before promising to move to CT, which I don’t think he’ll be doing for at-least two-years.
And, Connecticut Cares!
Transplanted to the region after more than 50-years in New York and arriving with no implicit bias, I have struggled to understand New Englander’s enmity towards Connecticut.
Maybe they just don’t like pizza?
More likely is that New Englanders take notice of the quality of life in Connecticut and that their acrimony is a reflection of their jealousies; their desire for their own states to provide the access which Connecticut allows.
That access makes Connecticut a more-than equal partner when measured against other New England states, though I hold no grudge for their views. Their barbs having little effect on a born-and-raised New Yorker.
Of course there’s more to a state than just its concert venues and championship teams, there’s also how much the state cares for its residents and works to keep them happy and in good health.
Again, it’s Connecticut!
Earlier this week I shared the final episode of my six-part podcast series Charles Gassenheimer’s Lies and while the title speaks for itself, the episode contains no lies from the title character.
Having gone through the original recording made with Gassenheimer months after Flacks acquired Kelly-Moore, I spend most of the episode sharing what comes next. Which for Gassenheimer and Flacks, may involve warrants.
Confident though that I’ve made my point about Gassenheimer, I’m planning two additional podcast series in my ongoing coverage of the destruction of Kelly-Moore–and the aftermath of the event.
An event I consider to be significant in our industry’s history.
First will be THE Opportunists, a series featuring paint executives who–seeing an opportunity in Kelly-Moore’s fate transformed their business models to capitalize on that fortuity.
You can expect the first episode sometime in June, after I give my passport an early summer workout!
Dopo il mio ritorno, I’ll begin work on the finale in my coverage of the other Moore, a three-part series featuring former Kelly-Moore employees interested in sharing their own stories.
If you think that might be you, click THE link:
