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Jack Kerouac was born in the Centralville neighborhood in Lowell on March 12, 1922. He pictures his birth in his novel Doctor Sax, one of his “Lowell books.” He would be 101 years old today. His hometown pulled out all the stops last year for a Centennial celebration with a…
Read More »About a week ago, the Boston Globe published an excellent article about street hockey culture in Massachusetts as influenced by red-hot Bruins’ teams going back to the Orr-Esposito Era. Matt Porter of the Globe wondered if the surging B’s of today will pump up street hockey for this generation of…
Read More »Palmer Method Porn By David Daniel It is in the fifth carton Franny’s husband trundles up from the basement. She and Tod are downsizing. It’s a good day for it, snowy outside. So far, they’ve filled six plastic trash bags and have set aside other belongings in piles. Items the…
Read More »In view of the foregoing facts I find myself compelled to report to your Honorable Board my firm conviction that there is danger, both constant and grave, in the water of the Merrimack River at Lowell.” William T. Sedgwick Professor of Biology at MIT Biologist to State Board of Health…
Read More »Our far-flung contributor Jim Provencher in Australia sent us a poem in response to my essay about hometown baseball from a few days ago (“Organized Ball”). Jim spent youthful days in Portland, Maine, playing Babe Ruth League, high school, and American Legion baseball. Here’s what he told us: “It’s weird,…
Read More »The Elusive Nature of British Punk By Malcolm Sharps You say you wan’ a revolution. Well, you know, we all wanna change the world. …
Read More »Boarding School Blues: Ch. 53 By Louise Peloquin Ch. 53: A turtle’s heart Maman and Blanche thanked Madame Briard for the lovely collation and quickly took their leave. Before bidding her guests farewell, the hostess extended another invitation. “You must return to my library once my latest accession arrives, an…
Read More »Heat pumps have been much in the news recently as an alternative to traditional gas- or oil-fired boilers for home heating. I became especially interested in heat pumps two years ago when my gas-fired boiler needed replacing. I knew that a heat pump was the environmentally preferred home heating option,…
Read More »Tom Sexton, a frequent contributor to this blog, sent us a new poem that he worked on for some time. The length of a poem doesn’t guarantee that the composition was written swiftly. In the title, Yellowhead is the Yellowhead Highway, a main route in Western Canada. I like the…
Read More »Spring training reminds me of the magnetic pull of baseball in our culture, even for those of us who don’t follow the game closely. So an essay by Paul Marion on his paulmarion.com website, illustrates why baseball is so important in our culture and our lives. Organized Ball By Paul…
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