As he helped hand out hundreds of backpacks, binders, and folders at TD Garden in anticipation of a new school year, Johnny Beecher acknowledged the pained reality that used to set in at this point on the calendar.
“It was always kind of crazy when you were a kid and you knew the school year was coming back up — you’d walk into Target with your mom, and they’d have the back-to-school stuff — you kind of just put your head down and realize that reality was coming back,” Beecher said with a smile Thursday at TD Garden’s Back-to-School Celebration.