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THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, April 4, 2025 Page 7 ication, mentorship and kindness he’s poured into this city. But money was never his currency. Instead, he traded in passion, generosity and an unwavering belief in the power of community. Maldonia – if you were lucky enough to know him or even cross paths with him – you left a little better, a little happier, a little more inspired. He has always been a free spirit with a heart of gold, a man shaped by the era that raised him: a time when dreams were meant to be chased, voices were meant to be heard and giving back wasn’t a question, but a calling (unheard of today). Continuing the RC lovefest... Ron Cox is a legend. Not just for what he’s done, but for who he is. And for that, Malden will always owe him a debt of gratitude. MATV (now UMA) hasn’t been the same since he left. And that’s no knock on those who carry the torch today – it’s just a testament to the irreplaceable magic Ron brought to those studios on Pleasant Street. Don’t believe me? Ask stone-cold Maldonians like Greg, Scotty & Ed Lucey, Anne D’Urso-Rose, James “The Hardest Working Man in Show Biz” Mudge, Ose Schwab, Mike “Mr. 02148” Cherone, Karen Lynch, Franny Molis, Frankie Levine or Terlonzo Amos if you don’t believe this verbose and sometimes pompous messenger of things interesting to some, meaningless to most, giving you this column “about absolutely nothing” (to paraphrase a famous Seinfeld line). LOL. I know, enough about RC, but I ain’t done quite yet...Our friendship spans decades, and my respect for him runs deep. He has given so much, asking for so little in return. Well… there was that one time he took us camping as teenagers and asked – very politely, I might add – that we refrain from smoking or drinking illegal substances. That might have been the only time he ever asked for anything. LOL. It is said in “Malden Musings”... • Straight from Valerie Carmody’s heart to Maldonia: “Liggett’s was where my parents met. My mother was working at the lunch counter, and this handsome guy who worked for Mystic Valley Gas came in daily, flirted with her, and finally asked her out! They got married shortly thereafter.” Thank you for sharing, Val. See you at the Big Y! • Malden High School Class of 1975, it is never too early to start planning for the Big 5-0! Yes, the day we thought would never happen, our 50th Class Reunion! Saturday, September 20, at the Crowne Plaza in Woburn we can stare deep into each other’s eyes and say, “Who the heck are you again?” Except for you, Jack (Freker), who hasn’t changed since that glorious day in ’75 on the field at Macdonald Stadium when we graduated. Contact me for details. • Howard M. (Rosengard) Ross, 92, of Peabody, formerly of Haverhill, Malden and Lynnfield. Korean War vet, Suffolk U grad and former employee at Malden Jewelry. May his memory be a blessing. • Welcome to Team Malden... our newest Deputy Director in OSPCD, Jane Ventrone. Fun Jane Ventrone factoid: Jane loves travelling! She’s been to five continents and once took a solo road trip across the South Island of New Zealand. • Happy birthday to future rock superstar Nick Hames and happy 10th year anniversary of Extreme’s Gary Cherone joining him (unexpectedly) on stage for a go at “More Than Words” at Junior Varieties at Malden High School. Barbara Levine Scibelli may have had a role in arranging this once-in-a-lifetime event. BLS, a behind the scenes mover and shaker (insert smiley face). • I don’t know for sure, and I’m only taking an educated guess, but with Neal Anderson receiving another award he’s probably had to build an addition to his home to display them all! Congratulations, Neal, on being named to the Black Excellence on the Hill Class of 2025 of the MBLLC! Say that five times fast! State Rep. Steve “D-Edgeworth” Ultrino presented Neal the award amidst the pomp and circumstance at the State House along with his partner in crime, State Rep. Paul “Straight outta Medford” Donato. Way to go, Neal, I’d love a walk through of your trophy room someday. • By the way, Neal celebrated yet another birthday last week! A mere lad (by today’s standards) of 81 summers, Mr. Anderson continues to defy age and embarrass all of us who are “men of a certain age.” Way to go, Neal; happy birthday, my friend. • We got a small mess to clean up...in my haste to mention my dear niece Jeri (Scibelli) as many times as I possibly could in last week’s State of the City column, I messed up one time (you guys picked that one up really fast – LOL). My paragraph praising the job Elaina Savino did came out just a tad confusing to a few. Here is how the paragraph should have read if my love for Jeri hadn’t gotten in the way: “Speaking of Elaina Savino, I have to say, Ron Cochran left some big shoes to fill when he left Elaina in charge for her first solo State of the City presentation. Yet somehow all 5 foot 2 of Elaina, with her size 3 feet, filled those shoes and then some by tossing out the old script and coming up with fresh, original and fun format. Jerry (Elaina’s poppy) and Marilena (Elaina’s beautiful mommy) could be heard laughing all the way from Emerald Street.” • Oh, my goodness, thought I heard many a great rendition of Kris Kristofferson’s “Sunday Coming Down” until I heard the very best when Lost & Found on WMBR 88.1, hosted by Alex McNeil on March 21, played the 1970 Hank Ballard version during his set. Thank you, Alex, for reminding me how great college radio is and how great thou art. • Jerry Nadler – “May the memory of the righteous be a blessing.” If you thought Harvey had a brilliant mind, wait until you hear about his older brother. More on Harvey’s amazing older brother in the very near future. In the always look on the sunny side of life department and keeping my Ronny Cox mojo rolling (one last time, I promise), Chris Zell wrote this RC Top Ten list on one of Ronny’s (many) milestone birthday celebrations; let’s have another crack at it and laugh with (at?) Ronny one more time: Top 10 Reasons Ron Cox Might Be Getting Old: 10. His exercise routine is limited to thinking about bending to touch his toes. 9. He forgets to look in the refrigerator when he can’t find his keys. 8. His hearing is so bad he can’t hear the people laughing at him. 7. His cartoon characters have MUSINGS| SEE PAGE 18 Lawn and Yard CareUSA It’s Time For SPRING CLEANOUTS Cutting, Weeding, Mulching, Trimming, Brushes, Shrubs & More! 781-521-9927 425r Broadway, Saugus Located adjacent to Kohls Plaza Route 1 South in Saugus at the intersection of Walnut Street We are on MBTA Bus Route 429 781-231-1111 We are a Skating Rink with Bowling Alleys, Arcade and two TV’s where the ball games are always on! 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