Halloween ....

A Pirate.

People preaching and getting a tongue lashing from sinners.

Stephen and Linsey, not dressed up.


Fireworks to end the night.

Halloween in Salem

A clown.

Does the pope wear a funny hat?

An odd couple.

The Hellraiser.

Some of the crowd.



Salem was filled with several tens of thousands of people on Halloween. There were many very well-designed costumes, several very poorly designed ones and LOTS teenage and 20-something girls dressed in slutty costumes.

BREAKING NEWS

UNION, KENT. -- Cassandra, a mother of three boys, will give birth to her first daughter on Thursday when doctors induce her into labor, the 32-year-old Michigan native announced today.

Cassandra, who has been pregnant for approximately nine months, said she is excited to give birth, mostly though, "just to have it over with."

"After this, my obligation as a walking baby factory will be over," she said. "Also, I'm sure I will love my new daughter with all my heart."

The family told other family members weeks ago that they planned to name the daughter, who will turn 1 on Nov. 1, 2008, Maisy. A middle name has either not been decided, not been announced or forgotten by this author.

Meanwhile, Adam recently purchased the new operating system from Apple, which is called OS X Leopard. He said he is pleased, but in no way will he consider naming his new daughter Maisy Leopard.

"Maybe if it was a boy, and Steve Jobs offered me a free iMac," Adam said. "But until that happens, I'm totally naming my soon-to-be daughter Maisy."

Also today, grandmothers Mary and Rhonda -- who are the mothers of Cassandra and Adam, respectively -- reportedly screamed "hot damn" after hearing the news.

Each also say this granddaughter will be "the most precious, beautiful, angelic, cute" girl ever created by human biology, though it is not clear if there is a basis for such a statement, or if such as statement could ever be proven false or true.

"I just know it, know it, know it," Mary was heard saying.

"It's true, she is going to be the best granddaughter ever created," Rhonda said.

A Sunday Bike Ride

Linsey and Stephen in the fog.

A strange fog rolled into Newburyport the other night. This is the fog as a camera sees it.

At a bar in Beverly, Mass.

Stephen and Henry. Henry looking confused.

Stephen and Henry joined by Linsey.

Happy Birthday Adam and Eli!

This video is from exactly one year ago today...we were on the cruise! Isn't it amazing how much Eli has changed. Ah, memories! Happy Birthday! Be thankful for the blessings God has given you this year! We love you both.

Wednesday Night

Jason and Henry stopped by for a visit.

A scare crow in downtown Newburyport.

The sign outside my eye doctor's office.

An old advertisement painted on a wall in Thread Needle Alley.

One of the most appreciated dining spots in all of the downtown district; my first couple weeks here I survived on these things waiting for my first pay check.

Doing Laundry

Waiting for Linsey to get cash out of the ATM. Notice the laundry in the background.

Dress shirts and other clothing items that, apparently, aren't suppose to be dried in the drier. Instead, they are hanging up in our bedroom, air drying.

Linsey putting our hard-earned quarters in the money-hungry machines.

A detail shot of the activities described above.


After the clothes were done washing, I went to empty the washers and starting grabbing clothes and throwing them into one of those wheeled carts that are used for clothing transportation between washing and drying.

I started unloading a washer and, as I was finishing up, Linsey said, "Um, Stephen, I don't think those are our clothes."

I looked down and saw unfamiliar women's underwear and other unmentionables in my hands. A woman then appeared from somewhere behind me and said, "These are my clothes, actually." She then proceeded to dig through the cart full of clothing, leaving our clothes behind and loading hers up.

Another woman walked by, smiling, and said: "You should have waited a little bit longer; he would have dried them for you, too."

It was embarrassing.

Babysitting Henry

Henry and Linsey.

Stephen and Henry looking at each other.

I think it's my beard -- or that I drink beer. I'm not sure.

A Fall Weekend Part 2

A whale watching tour boat from Rye, N.H., stored in Newburyport.

A boat in need of care.



