U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano has never been afraid to blast political enemies or even those in his own party like Hillary Clinton, waxing that her rollout offered more of a fizzle than a bang.
Turns out the former Somerville mayor’s had a lot of practice sparking explosions.
Capuano said he got a federal license back in 1973 to light fireworks, and worked behind the scenes on municipal fireworks shows throughout the state.
“I thought I could make a killing during the bicentennial. I was wrong,” the Democratic congressman joked during an in-studio visit with Boston Herald Radio.
Capuano didn’t spend a lot of time working the fireworks circuit, but said he gleaned one big takeaway.
“Everyone who worked there, they all had a little something missing,” he said.
Charlie’s chopper
Gov. Charlie Baker threw out his notes at a ceremony honoring the arrival of “The Wall That Heals” last week and instead regaled a veteran-heavy crowd with a slew of stories, including one during which he struggled to contain his emotions.
This one, however, got the most laughs:
Recalling a meeting with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society — which is holding its annual convention in Boston in September — Baker described himself as breezing into his “15th meeting” that day, quickly shaking hands amid introductions and pledging to do whatever he could to help.
One elderly gentleman had a request, Baker said: He wanted to go for a helicopter ride — a notion Baker laughed off. When it came time for a group photo, the same man sidled up next to him, and repeated his request. Baker told him he’d take “note of that” with an eye roll.
“Then he looks up at me like this,” Baker said, leaning back and turning his eyes toward the sky, “and he goes, ‘You know? You’re a pretty big guy.’ ... I used to fly with a guy who’s about your size. We used to call him Too Tall.’
“And so I looked at him and said, ‘You know, there’s a guy named Too Tall. His name’s Ed Freeman.” Freeman, Baker described, was a Medal of Honor recipient who bravely flew a helicopter in and out of a Vietnam War battle zone to bring supplies to soldiers and carry the wounded to safety.
“He probably saved dozens of lives,” Baker said. “I said (to the elderly man), ‘His flying buddy in that battle was a guy named Bruce Crandall.’
“This guy looks at me and says, ‘Yeah, me! Bruce Crandall! That’s what I said when I came in!’ ”
Baker, breaking into a wide smile, told Crandall — also a Medal of Honor recipient — that he was honored to meet “a real American hero.”
“So,” Baker said, “he looked at me and said, ‘So do I get my helicopter ride?’ ”
Pitching Marty
Since he took office in January 2014, Mayor Martin J. Walsh has gotten dozens of direct messages on Twitter. The majority are constituents offering complaints or compliments. More than a half-dozen address him simply as “Marty” or even “Martin.”
One, however, was an outright solicitation from a man who said he owns his own “pavement marking company.”
“... just wondering if you could help me maybe get a few contracts?” the DM reads.
Walsh didn’t respond, according to documents Herald reporter Jordan Graham obtained through a public records request. In fact, Walsh’s account had no outgoing DMs, according to his office.
Hillary Chabot and Jordan Graham contributed to this report. State House reporter Matt Stout can be reached at matthew.stout@bostonherald.com.
