~ Malden Musings ~ Officer George MacKay

By Peter Levine

It is said in “Malden Musings”…

• Shout-out to veteran Malden Police Officer George MacKay for no other reason than he is a good kid! George is a grizzled old vet at this point in his storied career, having spent the first 32 years as a Cadet at the MPD before deciding to go “all in.” I’ve known George since he was a young hooligan running wild through the streets of Malden with his motley crew from Edgeworth (and beyond). And what a crew it was! All nice kids but prone to rambunctiousness from time to time. Little known fact: I’d take George any day on my hoop team. Little Pearl was his stampin’ ground where he used his long arms and dexterous girth to swoop in for rebounds over taller foes or to lay the ball gently over their outstretched arms. George grew up good and convinced the love of his life, the lovely Lisa, to actually marry him. I kid, of course; as you could tell, I am a big fan of George, always have been.
• Speaking of George’s “trophy wife” – as I call her – when Lisa caught wind that I was profiling her man, she told me, I need to contribute. But please, Malden, don’t let George know Lisa said this; he already has an inflated ego (insert smiley face). So, without further ado, Lisa speaks: “There aren’t enough words to describe how sweet, kind, and what a fantastic husband (and human being) George really is. I can tell you that he is my love and (believe it or not) a great dog dad (to Marley) also.” Thank you, Lisa, I could not have said it any better! Happy New Year, Lisa, George and Marley Mackay!
• Just to illustrate that 2024 is no different than 2023, I’d like to continue my name dropping, (expletive deleted) kissing ways (as described on Facebook by a basement dwelling cretin whom I have since banished to the “corn field”). Here is a small, but heartfelt shout-out to current Malden Police Chief Glenn Cronin. And yes, it goes it long way if you tell me you like my column, but that is not the reason he is being recognized here (well, partially – insert smiley face). Chief Cronin has proved a worthy successor to Kevin Molis and Kenny Coye as the corner office holder at 800 Eastern Ave. Apropos of nothing…ever notice how sparkling clean the police station looks? Shameless plug for old friend Dave “Mr. Highland Cafe” Angelo, who is Maintenance Engineer at the Police Station these days. Back to Chief Cronin – Glenn is the perfect fit at the perfect time – able to rally the troops at the MPD or fit comfortably into any mixer he finds himself in throughout the city. Well played, Chief. Keep up the great work!
• So, I’m at a Malden Catholic mixer (see Bull, I write about MC from time to time) with my 13-year-old grandson Christian and his dad Joe for a sort of “meet and greet” between potential students and the various athletic teams at MC. It’s in the beautiful gym where I witnessed Amerige Park superstar Danny Meyers (Class of 1974) shoot lights out as a senior (no 3-point line in those days, but with a 3-point line he would have scored 1,000 points his senior year alone!). Christian has his sights (somewhat) on MC and would like to play b-ball for them. Christian’s a work in progress (the Mike Boyle Training Sessions have helped his confidence a great deal – thank you, Mike), but if he puts in the hard work in the next three years or so, I am sure he’ll be a contributor to the MC Lancers hoop squad. But I digress… first I run into two of Craig and Debbie Spadafora’s three adorable children. I greeted Carmela and Mariano, who were walking around the corridors like hall bosses – two beautiful children full of self-confidence with a bright future ahead of them. But my night was really made when I ran into my old schoolmate John “Pops” Ruelle. In retirement Pops is the hall monitor at MC, and by what I witnessed, beloved by the many students that passed by him. Pops looked great. Pops always looked great. When we roamed the halls of Malden High School back in the early to mid-1970’s, there was Johnny Ruelle, then there were the rest of us. The coolest cat in the class with charisma, good looks and athletic ability (four sport star, btw) – as the saying went, all the guys wanted to be him, and all the girls wanted to be with him. (Am I allowed to even say that anymore? Insert smiley face). Great seeing you, John, happy new year.
• Not a dry eye in the house as Malden City Council President (straight out of Ward 5) Barbara Murphy banged the gavel for the last time in the City Council Chambers. Barbara “isn’t going anywhere,” as she made perfectly clear (sorry, Billy & Donna Spadafora, you’re gonna have to wait a bit longer before Barb joins you fine people in Malden South, Florida!) The Barbara Murphy lovefest started right after city business was finished. It was “personal privilege time,” with each and every councillor expressing their love and admiration for the longtime public servant. Hoss Condon, who has worked with Barb from Day 1, gushed on until he had Barb visibly emotional; Craig (Spadafora) and Jadeane (Sica) positively crushing it with their heartfelt sentiments. Barbara, from the bottom of my heart I want to wish you happiness and (continued) success in your “retirement” and in the new year. Stay well, my friend.
• It was a match made in heaven. Think Bogey and Bacall, think Ben and Jennifer, think Sid and Nancy! Yes, I am talking about that power couple from Bowman Street, Kevin and Trish Larson. Trish made an honest man of Eddie’s little brother years ago and broke the hearts of many a young lady also when she said, “I do.” Breaking news: Massachusetts General Hospital’s #1 physical therapist – Tricia Larson – is back on the mend and feeling much better these days back at MGH Chelsea doing what she loves more than anything else in life (except, making sure her good man is comfortable): treating her many patients (think the Mother Teresa of Chelsea). By the way, there are no signs of Trish slowing down anytime soon. That is good for those who look to Trish for medical care and good for Kevin because he’d be lost without Saint Trish (“where did I put my NY Post, Trish?!”). Happy new year to this power couple. Keep up the great work, Trish, and Goddess bless you for putting up with Kevin all these years (insert smiley face).

As Peter Falk’s iconic TV character Columbo would say, “Just one more thing, sir” – I leave this week with a Malden slice of life: a peek inside what makes a place like Malden so special; names and places and everyday life that are familiar and what makes these five square miles so very exceptional; valued friendships that are so rare these days, lasting a Malden lifetime. And that ain’t easy in today’s fractured society. Here in Malden, we remember and we cherish friendships made and friendships to be made. Mike Hardiman is a retired Malden Constable on Patrol and a stone cold Maldonian – somebody I have always admired. He and his compadres meet on Friday mornings at Franny’s in Maplewood Square (thank the deity of your choice for a place like Franny’s) to solve not only Malden’s problems, not only the world’s problems, but to also bust each other’s beans as only old friends can. With that said, take it away Mike: “Getting together with a group of Malden High graduates that span 5 decades, with the exception of Lenny Iovino’s son who shows up every now and then, a youngster in his 40s, and is taking a picture of us if we can all stand still for a moment. The MC graduates haven’t showed up yet, but just after the picture was taken Bob McCarthy showed up. He graduated from MHS in 1973 and was an outstanding hockey player. The oldest member of the group is sitting at the head of the table, and is local legend, Bill Dempsey, he’s 99 and shows no sign of slowing down. I think the youngest member of the group is Dave Caiazzo, he has got his back to the camera and is talking to Sal ‘Butch’ Genetti. It’s a week before Christmas. Nobody’s talking about anything too serious this morning, just laughing a lot, and ribbing each other. Telling funny stories about each other in a good-natured way. Wishing each other Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or just Happy Holidays. And next Friday it’ll be Happy New Year wishes and after the new year, we can work on Martin Luther King’s holiday. And then we can look forward to Valentine’s Day. It just goes on and on. My favorite holiday is the 4th of July. Warm weather, fireworks, cookouts, and swimming either in a lake or the ocean or a river on a hot day. That’s my cuppa tea. Just so everybody doesn’t think it’s an all-male group, we do have women members, they are all out doing last minute shopping (insert smiley face). Happy New Year, Malden.”