By James W. Dolan

A complex and talented son of Dorchester has departed the public stage, at least for now. He brought great strengths and, if he's like the rest of us, a few weaknesses to his post as House Speaker.

Smart, articulate and resourceful, there were few that could match his combination of toughness, street savvy and brainpower. He needed those skills because that wasn't exactly the College of Cardinals he was trying to manage on Beacon Hill.

He may have been occasionally autocratic and combative but maintaining order, setting priorities and contending with the disparate interests represented in the House required that he assert himself forcefully from time to time. He also could be gentle, kind and self-effacing, qualities the press too often overlooked.

The Japanese have a saying: "The nail that sticks out gets hammered." Because of his position, his political philosophy and his leadership skills, he was an easy target. Being a social and fiscal conservative did not endear him to some of the more influential interest groups promoting change.

Never accused of being "flashy," he spurned the high life. Some get carried away with the less savory aspects of power. They enjoy the attention and succumb to the temptations. It takes a rare person to resist the pleasures being a celebrity can bring.

Running and gardening, two favorite Finneran pastimes, are not the kind of leisure activities one normally associates with power. The former is a mental as well as a physical release providing the discipline and stamina necessary to cope with high-stress responsibilities. The latter is a gentle art. The digging, planting and nurturing produce a modest reward that can be seen, touched, tasted and enjoyed

Having control of that small space when on his knees where he could escape conflict and collaborate with nature must have provided Tommy with moments of peace and happiness unknown in the hurly-burly of the Legislature.

It was there at home with his family in the yard, planting and harvesting in Mother Earth, where he was probably most content. I wonder if he ever saw the parallel between what he did as a gardener and as speaker. Planting an idea, nurturing legislation and harvesting a law in far less fertile soil. I suspect he did.

Those who best exercise power are likely those who are uncomfortable with it. Understanding it, they are wary of both the good and evil that it can accomplish and the danger it poses to those who too eagerly embrace the flame. I like to think that Tommy is such a man.

I see him as complex at the surface but simple and fundamental at the core where it counts. Faith and family provide the bedrock beyond which so much else is fleeting and illusory. The flowers and the fruit will grow and soon die but if the roots are solidly planted the plant lives.

I don't know Tommy Finneran very well. I have probably only spoken to him a dozen times. Most of my impressions have been drawn from the press, friends who know him better, and what he has done for Dorchester. I like what I know.

Sure he'll miss being speaker but not as much as others may think. That office did not define him, at least to himself. Sometimes the public man is the whole man. Attention is the gas that keeps him inflated. Without it he deflates and there is little left.

Not so Tommy; the core survives and even thrives as the inevitable illusions are cast away. Power, money and celebrity are often impediments to faith, self-knowledge, and balance.

Tommy will thrive in the private sector. I only wish he could have continued to apply his considerable skills in some capacity to public service. After a breather, I expect he'll be back. Meanwhile, Sal DiMasi will have a hard time fitting his size 12 feet into Tommy's size 8 shoes.

His most visible and lasting legacy is Pope John Paul II Park. It is only fitting that a man who loves gardening would leave his community a place to enjoy nature. Perhaps now he could go over sometime to show the folks charged with maintaining the place how to better tend to the flowers and shrubs. They could use some help.

(James W. Dolan is a retired Dorchester District Court judge who now practices law.)