THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, JAnUAry 6, 2023 Page 11 The Sounds of Saugus By Mark E. Vogler Good Morning, Saugus! Hope your holidays and New Year were filled with good cheer and happy memories shared with friends and loved ones. And, hopefully, you have embarked on some challenging resolutions for the new year – like making a commitment to eating healthier and getting regular exercise to shed the weight. Got to love the spirit and the commitment of all those people who ventured outside on New Year’s Day to begin their year with a nice, long walk. Just keep it up, and you will be pleased with the results. Looking back on 2022 Hopefully, readers will enjoy our photo spread that includes the top photos of each month during 2022. It’s time-consuming, but fun to do this every year for our readers, following the Yearin-Review issue. I’d like to thank my good photojournalist buddy David Spink, who wrote about Saugus and took a lot of photos in town many years ago when he was a staff writer and photographer at North Shore Sunday. David has been a regular reader of The Saugus Advocate since I became editor in March of 2016. Each week, he helps me out with his photographic expertise by recommending which photo shots belong on page one and which ones don’t. Here’s David’s take on this year’s best photo, “Cruising to Fight Cancer,” which appeared on the cover of our July 22, 2022, edition. “The couple in the red, white and blue is just begging to illustrate a year in review issue. You couldn’t really order up better wild art for the job. They are looking good and have been preparing all year for this honor. ‘Saugus, USA: 2022 Remembered’ Slap the photo under the headline. Miller Time!” Looking ahead to “Saugus Over Coffee” In a couple of weeks, I plan to go visit residents in each of the town’s 10 Precincts and find out what’s on their minds as a town election year commences. What are the specific issues that concern residents in each precinct? What are their town-wide concerns? I’m going to give these folks a chance to grab a cup of coffee or tea on me at a popular coffee shop in or near their precinct. In the meantime, I will be conferring with some of the 50 Town Meeting members about the most popular locations for folks to drink coffee in or around their respective precincts. If anyone in each of the precincts has a favorite coffee shop they would like to recommend, please email me at mvoge@ comcast.net. Please, police, be on the lookout! I t ’s getting downright scary trying to drive into and around Saugus. I’m one of the minority who likes to drive at or below the speed limit. Not only am I afraid about hitting deer that could scamper in the path of my car, I am also concerned about folks in dark-colored clothes at night jaywalking in areas that are dangerous for pedestrians. A couple of days ago, somebody in dark clothes bolted right in front of my car, near the road entrance to the Saugus-Middle-High School. If I were driving above the speed limit, I may have hit the jaywalker. By the same token, it’s too bad some of those solar-powered stop signs throughout town don’t have cameras photographing the cars that don’t observe pedestrians in the crosswalk. Whenever I walk the crosswalk on Hamilton Street toward the Public Safety Building, there’s usually a 50-50 chance of cars stopping to let me get across the street. I have a similar problem trying to safely walk from the Saugus Public Library to Town Hall. So, sooner or later, something tragic is going to happen again. And we will see the stickers for “Citizens For a Safer Saugus resurface. Be careful out there, folks. Wayne keeps losing (winning) I thank all of the readers who keep asking for an update on my older brother Wayne, who has already lost more than 100 pounds since his weight ballooned to 377 pounds on Oct. 5, 2020. It’s simply amazing how the collaboration of two good doctors – one who specializes in nutrition – have made a world of difference in Wayne’s dramatic turnaround. Wayne, who is 71, resides in an assisted living home in Swansea, his hometown in Southeastern Massachusetts. He’s a retired schoolteacher who got into some bad habits that led to a dangerous decline in his health back in 2019, when he wound up in the hospital for about a week, being treated for serious dehydration and cardiac-related problems. I regret that I had to get militant and get right up in his grill to motivate him to change his eating habits and the lifestyle which contributed to his health problems. Wayne sometimes growls at me and gives me some grief because he’s my older brother. And younger brothers don’t usually get away with telling older brothers what to do. But, in this case, I have the full backing and blessing of Wayne’s longtime primary care physician – Dr. Mark A. Ringiewicz of Swansea. If Wayne gives me any guff during his quarterly visits to Dr. Ringiewicz, the good doctor backs me to the hilt. He’s encouraged me to continue advocating in the fashion which I have been. And the results confirm the strategy is working. Wayne has also taken the initiative by doing regular walks in the area of the assisted living home. And he’s eating better. But the turning point for Wayne and me was the day that I asked Dr. Ringiewicz to refer my brother to a specialist who could help him with his diet issues. Dr. Ringiewicz referred Wayne to Dr. Jessica Inwood of Fall River, a doctor who specializes in weight loss and diet issues. And she has worked wonders in helping Wayne to see the error of his ways as far as food choices. The two doctors have formed an incredible team. And although Wayne has already met our weight loss goal for him, there are new goals for him to shoot for. Dr. Ringiewicz has already said a 70-year-old man who is 5-foot-10.5 inches tall could stand to lose another 70 to 80 pounds. In Wayne’s case, that would be under 200 pounds. The doctor said it would be realistic to see him in the 230-240 range this year – still heavy, but headed in the right direction, thanks to Dr. Ringiewicz and Dr. Inwood – and of course, Wayne, for dedicating himself to tackle the weight loss challenge. But there remains one big challenge ahead. Wayne has lost all of this weight, but he is still swimming in his old clothes. So, a very dear friend of mine has offered to go down to Swansea with me this weekend and get Wayne fitted for some new clothes. The friend said there’s the real problem of Wayne regressing and putting weight back on because his clothes are so loose and he might feel comfortable overeating and getting into bad habits again. A lot of people who are weight conscious usually get motivated when their clothes get tight, especially around the waist line. But when you’re swimming in your clothes, it’s easy to develop a false sense of comfort. So, getting Wayne a new wardrobe is a top priority for me early this year. Stay tuned. Let’s try it again, contest participants! Nobody guessed the correct answer in last week’s “Guess Who Got Sketched” contest. Actually, anyone who felt like sharing some of their wishes for the New Year would qualify to have their name put in the green Boston Red Sox cap. But nobody did. With the “Sketch Artist” taking some time off this week, we decided to run the New Year’s-oriented sketch from last week again. C’mon folks! This one is easy. Food Pantry notes: The Saugus United Parish Food Pantry reopens today (Friday, January 6) from 9:3011 a.m. after being closed last Friday for the holidays. “Shout Outs” to a bunch of good people Janice Jarosz and The MEG Foundation provided us with THE SOUNDS | SEE PAGE 14 —Cont est— CONTEST SKETCH OF THE WEEK GUESS WHO GOT SKETCHED? If you know the right answer, you might win the contest. In this week’s edition, we continue our weekly feature where a local artist sketches people, places and things in Saugus. Got an idea who’s being sketched this week? If you do, please email me at mvoge@comcast.net or leave a phone message at 978 683-7773. Anyone who identifies the Saugonian sketched in this week’s paper between now and Tuesday at Noon qualifies to have their name put in a green Boston Red Sox hat with a chance to be selected as the winner of a $10 gift certificate, compliments of Hammersmith Family Restaurant, 330 Central Street in Saugus. But you have to enter to win! Look for the winner and identification in next week’s “The Sounds of Saugus.” Please leave your mailing address in case you are a winner. (Courtesy illustration to The Saugus Advocate by a Saugonian who goes by the name of “The Sketch Artist”)
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