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Food A Holick, 7 Mill Street, Middleboro, MA (2026)

01/01/2026

January 1, 2026, A note to self;

I sit here with a feeling of renewal on this 1st day of the year, yet I also have the feeling of sorrow and a certain ownership of my past. The two feelings seem to have this same battle, over, and over again every year in both my mind and heart, transcending my feelings to totally different paths. I have contemplated changing my life all together, but the memories of my past seem to get in my way. Excitement is what drives me, but I love the comfy feeling of what is familiar. I seem to be at a crossroad with no idea where to start or proceed. I am stuck in the entrapment of my own mind. Words like where, how, what, and why run a marathon in my head. Where should I go, what should I do? Sound familiar?

January 1st has a way with playing with all our minds. Renewal is always our motivation to be somebody yet the rest of the mind cannot figure how to keep up with it all. As easy as change seems today, tomorrow always gets in your way. What are we missing? Why can’t we seem to march forward? These are great thoughts, but I can’t seem to get them all accomplished today as my conscience seems to be pushing me to. Slow and steady always wins the race, if you don’t quit too early.

I’m sure everyone has had these same thoughts sometime in life on this 1st day of a new year. They are as normal as light of day and dark of night. What are we missing? Meaning and fulfillment might be two words missing from our thoughts. These are the words that get us out of bed every day. When we lose them from our mind, we feel the way we do on this day. Today is just another day in your life, just like yesterday and the days before that. You don’t have to lose yesterday or the years before, you just need to keep going, doing the things that make you smile and give your life meaning. I always remember my cousin Richard saying, "the one thing that burns my ass is a fire about waist high." That is exactly where you need to start, that fire that gets you charging forward. The exercise, the diets, and all the resolutions are empty without all of that meaning behind what matters to you.

Start today and build that puzzle to a new and better you! That’s the fun about our life, we get to decide on our do-overs! If you are going to do anything new this year, then live by the promises and commitments that you make. Get rid of all excuses and just commit. That right there will do more for you and your success than anything else that you ever do. Show the world who and what you are made of. Midnight last night yelled, “That’s a wrap 2025!” Let the year go! Like Bill Belichick always said, “We’re on to next year!”

So, what is it that gives you meaning and fulfillment? Answer those questions and you will be well on your way. It's really that simple. Happy New Year and Happy Thursday everyone!

Smile, you are blessed with another day to make it happen. Watch out 2026, here I come!! I’m coming to take a big bite out of your arse!!! Start Life Now……

12/31/2025

Destiny

As we head into this last day of 2025, it is normal to look back at the year that has just passed. Looking back is good, as long as you don’t stay there too long. It’s nice to reflect on all the great memories but remember, don’t be sad as you have many more to make ahead to get excited about. It’s also wise to look back at the sad or not so good moments I find (and there were plenty), taking in the lessons that may have come from them. Yes, this year could of been a tough year that will burn in the mind more than normal, but we as humans always need to move on no matter the circumstance because God gave us the chance on earth to live the best way possible.

What is it that you want in this life? That’s a question that only you can answer. Is it sitting back and relaxing or is it pushing forward to unleash your human potential? Again, only you can answer that one so never let someone else decide it for you. Whichever way you choose, do it well, with all your heart and with a smile and determination.

I find that many people use this time of year to pledge themselves to dieting and exercise, only to fade after a few weeks to a month. Why is that? It goes with the time of year where we feel a sense of renewal and the thought that we might not be good enough. Dieting and exercising are only one dimensional (physical) and that’s why our minds peak quickly.

Maybe it’s time to think about your other dimensions; spiritual, mental, and emotional. When we focus on all of them (balance), we affect every decision and every relationship. It greatly improves the quality and effectiveness of every hour of your day. It can also build the long-term physical, spiritual and mental strength to enable you to handle any difficult challenges that you might face in your future. It comes back to the “I” and the “me.” The “I” is always intact; it’s the “me” that can stray.

If you are one to challenge yourself then I will entice you with T. S. Eliot’s observation many years ago: “We must never cease from exploration and at the end of all of our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time.” I have found over time that evolving is where the tire meets the road in life. You will find for yourself, over time, that life is a merry-go-round and what you learn from it is to better yourself each time around.

In the end though, we find that we cannot perfect ourselves. We can only align ourselves with correct principles as Stephen Covey points out. You are the one who decides who you are and if you are happy. I think all that matters in this life are just that; are you happy with yourself and where you are at?

