SalemNews.com, Salem, MA
News
Dear Hasbro: What are we, chopped liver?
Published: August 29, 2008
SALEM — Way to remember your roots, Rich Uncle Pennybags.
This week, Hasbro released the names of the new property spaces in a revamped version of Monopoly.
Boardwalk and Park Place will be known as Montreal, Canada, and Riga, Latvia, in Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition.
Cities like Cape Town, Paris, Vancouver and Athens also occupy spaces in the game.
But Salem — the actual birthplace of Monopoly — does not.
Oh, well.
The spaces were actually determined by fans of the game, who voted earlier this year for their favorite world cities.
Speaking of Monopoly, isn't now the time to erect a monument to Monopoly right here in Salem?
The state, right as we speak, is building the perfect spot — a little "park" along the new Bridge Street right in front of the old Salem Jail. It's across from the site of the original Parker Brothers.
And what better backdrop than a jail? Remember the "Get Out Of Jail Free" cards?
Hasbro, which has already put up a statue of the second-rate Mr. Potato Head, could erect a statue of Uncle Pennybags standing on the original gameboard. Talk about a tourist attraction.
What is wrong with this idea?
Denver Dionne
Mayor Kim Driscoll was in Denver this week at the Democratic National Convention. While out there, she was hoping to look up Marc Dionne, a Salem transplant.
Dionne, 31, grew up in Salem and now works in Denver as an environmental engineer. The St. John's Prep grad was once an intern in the city's Planning Department.
He's also the son of a city celebrity — Appeals Board member Rick Dionne.
The real Mile-High City
What a crowd last Friday night at Pickering Wharf. The place was packed — especially the Salem Waterfront Hotel — and largely because of The Derby Mile.
More than 400 runners signed up for this annual event — a one-mile dash down Derby Street. That's twice as many as last year.
"We smashed records," said Park and Recreation Director Doug Bollen.
Bollen, by the way, is the Barnum & Bailey of event planning. He runs a five-race series in Salem and draws bigger and bigger crowds. He's already predicting 1,000 runners for his Wild Turkey Five-Miler on Thanksgiving Day.
One of the highlights Friday was an appearance by David O'Meara, this amazing guy from Florida who is trying to run 20 one-mile races this year, all under five minutes. If you don't know track times, that's fast, especially for a guy who is 45.
O'Meara, who has a Web site, www.onemilerunner, is traveling the country to inspire older adults to new heights.
He ran a 4:56 in Salem to finish third.
Welcome, Bud drinkers
Last week, we told you about a new Bud Light commercial set in 1692 Salem that ran during NBC's prime-time coverage of the Olympics.
The commercial claims that drinking Bud Light will give you the ability to time travel. A man is then beamed back in time and arrives amid an angry mob in a New England village as a graphic flashes "Salem 1692."
The mob accuses the man of being a witch from the future and chases after him. After he's tied to a post, the cell phone in his shirt pocket rings, lighting up his chest. The 17th-century Salem crowd reacts with confusion and horror at the unfamiliar technology.
"It's just a text message!" the man pleads.
A potential TV audience of 30 million people saw the humorous ad.
We asked Mayor Kim Driscoll to comment on the commercial, and, well, she showed she still has a sense of humor.
"We welcome Bud Light drinkers to Salem and wish to assure them that they will be safe when visiting here," said the mayor. "Furthermore, we're familiar with text messaging and do not consider it punishable by death."
Bigger and bigger
Not for nothing, but has anybody noticed that the new dorm at Salem State College keeps getting bigger every time it's mentioned?
When a legal advertisement ran last year for a feasibility study, they were talking about a 350-student dorm. By this June, news stories referred to 430 beds.
This week, the number was up to 490.
The new dorm, by the way, will be built next to the residence hall that opened a few years ago on the central campus. That building received high praise, which makes it all the more disappointing to hear that its roof has been leaking and is being replaced.
Thank goodness, according to the college, it's all covered under a warranty.
A sad farewell
Police said it should take several weeks to get the medical examiner's report on Jocelyn Callahan, the 25-year-old Salem woman whose body was found Monday morning floating off Pickering Wharf. She died in an accidental drowning, police said.
The Gulu-Gulu Café, where Jocelyn worked as a cook, will hold an event at 8 tonight to celebrate her "short but marvelous life."
