Sympathy on the street, with a nudge about age

As news spread of Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s most recent hospital visit — this time to repair a torn tendon in his right knee — Bostonians responded with a wave of concern about the health of their civic leader, long known as a man about town.

“I’ve got two bad knees and a bad back myself, so I know what he’s going through,’’ Robert Bennett said as he filled his car’s gas tank yesterday at the Mobil station in Readville, the mayor’s Hyde Park neighborhood.

In libraries, barber shops, and local markets, Bostonians took note of Menino’s age, overall physical condition, and busy schedule, as well as his health woes.

In his 17 years in office, the 68-year-old mayor has been hospitalized at least 11 times. He has been treated for Crohn’s disease, a cancerous lump on his back, kidney stones, and severe abdominal pains. He has been knocked off his bicycle and severed a tendon near his left kneecap just five days after his reelection last year.

Menino has also had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee to repair torn cartilage. At the Walk for Peace in July, he scraped his shin while trying to step onto a makeshift stage.

Just last month, he was hospitalized for an infected elbow and readmitted after experiencing a bad reaction to antibiotics. The malady prevented Menino from attending holiday tree-lighting ceremonies in city neighborhoods, his second absence due to ill health in two years.

“I feel bad for him,’’ said Dan LiBoissonnault, owner of Richard’s Wine & Spirits in Readville’s Wolcott Square. “It just seems like the guy has been going through a tough patch.’’

Some residents pointed to the mayor’s age, saying health problems come with the territory.

“Stuff like this will happen,’’ said a Boston police officer who declined to give his name. “I plan to send him my best wishes. I think he’s a good man.’’

But others across the city say the mayor’s recent problem might be a sign that it is time to think about leaving office or, at the very least, to take care of his health.

“If he’s too old, then he should leave his position,’’ said Rock Yves, a Roslindale barber, as he slowly glided electric clippers through a client’s already short hair. “He should . . . put someone else in charge.’’

That sentiment was shared by Patricia Thomas of Mattapan as she took a break from reading e-mails at the neighborhood’s branch of the Boston Public Library that Menino pushed to have built.

“The only thing I suggest is that maybe he needs to take the time off to recuperate and designate his work and power to other accountable and responsible people,’’ Thomas said. “If he can just share a little bit and if he relaxes a little more, maybe he can recover’’ fully.

But Eileen Moyer, a librarian from Hyde Park, said the mayor’s trip back to Brigham and Women’s Hospital may be an indication for him to let go of his power.

While she said she wished Menino no ill health, she is still miffed at his plans to close local libraries, and said it is high time for someone else to take charge.

“He’s been in office for too long,’’ Moyer said. “We need someone with a new outlook and a new view of Boston.’’

Not everyone shares that view, however.

Linda Mazzella expressed sympathy for the mayor and his family. She pointed to Menino’s commitment to the neighborhoods, his office’s frequent calls to seniors, including Mazzella’s mother, during heat waves and snowstorms.

And she said she wished the mayor a full recovery.

“My thoughts go out for his wife and family,’’ Mazzella said at her Walk Hill Florist shop in Roslindale. “The holidays are a terrible time to be in the hospital.’’

Even with this recent setback, Mose Elmekias said, Menino has a lot more left in his tank to run the city.

“I don’t think he should hang it up simply because of this,’’ Elmekias said. “It’s only knee surgery.’’

In Grove Hall, massage therapist Charles Robinson said that if he were working on the mayor’s knee, he would offer thermal therapy, massage, and muscle-strengthening routines.

In the meantime, though, he shared some words of comfort and caution for Boston’s busy chief executive.

“If you have been in Boston long enough, you will see that he’s always been around,’’ Robinson said. “He takes care of the community.’’

Now Menino needs to take care of himself, he said, and he urged the mayor to get some rest.

Meghan E. Irons can be reached at mirons@globe.com.