You are always the architect of your own life so strive to be the best that you can be. Think back at the ones who lead and modeled you after themselves.

I leave you today and this year with some of my favorite words from Teilhard de Chardin; “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”

Happy Wednesday and Happy New Year’s Eve!! Peace, love, health, and happiness to you all. 2026, here we come!

12/30/2025

Humility

Listen to these words as you let them filter through your mind, Respect, dignity, passion, laughter, compassion, community, and responsibility. We run through life at a pace that seldom gives us time to really think about where we have been or where it is that we want to go. Life can just happen if we let it run us that way. Daily nuances, daily interruptions and daily setbacks take us away from the “what ifs.” You end up running around in circles, like when a dog chases its tail.

So many people come up to me weekly with tales of no time to think or with minor tales of woe. Their stories are so exact that you would think that they all got together and rehearsed them. If you let life drag you around, then what you get will be designated by what hits come across your path. If you finally decide to take control, start planning and carry it forward. Plan to start incorporating those words above into your daily vocabulary. Good planning, discipline and hard work will get you heading in the right direction. When you decide to introduce those words into your life, then you will be bullet proof.

Every one of those words above were taken from a well-known business's Culture Statement. As you will see when you look through them, they are the key to a well-balanced and successful life. Take control of the way you want your life to be before something or someone else takes control. Be as authentic as you know how to be. Learn the behavior of not quitting when things aren't going right and work harder on yourself than on your job!

There is only one “you” in this life so make your mark in it!

Have a great day everyone! 2026 is coming very soon!

12/29/2025

Reflection

Life rolls on like a steam locomotive and this one thought, seems so true as we get older. Loved ones pass each year and the thought of why crosses our minds daily. I think our faith in God helps us through the pain and emptiness that is imminent in our stomach.

I can still remember the passing of my dad so long ago like it was yesterday. It took a long time to accept it. With my mother’s passing 14 years ago, I kept that pain hidden inside so that I kept moving on like my mother would have wanted. The loss of so many good friends and relatives these past five years, toppled with the loss of so many of my friend’s personal losses, has taken quite a few pieces out of me. I believe that even though those pieces are gone forever, new pieces appear to fill in for the old and breathe new life.

God put us on this earth to live a human life and to deal with all sorts of pain and jubilation. It’s our job to live each of those the best way that we can. 2025 is almost over, while new events are awaiting our presence in 2026. Living life to the fullest as we move forward would be what our loved ones that have passed would want and expect from us. Keep your hope alive that someday when it is our turn to go home, we will be reunited again with each, and every one of them.

For every tear, there will always be a new smile to follow. Faith, love, and happiness in that order to all of you as you move forward! Here’s to all friends and family that have gone before us!! Love and Godspeed to each one!! Till we meet again!

Happy Monday my friends! Live this next year coming up with hope that you will improve, love more and touch many more lives! You only have one life to live on earth, reflect yourself out and make it count!

12/26/2025

Traditions

Where would we be in life if we didn’t have our family traditions, especially for the holidays. I grew up in an Italian family on my mother’s side. All the aunts and uncles came over for the holidays. We had a 7-course meal. We had the nuts in the baskets. We had multiple desserts. We didn’t have a lot of money, but we had respect and we had plenty of love. It warms me just thinking about it.

What were your traditions growing up? Hopefully you have carried some or all of them with you raising your own family. Love is what this holiday is about, no matter what your beliefs are.

TGIF everyone! Have a wonderful weekend!! Warm blessings to you all as we head into the last week of the year! It's a great week to look at your life past and plan and adjust it going froward into next year.

12/25/2025

Forgiveness/Blessings

We live in a hectic and fast changing world. Each day brings so much in front of us that we seem to not really notice its beauty and awe. Have you ever noticed that the simplest of things seem to whet your appetite? The tender kiss on a cheek, a soft hand over the top of your hand, a get together with friends that you haven’t seen in years, a smile that seems to tell a story or two or a hug that goes on and on till it sends shivers down your spine.

Life can have its way of numbing the mind but then, suddenly, it can take your breath away. Don’t go through life wondering or struggling. Take a moment to forgive yourself, forgive others and move forward to partake in the blessings that God has set before you. We were all made in his image and at the same time, he made us human. With all that we face in this life, we can still stray from time to time and lose the very reason that we are here.

