Oh, Medford! The town of 55,000 along the Mystic is struggling to come to terms with the prolonged absence of its favorite native son, at least according to a local newspaper down I-95:
Over the years, [Michael] Bloomberg has hired a local policeman as a chauffeur, arranged for a music group to meet the conductor of the Boston Pops and paid for a modern, airy redesign at his mother’s synagogue. Yet the mayor’s ties to Medford are starting to fade. His mother, Charlotte, whom he visited frequently via private jet, died last year at 102, after living for decades in Mr. Bloomberg’s childhood home. He has not been back since, and some here, while grateful for his generosity, wonder whether a man who has long since transformed himself into a New Yorker will now maintain any connection to their town.
Yes, The New York Times has examined the mayor of New York's ever more tenuous relationship with his hometown, where he grew up in a two-story, 3-BR Colonial on Ronaele Road. He was nondescript all the way through, president of the slide rule club at Medford High, bored out of his suburban skull; and he never looked back once he hit Gotham. Except to donate quietly to various groups and causes in Medford, and, of course and laudably, to visit his mom.
· Mayor’s Ties to Hometown Fade, But for a Few, They Are Still Felt [NY Times]