Category: Opinion
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How I Learned To Be A Racist
I grew up in a white factory town until I was 10-years-old. My father had a small grocery store in Newark, New Jersey and his customers were all black people. My parents had a term that they referred to Black people while they were in the house: Schvartzes, pronounced Schvat-Suh. They claimed not to be…
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Dispatch From a Clinician
“I just need to talk to somebody,” he said, slumping into the seat across from me. He was tall and thin and wore a tattered winter jacket though it was unseasonably warm and humid outside. His long hair was pulled back in a ponytail and his eyes were wide and tired. He looked down at…
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Parting Ways at the Crossroads
There has been a sadness around me lately. As many of you know, we lost a family member, our long time vendor Fred Boykin. And as I sit here writing this column I’m thinking of his positive spirit despite all the obstacles in his way. I wish I could be more like he was, now…
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Clean and Sober: Recovery After Suboxone
The opioid trail is a long difficult road. I appreciated Felice Freyer’s article in the Aug. 19 edition of the Boston Globe, which was about getting help for opioid addiction in Massachusetts. I am a person with a Substance Use Disorder in “remission.” It took me a long time to get where I am. I’m 72…
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Brett Kavanaugh and Why Consequences Matter
The idea that we are held accountable for our actions is not a new concept. It’s been grafted into children and teenagers by their parents, teachers, mentors and leaders. While it is not a new or radical idea, it certainly does not stop young people, or even older people for that matter, from making mistakes.…
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With Kavanaugh confirmation, the Senate fails women again
I’ve gone through a lot of emotions while coming to grips with what went down in Washington last week, with the Supreme Court confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh. First, I know what it feels like to have something brought up from the past when you were a stupid kid. It happens to me everytime I go…
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Boston Housing Authority employee slights the city in letter to residents
Recently, someone mentioned that perhaps the Boston Housing Authority needs a consumer advocacy group made up of tenants and other partner agencies. This group could advise BHA on problems such as it’s ponderous orientation program and interview process. But after a recent and undoubtedly colossal mistake by the agency, maybe it’s time to just start…
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Healthcare is a Human Right
By the time you read this, I will have had my second surgery to plant a fistula in my arm for my eventual dialysis treatment. But that is not what I want to talk about today. After all, I’m fine, and I’m reasonably healthy because I have been lucky. I have great healthcare, and I’m…
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A running diary of suboxone withdrawal
August 12, 2018 I’m in the third day of my Suboxone withdrawal and starting to feel it. I have night sweats, my appetite is diminishing and I’m only sleeping five hours at night. I’ve gone from three Suboxone a day down to one-half of a Suboxone a day. It’s a familiar feeling because I used…
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Not Buying It: Boston Claims Chronic Homelessness is Down 20 Percent
A couple of weeks ago the City of Boston had a round table conversation with the press to let us all know that due to their efforts chronic homelessness in the city has been reduced by 20 percent since 2016. If yours truly had been present at this conversation, those government employees would have gotten…