Life can be so short when we look at it closely. I’m here to tell you. Life was never made to wallow around in. Forgiveness was the underlying reason for today and when you finally do forgive, a new spirit will fill your soul. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace among men with whom He is pleased.” Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord, Prince of Peace.

Reach out to him during difficult and challenging times. He loves you. He will always listen, even though it might not seem that way! God is good but most of all, God’s whole reason was to forgive. Love first, and that alone, will set you free!

Peace be with you my friends, Merry Christmas and glad tidings to you all. Enjoy your day with friends and or family! Love and blessings!

12/24/2025

Savior/Joy

As we wake up to this last day before Christmas, we can reflect on what it truly means in our lives. Hope is the first word that pops into my mind. Sometimes it is tough to keep hope alive with all the grief that can happen to us in the course of the year. We lose loved ones; we can lose our job, or we can struggle with our own health. In the end, though, we hold on to the hope that we can mend our sorrows, we can work harder to become better, and we can heal our bodies, our souls, and our faith. In the process of all of this, we can enjoy the little things in life that always give us a smile.

What are the things we can do when we are down in spirit? We can laugh & play with a child, we can rekindle an old relationship, we can remember all those great memories with our loved ones that have passed, and we can just enjoy our friends and family with something as simple as sitting around the table, breaking bread and enjoying conversation. Hope doesn’t magically come to us. We must believe that it is possible.

As human beings, we have a chance to think and act upon anything that we choose to. We can create happiness with just a smile, and we can create comfort with a gentle touch to the ones who need our help. So, to all my friends today, take a little time to look at what today really means to you and hope for a better tomorrow.

The 3 wise men saw a star that one night in the sky. I hope that you too can see that star and look at tomorrow, not just as another day but as a new day to hopefully change any bad thoughts and events in the hope that each day moving forward, it will be a new day to make peace in your life.

“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name (Emmanuel) Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." Hope is right there for everyone to savor from the savior!! Enjoy this magical and my favorite day of the year called Christmas Eve everyone!!

Love from myself, my family and much love and healing to you all! Thank you for your kindness and friendship throughout the year!

Santa Claus is coming to town and even better, our savior is born!!! Don’t only see the light of the lord, be the light for many that are in need! God Bless!

12/23/2025

Faith

My cousin Ed Denton was not only my cousin but also my Godfather and lastly, a mentor in his later years. I always found comfort going to visit him and my cousin Joan at their Vegas home after his retirement when he was coaching me as my business grew. I learned a lot from him but the biggest thing that I took from him that stuck with me most was his favorite verse from the bible. Philippians 4: 6-8
6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. He would recite this by memory to me often.

I find peace and solace in these words when my life gets hectic or upside down. With all that goes on in this world and especially at this time of year which hits many hard because of angst, fear, loved ones lost, sickness and loneliness, it’s a great reminder for us. I hope you can find peace in this or any of God’s words. Faith is always the one thing that gets us through.

Tomorrow brings us Christmas Eve, my favorite day of the year as we wait on Jesus’s arrival and in every young child’s sparkling eye, Santa Claus. It’s a great day to reflect on the love in our lives whether related to us or friends and or acquaintances. It’s also a great day for prayer for others less fortunate or battling sickness.

The Magic of Christmas is amongst us, enjoy every minute with family and friends!

Have a great day my friends! Santa Claus is coming to town!

12/22/2025

Belief in the Man

I love the scene in the movie; “Miracle on 34TH Street” where Kris tells his lawyer that there is no way that the gentleman could have seen his workshop because they are invisible and that it did not exist in the physical world but in the dream world. There have been many debates over the years in homes on whether Santa Claus is real or not. Do we really have to make that decision? What is wrong with a harmless belief in our own dream world?

Santa lives and breathes in all of us. We often get stuck in the world of the same old routines and whatever else you would like to call it. What is wrong with taking ourselves into a dream world of what could be? Dreaming is a wonderful thing when you can place yourself into the belief that anything is possible. Re-invention lives and breathes in this environment deep in your mind.

I read an article once on a successful person who believes in longevity in a career and to not get stuck in the “Flavor of the Month” mindset. Constant re-invention helps you not only with your success in your job but also with your mindset. There are many things in life that can suck you in, take you away, depress you, make you fear, jump from job to job and have low self-confidence. Your job in this life is to repel these distractions, stay focused and keep you self-dreaming and coming up with better solutions that will propel you to where you want and see your life going. Life is always about being better.

