Review: Star Trek: First Contact

Star Trek First Contact
by Robert Gillis
Published in the Foxboro Reporter, 11/1996

“They invade our space, and we fall back. They assimilate entire worlds, and we fall back. Not again. The line must be drawn HERE!”

–Captain Jean-Luc Picard

As part of the 30th anniversary celebration of Star Trek, Paramount Pictures has just released the eighth Star Trek motion picture and the second to feature the cast of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” (ST:TNG). The movie is “Star Trek: First Contact,” and it stands on its own as one of the best Star Trek movies in the series.

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Informed voters

12 America - US Flag flying at Hull Yacht Clubby Robert Gillis
Published in the Foxboro Reporter, 11/1996

One of the best movies in recent memory to depict our nation’s chief executive was, “The American President,” starring Michael Douglas. Andrew Shepherd, the widower president Douglas portrays, enjoys the highest popularity poll in decades; he is a wise, strong, compassionate, and fair. A great leader.

Shepherd’s only weakness (at least to his advisors) is his reluctance to attack Senator Bob Rumsford (Richard Dreyfuss), his opponent in the next election.

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Dark shadows; bright future: Jaycees haunted house demonstrates a sense of community

img_1346By Robert Gillis
Published in the Foxboro reporter, 9/1996

MEMORY LANE! THIS WAS MY FIRST COLUMN ABOUT THE FOXBORO JAYCEES HAUNTED HOUSE!

We are one dozen brave souls, walking through the dark passages, stumbling through the shadows. Unseen dogs bark at us as we cross a shaky bridge. Huge spiders grab at us as we make our way through cobwebs and fog. Rats squeak angrily as we slowly walk by them. In the distance, a train whistle shrieks.

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This is an attempt to collect a debt!

06 Downtown - Jordan Marsh Entranceby Robert Gillis
Published in the Foxboro Reporter 9/1996

The mail box was bursting with the usual bills, catalogs, and sweepstakes entry forms. I ignored the shiny letter that told me I’d won a new car, ten gold bars, or a handy pocket comb, and junked the pre-approved credit card with the 26.5% interest rate, which I suspected was compounded hourly.

“Urgent, open immediately” on the next letter caught my eye, so I complied with the bright red instructions and tore it open.

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Welcome Colin! My sister’s first baby is born, 8/8/96

by Robert Gillis
Published in the Foxboro Reporter, 8/1996

A few years back, I gave Mom a videocassette containing a montage of over sixty family photographs set to music. The video began with a picture of Mom holding me as a baby, and then pictures of my sister Theresa as a baby three years later. As music by Tom Jones and Reba McEntire (Mom’s favorites) played, the video faded from one picture to the next, and Theresa and I magically grew up over thirty years.

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Why memories can be discarded, but never thrown away

by Robert Gillis
Published in the Foxboro Reporter, 7/1996

38_dadThe cellar was piled with things my father had discarded, but just couldn’t bear to throw away. Dad’s anniversary was last week, and once again I pause to reflect on how different my life is without. 12 years have passed since he lost his terrible battle with cancer. And as I grew older I find myself missing him.

For some reason, it was here in my grandmother’s house, particularly in this cellar, that I remember him most.

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Seniors can show you secrets of eternal youth

By Robert Gillis
Published in the Foxboro Reporter,7/1996

It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I have a great affection for seniors. Taking care of Nana for so many years and listening to her talk about her amazing life made a positive difference in my life. Nearly 3 years after her death, I find myself thinking about her often, and missing our talks.

Many other seniors – my mom’s mother, aunt’s and friends – have touched my life and made it a happier place to be.

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Proud sponsors are nothing to be proud of


By Robert Gillis
Published in the Foxboro reporter, 7/1996

Historians note: I include this here to be complete; this was one of my very first columns for the paper and this is REALLY not very good. Olympic sponsorship is very necessary to make the games possible. It does get annoying course, but it’s all part of the process. That said, all these years later, I just have to file this one away as, “Well, I guess it qualifies as an “op-ed!” This one really isn’t very good!

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Push cart cuts the mustard — “The Common Dog” on Foxboro Common

By Robert Gillis
Published in the Foxboro Reporter 6/27/1996

One of the nicer aspects of taking a vacation and staying home to work on the new house is that I have the opportunity to spend a little more time in Foxboro during the day. These summer days bring many pleasant traditions back to Foxboro joggers, power walkers, Founders Day, Frisbees, kids out of school, concerts, outdoor sports, and on the common, Susan Zakhary’s “Common Dog” hot dog stand.

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It’s ‘service with a sneer’ — bad customer service

By Robert Gillis

One of my very first columns published in the Foxboro reporter, 6/1996

THIS WAS ONE OF MY VERY FIRST COLUMNS FOR THE FOXBORO REPORTER – WRITTEN IN 1996

There is a great scene in the movie “Back to the Future” where Marty McFly, a teenage time traveler from 1985, has just arrived in the year 1955. The first site he sees is a gas station where four uniformed attendants rushed over to the car that has just pulled into the station.

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Technology: Time to draw clear line between work and play

Computer keyboardby Robert Gillis
Published in the Foxboro Reporter 5/1996

“Have you ever sent a fax… From the beach? Have you ever checked out of the supermarket a car load at eight? Have you renewed your drivers license at a cash machine?”

“You will,” the commercial informs us, “and the company that will bring it to you will be AT&T”

Things sure do change rapidly. Adults over 13 are already saying things like, when I was a kid we didn’t have CDs or VCRs or ATM machines.

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Despite problems, Foxboro’s got a lot to offer (my very first op/ed as a regular contributor to the Foxboro Reporter, 4/1996)

Historians note, 2015: after I wrote my first full-length piece about the Foxboro senior center in early 1996, this piece was my very first “regular” op Ed for the Foxboro reporter. The editor at the time suggested I submit three pieces and we would see how it goes. Nearly 20 years later, I am still a regular contributor for the reporter.

For my very first op-ed, I wanted to talk about Foxboro and how much I love the town.

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My very first Reporter Column; Support your seniors!

(After many letters to the editor, I submitted this, my first full-length column to the Reporter.  After it ran, I approached editor Jeff Peterson about a regular, bi-weekly column, and he agreed we’d start with three, the first which ran a month later on April 25, 1996.  I’ve been writing for the paper ever since!)

by Robert Gillis
Published in the Foxboro Reporter, 3/7/1996

Nearly sixty of Foxboro’s seniors crammed the tight quarters of the town hall meeting room last Tuesday for the Advisory Board meeting on the town budget.

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Letter: This is New England, it Snows Here

Before I started my regular column in the Foxboro Reporter I was writing a lot of letters to the editor; this is one of them.

by Robert Gillis
Published as a letter to the editor in the Foxboro Reporter, 11/1995

Last week, the first big snowstorm of the season was threatening the area. After being nearly killed twice by snow-crazed motorists, I stopped at the supermarket for some dog food, milk, and some other necessities. What I saw amazed me.

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Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman: “Tempus Fugitiive,” A Critique

by Robert Gillis
March 25, 1995

“Hello! Duh! Clark Kent is Superman. Ha, ha, ha. Well, that was worth the whole trip. To actually meet the most galactically stupid woman who ever lived.” — Tempus, remarking that Lois Lane couldn’t figure out Clark’s secret

Acknowledging that it is just a TV show, and recognizing that I do have a life, I must still comment on my great disappointment with “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.” Last night’s episode started out wonderfully, with HG Wells showing up at the Daily Planet and enlisting the aid of Lois and Clark to battle an evil time traveler.

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