October 25, 2023 was a beautiful sunny day in Foxborough Massachusetts. My day started with a swim at the local YMCA followed by a half day of substitute teaching at the Ahern Middle School. After classes around 11:30am I headed to Fred’s Auto Repair in Mansfield to get a plug put into my leaky tire … they finished just in time to for me to get to the Foxborough Senior Center to hear the then Acting Town Manager, Paige Duncan, give an update to the seniors of Foxborough. These “updates” are a quaint, personal discussion with the seniors. I sat in the back row of about 4 rows with approximately 20 other seniors anxious to hear the update from Paige. I sensed that the seniors in attendance liked Paige, and that she liked them. It was a friendly conversation, packed with both township and personal insights. This was the first time I had ever been in the Senior Center and the first time I had met any of my fellow seniors. I found the 45-minute experience with Paige and the seniors very comfortable and enjoyable. It was yet another “good feeling” that I got as a new Foxborough resident. Prior to attending the Acting Town Manager update, my plans for that afternoon had been to drive to Patriot Place to take a free tour of the new “Gilette Lighthouse.” It was the last afternoon that Foxborough residents were going to be admitted for free. Being a beautiful day, I had decided to take advantage of my new residency benefit.
Well, a funny thing happened on my way to the Forum, I mean Lighthouse. Just prior to the end of Paige’s discussion with the seniors (of which 90% were female), the thought occurred to me that I probably wasn’t the only one in the room who might want to visit the Lighthouse. So, just as Paige finished her overview, I introduced myself to those gathered and offered to drive up to four people in the room to the Lighthouse and then bring them back to the Senior Center. I had four volunteers before I could finish saying my last name… so we all left the Center and piled into my gold 2012 Toyota Camry to head to Patriot Place.
And now, as the late, great Paul Harvey used to say, is “the rest of the story” …
On the way to the Lighthouse the ladies and I had a great conversation…it was mostly me telling them about myself and my move to Foxborough. One of the ladies in the car was Jeanne Bonneau…and if you know Jeanne, you know where this conversation is heading…
Jeanne is the lady who leads the singing group known as the “Serenading Seniors.” The group practices every Wednesday morning and performs several times a year during the holidays and often at other senior centers. It “just so happened” that the “Serenaders” had a vacancy for a male vocalist, so in the car ride back from the Gillette Lighthouse to the Foxborough Senior Center, Jeanne Bonneau had recruited the newest member of the Senior Serenaders, LTC (R) Joe Sanders This whole experience could normally fall into the category of “No good deed goes unpunished” except for the fact that I have loved every moment I have spent and spend with the Senior Serenaders. While performing with the Serenaders I have met many other great people in Foxborough and was introduced to another singing group which includes special needs adults … I have recently joined that group, known as the YMCA sponsored “Inclusive Glee Club” or the “Hockomock Glee Club” So, my “Serendipity on Steroids” stories continue, this time highlighting how I became a Serenading Senior and Hockomock Glee Club member!
Next Up…Serendipity on Steroids #4…the story of how a random visit to a Foxborough Cultural Committee meeting ended up triggering an award-winning story telling experience less than 10 days later at the Foxborough “Foxtale” story telling competition! Please stay tuned!
Colonel's Kernals 