Life is short and it can be much shorter for many. Get out of your rut, pick yourself up and envision your life the way that you want to see it. Do you “Believe?” I don’t know about you but the fat, holly-jolly and giving man lives and breathes in my life and mind.
Give it a chance and when you do, you and your life forward will never be the same again!

Happy Monday before Christmas! Do you believe??? Ha, hope so, Santa is coming soon!!

12/19/2025

Comeback

The word "change" can make some people quiver. Every time they hear the word they crawl back into their comfy world, deeper every time. Then we have the people who welcome change as much as we change our underwear. Why is that you might be thinking? People tend to cram their minds with thoughts that it will be a laborious and stressful thing to bring on change. Some who start to diet change their eating habits so fast that they revert right back to their old eating habits.

Then we have the ones who work 24/7 to become successful at work or school and burn themselves out within a few months. Success in life, no matter what the reason, is a slow, incremental process backed with a written goal that takes you through the transformation process at moderate speed.

You really don't have to go through some crazy diet to get results. Change needs to be a slow habit-forming process, as easy as just watching your sugar intake daily. I have a friend who lost 40 pounds a few years ago because he gave up drinking soda. Whatever your goal, take it one step at a time instead of jamming it all at once in your mouth to swallow.

Darren Hardy of Success wrote an article; "The Greatness is in the Comeback." I personally think greatness lies in the steps and mindset that it takes to overcome the habits that take us down. I hear a lot of people each week on Monday’s that moan about the fact when it is Monday morning again. They count down the days to the next weekend or to their vacation time. It's very hard to change that thought to loving Monday’s a week later. Maybe instead, think of one thing each week that makes you smile about Monday and build upon it.

Don’t worry about where you are today. Take it one step at a time.

Change, it does a mind and body good. Slow down and enjoy it for once!!

TGIF everyone! Have a great weekend!!! Smile, you’re on Candid Camera! Ha!

12/18/2025

Christmas Magic

Sometimes it’s the simple things in life that hold true to the heart. When I look back at my life, I smile at those simple, human things. I remember the times that my dad would carry me to bed when I was feeling ill. When my mom would fluff my pillow when I had a fever or rub Vicks under my nose and chest when I was struggling breathing from a virus. When Nancy said yes to my proposal on Christmas Eve at the La Salette. The tremendous smile on my grandson’s faces when they caught their first fish. The kiddish smile on my wife when she read that note that I put in her roses. The look on Gina's face when she turned the corner to see what Santa had brought her. The proud look on Gina’s face when she graduated college or when she finished her Masters. The looks on Itchy and Scratchy’s faces when they would set out looking for the treasure as soon as they pulled into our yard, and 5 minutes later, digging up that treasure box. They’re little voices in the car just before we would get to my house, “Grampa, do you think the pirates came last night?” Ahhh, those memories burn bright in my mind.

Whatever the moments that you remember, hold them tight in your heart because they are “your memories in your life” that nobody could ever take away! Living life one smile at a time my friends!!! Isn’t that what life is about??

“Changes comin round real soon making us women and men”!

Have a wonderful day my friends!

12/17/2025

Character

We spend so much time going to school or college, learning things so that we can become the person that we want to become. Personally, I think that we have already developed into the person that we will truly become in life before we ever hit the ages of high school or college, regardless of what we choose to do. Character becomes the result of our own attitude and the way we portray it and ultimately, the way that we spend our time.

Are we truly successful when we make it to the top, making unbelievable money only to show decaying in our relationships personally or professionally? How much of a person are we if we walk by others with a shunned shoulder when we could have helped them? How important are we really when we use our authority to manipulate others below us, talk down to them and walk away as the victor? I love Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf’s thought on this; “I judge character not by how men deal with their superiors, but mostly how they deal with their subordinates, and that to me is where you find out what the character of a man is.”

Who you are in this life is far more important than what you will ever do to fill your work life. The secret is to believe in yourself enough to make the changes necessary to grow into the “person” that you desire to be. Work on the “who” you are first, and the rest will fall into place like a puzzle. Excitement in life isn’t as much about getting to the proverbial top of the ladder as it is touching the lives of the people along your way there.

I can still hear “The Who” scream in their song from long ago; “Who are you?” The plan is to not answer that one yourself, let the ones around you fill that one in! Listen twice, speak once!

Happy Wednesday everyone!! Have a great day! Santa Claus is coming to town soon!! Who are you……who, who, who, who

Food A Holick

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