A treasure in our midst
I, Publius
By Alan Chartock



James Taylor is a phenomenon that far transcends anything most of us have experienced in our lives. In the few times I've spoken with him, two qualities have stood out: He is stunningly bright, and he is unbelievably nice. There is something about this rare man that makes each of us feel good about ourselves when we see him on stage or, if you are as lucky as I have been, off-stage. He has every reason to believe that he is better than the rest of us, but he doesn't.
His wife, Kim, is a true soul mate. She is protective, but every bit as nice as JT, the man who is known around the world by his initials. I loved the fact that he started his recent concert with "The Star-Spangled Banner." JT reminded his audience that this anthem belongs to all of us, not just a few who claim they are the only patriots.

In a recent interview, he told a story that floored us. He was about to perform in front of hundreds of
thousands of people in a Brazilian soccer stadium. He was concerned that there might be a language barrier, but when he started singing, he was blown away when they all joined in. They knew all the words.

There's no question that, like the rest of us, James Taylor has had his trials, but in the end, that's what has made him the man he is today. Having a person of this quality living with his family among us is one of the greatest treasures the Berkshires has to offer.

The fact that James and Kim donated the after-expenses proceeds (hundreds of thousands of dollars) of the sold-out July Fourth concert to Tanglewood to keep it the magnificent place that it is speaks to the character of these two truly wonderful human beings. This is a man who had paid his dues, and every good thing that is happening to him is deserved.



I have received an anonymous (and therefore suspect) letter in the mail that castigates me for not doing more about the emerging scandals in the Great Barrington Police Department. In the letter, very serious and specific allegations of police wrongdoing were made. The writer says that Deputy Chief Timothy Hassett, who has been indicted and is now on paid leave, is the best cop on the force and is paying the price for violating the code of silence that pervades many police departments. The allegations, naming names and violations of law, were serious enough for me to send the document on to the district attorney, David Capeless.

District attorneys in Berkshire County have a built-in conflict of interest. If they are to effectively do their jobs, they must work cooperatively with the police. On the other hand, if the public perceives corruption among the police, it further erodes people's faith in the entire criminal justice system.

Some young people in Great Barrington face serious jail time for alleged marijuana sales. Wherever you are on that issue, no one could believe that police wrongdoing should receive less scrutiny than these kids because a DA has to work with the very cops who are charged with upholding the law.

The misdemeanor indictment of Hassett is apparently for the destruction of a videotape recording an incident that occurred in the police station. This is terribly interesting, since Great Barrington Police Chief William Walsh was quoted as saying such tapes are routinely recycled. These words may indicate a disagreement between the chief and the grand jury that handed up the indictment.

The letter, which accuses me of not doing enough, ends with these words: "I, like you, have little respect for people who write anonymous letters. Please forgive me for not signing my name -- it has never been my style."

Perhaps the most telling sentence is, "We all know what happens to people who don't have good things to say about the boys in blue, don't we?" All I can say is that from where I sit, there doesn't seem to be overwhelming public concern about any of this from the Board of Selectmen. This, despite protestations from several individual members to me that they were busy working on the problem. Let's see what the DA does.



Finally, all I can say is, "Phew." I am delighted that New York City didn't get the Olympics and that the games are going to London, where they belong. The last things New York needs are more traffic and more people crowding the subways and streets. First, they wanted to build a stadium that the city neither wanted nor needed, and then they wanted to host the Olympics that no one I talked to wanted. Someone has his or her priorities all confused.



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- posted by Sarah @ 7/11/2005 09:30:00 AM