One of the boat yards in Newburyport, filling up with boats and signaling the end of summer.


The equipment that keeps the boats off the ground.

A Fall Weekend Part 1

At my desk, writing about Michael Dukakis.

Linsey at her work station.

Michael Dukakis at a speech.

At the grocery store....

My number for the deli.... It took me a half hour to get a quarter pound of turkey and quarter pound of roast beef.

Us.... As Cate Blanchett

This, I'm afraid to say, is a typical Friday night at the Fruit Street Tait Household.
But this particular posting is in the name of Halloween: We're testing out different costumes.
Living near Salem -- the home of American witches, of course -- has put us in a spooky spirit...

Good Morning from Fruit Street

We've made it to the 21st Century: A small Moroccan man installed cable, internet and a phone line yesterday into our apartment. We now have high-speed internet, digital cable and free long-distance calling.

Blue fin goodness

NEWBURYPORT -- "That's a big fish."
That was the comment most of those on the city's boardwalk had yesterday watching the Yankee Fisherman's Co-op pull a bluefin tuna off the Erica Lee II.
Newburyporter Adam Foley, the man who hooked and helped reel in the fish, was no exception. The fishing and hunting enthusiast | who is not small in stature himself | stood next to the fish, and with a wide grin, quipped: "I like this one; I don't make it look small."
The boat pulled into the Newburyport harbor about 4 p.m. yesterday, where a truck from the Co-op, located in Seabrook, was waiting. The large bluefin tuna weighed somewhere between 550 and 625 pounds, the fishermen estimated, and was 110 inches | or more than 9 feet long.
"It's a nice one," Foley said.
The catch is all the more special, said those at the boardwalk who are involved in the fishing industry, since there's a been a decline in the tuna catch in recent years. Bob Yeomans, who owns the Erica Lee II and has fished his entire life, last year caught no tuna. Yeomans helped Foley reel in the big fish.
Yesterday's catch was his fourth of the season | a far cry from years past.
His wife, Lee Yeomans, who watched the boat come in and took pictures of her husband and Foley next to the tuna, said she remembers a season many years ago when her husband brought in 21 fish.
"It's been bad," Lee said of the tuna fishing. "The commercial fishing isn't there anymore."
Marvin Perkins, from the Yankee Fisherman's Co-op, said the fish Foley and Yeomans caught "is a larger fish than most this season." He said the fish will go up for auction either today or tomorrow and will fetch between $8 to $12 per pound. He agreed the tuna fishing just isn't like it used to be.
"It's been slow for the last couple of years," Perkins said.
Foley said he caught the tuna about 15 miles from shore using herring as bait. He said the waters were rough yesterday, and there was only one other boat out on the water near them fishing for tuna.
"It was real rough out there (yesterday) morning," he said. "That's the nice part about having a big boat."
When he landed the fish, Foley said it ran for about 300 yards, diving straight toward the ocean's floor, which is normal behavior for tuna. Some other large fish, such as marlin, jump out of the water when caught. He said it took a hour to reel the tuna in, taking turns with Yeomans.
"I'll tell you," he said, "it's an experience, man."


Hey now... this is a story I wrote for tomorrow's paper. I was walking along the Newburyport boardwalk today and saw two fishermen pull into the harbor and unload this thing. So I called the photographer to come take a picture and I started asking some questions.

My only experience with tuna before this was choosing Chicken of the Sea or StarKist. The fish felt like it was wearing armor -- the skin was hard and oily.

Amelia

I was taking some pictures of the newest addition to the Nick and Shaina clan and thought I would share one with you guys.

End of Race

This is me at the end of the 5-kilometers.

My editor, Will, who was there watching is girlfriend, called out my name at the end of the race. Apparently I looked over with a death stare as a Daily News photographer snapped my picture. Seconds later I crossed the finish line and almost passed out.

Oh, the 5K

Adam and I at the beginning of the Newburyport annual 5-kilometer road race.

Just a couple more wedding pics

A few more wedding pics