Dottie Hottie

“In the early nineteenth century, Dorchester was called ‘the model town of New England…”

Folks might find the previous statement, which serves as the back cover narrative for Earl Taylor’s masterful Postcard History Series of Dorchester, to be quite comical. Dorchester? A model town?

And yet the Dottie Hottie believes Dot has the potential to revive its nineteenth century grandeur. At that time, homes appeared well-maintained. Schools were the models for the rest of the country. Public transportation was outstanding and well-utilized. Jobs were plentiful. Today, we have the diversity, the beauty of architecture and green space, the investment and spirit, oh yes we’ve got spirit, to usher in revival.

If you read through Taylor’s book (and you should if you consider yourself a true Dottie hottie), the call to service is so evident in Dorchester’s history. If you didn’t belong to a church, a women’s group, or the Colonial Club, then it is questionable what business you had loitering around this civic-minded Boston borough.

Photo from Dorchester Postcard History Series

The Dottie Hottie is no polyanna when it comes to Dot’s lack of resources and representation. And that’s what makes the coming election, both for mayor and for city councilors so important. Kind of a ‘You are what you eat’ aphorism. The Dottie Hottie believes you ‘How you vote is how you live.’ If you haven’t checked out DotNews’ Lit Drop, it’s worth your while to take a gander over there and see what you can learn about the candidates.

Photo from Dorchester Postcard History Series

I hope the following will serve as evidence that Sam Yoon is a candidate of integrity and excellence.

From this past weekend’s Globe:

“I just want to encourage everyone to read as much as they can about Sam Yoon. He is the change that we need in the city, desperately,’’ said Marie Marshall, a 55-year-old Fields Corner native involved in her first mayoral campaign. She said she is postponing knee surgery until after the election and relying on regular cortisone shots to continue making her way door to door.

Marshall said she was drawn to help after Yoon and his staff swiftly waded through what she described as a bureaucratic morass to help her granddaughter get a bus to elementary school, when she lived mere feet from the 1-mile bus cutoff. “I was so thrilled I almost cried,’’ she said.

Yoon’s campaign is a way’s behind in funds, but where it lacks in dollars, it makes up for in drive. I hope you’ll contribute. As we saw in this past presidential campaign, even $10 from passionate individuals can go a long way. In fact, it can take a candidate all the way!

It’s hard for the Dottie Hottie to say which was the best part of The Farmer’s Market at Ashmont this past Friday. Every aspect begs for its own superlative. Was it the market? The farmers? What about the SMAMS staff with their bright and verdant T-shirts? Perhaps it was the produce, the flowers by Cedar Grove, and let’s not forget the pottery tent!

Ahh…the real icing, and unique among farmer’s markets as far as the Dottie Hottie’s eyes have seen was the LIVE MUSIC. Oh yes. Lending ambience to an already lovely atmosphere on a perfect summer day was Irie Roots, a rockin’ Calypso band. MID couldn’t get enough.

Picture borrowed from Ashmont Farm Market’s twitpics. Follow them on twitter @ http://twitter.com/AshmontFarmMkt

One big Dottie Hottie Huzzah to the recipient of St. Mark’s Area Main Streets’ small business of the year award: Dot 2 Dot’s Karen Henry-Garrett. The award is well-deserved considering Karen’s devotion to the community and determination in building her business from the ground up (in the face of much adversity, see also: theft). If you haven’t checked out the pancakes or the Dottie Hottie’s favorite flapjack treats, do yourself a favor and connect the dots on down to Dot2Dot. I can’t promise you Karen will be wearing a fetching hat like the one she’s featured wearing here, but the cooking will not disappoint!

- photo credit to St. Mark’s Area Main Streets