Have you ever felt that most everything around you has been turned around, warped, twisted; that the world is backwards, upside down? I’m asking because I don’t portend to speak for you and, trust me; you wouldn’t want me to.  

I’ve been particularly exasperated by a myriad of things over the past week. We all have those times I guess, but over the past few days I seem to have run into an innumerable number of issues; challenges ranging from personal to professional and darn near everything in between. It seems that there’s something, I’ll call it a dark force, that’s determined to knock me off track, to keep me from accomplishing the goals I’ve set for myself. 

Over the past several months, I’ve rededicated myself to my writing. I’ve become more serious about it – more passionate – almost obsessed. I’ve set both short-term and long- term goals – established where I want to be personally and professionally over the next year.  

It seems that the more I plan and the harder I work the more obstacles are placed in my way. I say placed because I believe this is no random act. I believe there is a force, an outside entity that wants me to fail – that doesn’t want me to be the person I was put here to be or accomplish the things I was put here to do. I’m convinced there are many of you who know exactly what I’m talking about, because you’ve been affected by this phenomenon as well. No one escapes its grasp. 

I’m sure by now there are those reading this who think I’m some kind of wing nut, and that may be true, but not when it comes to this subject. I’m not sure if it was in this column or one of my Easton columns, that I had mentioned the author, Steven Pressfield and his amazing, inspirational book, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles.  

The author discusses, in depth, what he refers to as, Resistance. He capitalizes the letter, R, because Resistance is not merely a word, it’s an entity--a force to be reckoned with whenever one sets out to accomplish any goal. Resistance comes in many forms, sometimes from within and sometimes from without, but it’s always there, lurking; waiting to make its move. I could write fifty pages on Resistance, its sources and its methods, but I’ll let you explore that avenue if you wish. The War of Art is a great read. I highly recommend it. The last time I was in Border’s at Mansfield Crossing there were several copies on the shelf.  

It seems that Mansfield Crossing is my usual destination when I visit Mansfield these days, so I decided to take a walk through the downtown area last week, something I hadn’t done in a long time – years, I would guess. Mansfield is still a quaint little town, but it’s much different than it was when my brothers and I were yutes.   

It’s hard to believe that George’s Cleaners is gone, building and all. All that remains is a lonely, vacant lot. My mom worked mother’s-hours for George Goddard for many years. She started at his store in the Foxfield Plaza in Foxboro and moved to the Mansfield store after I was in high school. When he was in high school, my brother, Bruce, also worked for George. I was surprised to discover that Sue Goddard Jean of Sue’s Cleaners is George’s niece. I guess the business is in her blood, as Sue’s parents also had a dry-cleaning business in Wrentham.  

But enough about the Goddard family; I’m no Eddie Haskell, but I’m coming close to being obsequious*. (*Obsequious is the word of the day. Look it up. That’s why God created Google) 

The Stearn’s store is also long gone, now home to Advantage Appliance,  Lighten-Up Wellness and of all things, condos! Condos? In downtown Mansfield? Really? Who would have guessed! Stearn’s had been a landmark for countless years; the place to go for all things stationary and, of course, the daily newspaper.  

As I walked further up North Main Street, I recalled hanging at Club Daggs, playing the pinball machines – three games for a quarter. Then there was Shribman’s Five and Dime store, affectionately called Shribbie’s by the kids. Shribbie’s was where we bought our marbles. They came in a little fish-net type pouch – maybe twelve to fifteen of the little gems per bag and; if I recall correctly, they cost ten cents a bag. Shribbie’s also had a large assortment of toys, model cars, trucks and boats, and various other kid-treasures. It was a great store. The one thing that was a bit disconcerting, even for a kid, was that as soon as you entered the store you were under Shribbie’s watchful eye until you left – no surveillance cameras back then – just Shribbie’s peepers!    

Then of course, there was Sannie’s - Where Mansfield styles begin. That was actually their motto! Can you believe it? I can remember the running joke with us kids was, Sannie’s – Where Mansfield styles begin – and end. I’m fairly certain that every shirt, pair of pants and all my underwear came from Sannie’s.  

I popped in to Happy Hollow Custom Framing and the Next Door Gallery, which is part of the Happy Hollow store, and was pleasantly surprised to see some artwork by my friend, Dave Harrison, exhibited there. Dave is a great guy, a talented artist and an amazing keyboard player, having been classically trained on the piano. 

Dave and my brother, Bruce, Moose Monteiro, Fred Vaiani and I, along with an occasional ‘sit-in’, used to jam at Bruce’s house once a week back in the early to mid-eighties. Fred is now a drum instructor and studi o drummer at Mockingbird Music. Moose, unfortunately, passed away several years ago, but I’m sure he’s grooving to the tunes with musicians-past with his Fender Bass cranked up to full volume. Dave works at Hagen in the Cabot, Cabot and Forbes Industrial Park when he’s not creating one of his masterpieces and my brother, Bruce, has moved to Louisville, Kentucky. Me? Well, here I sit, writing columns for Patch.com and procrastinating about getting my book finished. That’s Resistance rearing its ugly head again.  My trumpet is sitting in the closet in my office. Hmmmm – maybe I’ll pull that baby out and grab one of my Miles Davis charts when I finish writing today. Maybe! There it is again – Resistance!  

One last Mansfield item well worth mentioning - My son, Chris and his wife, Karre ate at Mangia Bene across from the South Common on Valentine’s Day. They raved about the food and also said the service was excellent. Reasonable prices too! Sounds like a winning combination. 

That’s it for another week. I’ve written this entire column while sitting in Starbuck’s and I’m highly over-caffeinated. I’m going home.  

Make it a great week! 

Bob Havey is a freelance writer and a Mansfield native, currently living in Easton. His column "Take Me Back" appears every Friday at http://mansfield-ma.patch.com.His other column, "The View From Here", may be seen each Tuesday at http://easton-ma.patch.com.