If you are just tuning in to my blog site for the first time, I recommend you go back and read the most recently posted story entitled “Serendipity on Steroids” which is also referred to as “SoS#1”. Today’s story is a follow-up to “SoS#1” and describes how my Lyft driving assignment triggered my current love affair with the Town of Foxborough. SoS#2 is just the second in a series of SoS happenings that have occurred since my leaving Maryland last May.
OK, let’s roll. This one is a relatively short one….
I moved into my apartment in Foxborough, MA on June 1, 2023, had my driver’s license, auto registration, and auto inspection by June 2, 2023, and was driving for Lyft by June 6, 2023, the 79th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in WWII. June 6 was my own personal “B-Day”, the day I hit the streets of Boston driving people all around the Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island area.
Having been through bankruptcy much earlier in my life, being recently divorced, and having just moved to an apartment that where the rent was more than doubled from my rent in Chestertown, MD, I “took to the streets” (driving for Lyft) several hours a day to make as much money as I could during the summer of 2023. On more than one occasion last summer my Lyft App would log me out and not let me log back in for several hours, citing safety concerns for driving too many hours in a 24-hour period.
I am a “people person” and one of the things I enjoy about driving for Lyft is the ability to speak with many people who are my passengers. Since I live in Foxborough, an ideal day of Lyft driving would typically begin with an early (4:00am – ish) customer pick up in Foxborough for a drop off at Boston’s Logan Airport. There would usually be a customer at the airport who needed a ride home or to a place of business so that before 6:00am I would have made at least $50 for the day as a good start towards my daily goal of $200.
So, you ask how in the heck could driving for Lyft make me fall in love with the Town of Foxborough?
It is quite simple. It started soon after I began driving for Lyft and picked up a Foxborough resident who was heading for Logan Airport. We had a great conversation during the ride and the person gave me his contact information and “highly encouraged” me to apply for the recently vacated Foxborough Town Manager position. I thought it was interesting that a heretofore complete stranger was endorsing me for the top paying, highest profile job in the entire town.
The SoS#2 really kicked in less than ten days later when another Foxborough resident that I had met at Jake and Joe’s also mentioned to me that I should apply for the job. I had not said a word about my previous discussion with a Foxborough resident, this was an independent recommendation based upon less than an hour of conversation.
As the summer went on, I started having feelings that, while I was living in Foxborough, I did not feel like a part of the community. As a migrant Lyft driver, I didn’t feel the connection to my new hometown. I was planning on applying for a substitute teacher position when September rolled around, but that $200K+ job opportunity kept entering my thoughts. I had heard that the story behind the departure of the previous town manager after only a few months in the office wasn’t being made public, so I immediately assumed that the Town of Foxborough would want someone with no “baggage” and my moving to Foxborough just last summer meant that I had no allegiances in the area to detract from my profile. And how cool was it that, as a West Point graduate, the Army/Navy game was going to be played right here in my own back yard in Foxborough for the first time ever! To me, it seemed the stars were aligned, and I suddenly felt a major calling to dive in to the “race.”
So, realizing that I would have a steep learning curve if chosen for the job, I decided to go to every Board of Selectmen meeting and every other public town committee meeting I could attend. If I were to be hired as Town Manager of Foxborough, I would have to know and work with many people from many committees and departments and I decided to attack that learning curve with a vengeance.
The love affair with Foxborough began in September 2023 when I applied for a substitute teacher position in the Foxborough Public School District, got hired as the official kickball umpire for the Foxborough ladies kickball league (being recently divorced, “serving” as a lady kickball umpire seemed like a good fit LOL!), began volunteering at the Marilyn Rodman Performing Arts Center (known to the townies as the “Orpheum”), attended the funeral of Foxborough’s beloved Jack Authelet, and began attending public meetings. I remember specifically attending a special town hall meeting, plus meetings of the Conservation Commission, Historical Commission, Housing Authority, Board of Assessors, Veteran Services Advisory Committee (VSAC), Board of Selectmen (several times), the Acting Town Manager’s monthly update at the Senior Center (several times), Council on Aging and Human Services, Board of Health, Cultural Council (several times), Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Council, Recreation, Personnel Committee, School Committee (several times), Commission on Disability, Town Manager Screening Committee, and the Planning Committee. Add to all of these meetings numerous days of substitute teaching at THE Burrell, THE Taylor, and THE Igo Elementary Schools as well as THE Ahern Middle School and Foxborough High School and attendance at numerous school sporting events and school plays. By December 2023, I felt fully accepted AND respected as not only a member, but as a leader in the Foxborough community. As “Colonel Sanders” to the school students and as “Charmonicolonel Sanders” on the Facebook “Uptown Happenings” and “Foxboro Discussions” sites, I found that I was welcomed everywhere I went. I was often asked my opinion as a resident at many of the committee meetings, even though I was not on any of the committees at the time. (I have since been appointed to the VSAC and am awaiting approval of my application to become a member of the Cultural Council)
So, that’s it for SoS#2…. two independent (serendipitous) recommendations from Foxborough residents to throw my hat into the ring for the Town Manager position launched my campaign which resulted in my feeling accepted and welcomed in my newest and hopefully last hometown! Thank you Foxborough!
Stay tuned for SoS#3 where yet another serendipitous event opened my eyes to more avenues of service here in Foxborough! Talk to you soon!
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