Author Archive

Living Madly: By Any Other Name

Living Madly: By Any Other Name By Emilie-Noelle Provost Every year around Valentine’s Day, when advertisements for engagement rings and wedding venues start popping up in newspapers and on billboards, I start thinking about names. When I was 11 years old, a friend and I would sometimes walk through the…

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Boarding School Blues: Ch. 52

Boarding School Blues: Ch. 52 By Louise Peloquin Ch. 52: Eve of Destruction The initiation to skiing left its mark. Within twenty-four hours, indigo, violet and maroon splotches popped up all over Blanche’s and her brother’s bodies. Proud of his battle wounds, Antoine wowed Byron and Maggie by showing them…

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My Experience With Mass Save

Two years ago, I faced some major home maintenance challenges. My roof, boiler and hot water tank all needed replacing. It was not an emergency, but that’s what I wanted to avoid. The contractors I consulted urged me to first contact Mass Save for a home energy audit which was…

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Homelessness: We’ve Been Here Before

Mark Cote, a regular contributor to this website, recently shared the following essay which he wrote 23 years ago when he served as the Chair of the city of Lowell’s Hunger/Homeless Commission. The essay originally appeared in the Lowell Sun on December 21, 2000, under the title, “Real tragedy of…

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My Granny’s Life in Television

My Granny’s Life in Television By Malcolm Sharps Looking back on his childhood in the 50s and later, Malcolm Sharps remembers the defeats and triumph in his uneasy relationship with his grandmother. My grandmother was one of those women that the term ‘old lady’ already comfortably fitted long before her…

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Boarding School Blues: Ch. 51

Boarding School Blues: Chapter 51 By Louise Peloquin Ch. 51: We all fall down The next couple of days slipped by without any holiday fuss. Papa’s convalescence deterred most family members from dropping by at Christmas, despite the invitation to sample home-made egg nog. Ready for holiday-treat-craving tummies, gallons of…

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“Dry January” by David Daniel

Dry January By David Daniel A few sips into the second martini Alan wonders if this has been a good idea. “We don’t have enough money saved,” his wife says out of the blue, but not a total surprise. It has become a theme lately. “We’re losers.” “Come on, we’re…

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