Melrose, I'm Thankful For You

MELROSE, MA — I'm thankful to live in Melrose this year. Corny? Fine. But it's true.

As the regional manager for most of New England Patch, my cozy home off Main Street is the perfect perch from which to direct news coverage from Newport, R.I., to Concord, N.H.

I'm thankful for the community I've moved into with my new wife and dog (we received Melrose's 100th marriage license this year ... the wife, not the dog.)

I'm thankful for fun neighbors, for noisy neighbors, and for nosey neighbors.

I'm thankful for spots like Jitters near Pine Banks and Buckalew's downtown. I'm thankful for arancini from Wood & Fire and whatever is on draft at Stearns & Hills.

I'm thankful for a Super Bowl team to keep an eye on.

I'm thankful for celebrations.

I'm thankful for sometimes dueling community Facebook pages whether, ahem, "new" or "old."

I'm thankful for cute kids and dogs.

I'm thankful for photos of swans.

I'm thankful for Carl over on the Ell Pond benches.

And I'm thankful for the readers who contribute to Melrose Patch as we strive to make it a community-fueled news organization where everyone can have a voice.

I want to hear what you're thankful for. Email me at mike.carraggi@patch.com or leave a comment on the Facebook page. Thanks for reading.

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Photo by Mike Carraggi