Category: Opinion
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Where Are You?
During the holidays the United Nations released a report on poverty in the United States of America, and it wasn’t pretty. This should have been a major topic of discussion in the news, but it wasn’t. It’s a story that should have been a cause for alarm, but it wasn’t. It should have sent shivers…
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Cold Weather, Colder Reality
Quincy COPE has been serving food and love at South Station for years with little or no complaints, that is until now. Apparently one of the Station’s security guards probably with nothing better to do approached Suzanne Featherstone (who is seen by many as the leader of the Quincy contingent) and the other volunteers and…
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Federal Weed Ban Brings Back Memories
The people of Massachusetts voted to legalize marijuana but now Trump Appointee Attorney General Jeff Sessions is threatening to arrest the suppliers who are gearing up to sell marijuana in our state. It’s a shame that the federal opposition is making it difficult to carry out the will of the people of Massachusetts who approved…
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Bitter Sleep: An Incident at the Boston Public Library
On Wednesday Dec. 27 the National Weather Service has issued its first wind chill advisory in Boston where temperatures are expected to range between five above zero to twenty below zero degrees. Frostbite conditions like this can kill people, and at the Boston Central Library on that day a man was tossed out into them…
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Holidays and Gray Hair
My birthday flew by, squashed between three holidays—Thanksgiving, Christmas/Chanukah and New Year’s Eve. While time was having its way with me, I had to go to the dermatologist to have various blemishes checked out. The older I get, the more I hate going to the doctor, even though, as my wife Mary Esther says, it’s…
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Memories of Thanksgiving on the Street
I enjoyed this past Thanksgiving, probably more than I’ve enjoyed Thanksgiving in quite some time. I got to spend a nice, quiet holiday in my adopted hometown with friends. It was quiet, and I caught up on a lot of sleep and watched movies. I wish I could say that nothing bothered me at all,…
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Voices From Rosie’s Place: Live Your Dreams, Not Your Circumstances
Spare Change News is proud to present the next installment of “In Their Own Words,” which highlights the work of writers who meet at Rosie’s Place. In late 2014, Rosie’s Place, a community center for Boston’s poor and homeless women, started a memoir workshop. The intention was to have the guests, as they call the…
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Racism as Usual at Sports Stadiums, College Campuses
Sometimes I find it truly amazing these days when people hear of racist actions or events and are shocked, as if these things are new to America or as if racism started yesterday. A couple of racist events happened this past week. A white college student in Connecticut did everything she could, including something weird…
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We Never Learn: Mass Carnage Reveals America’s Apathy
I watched the events unfold in Vegas last week with a deep sadness, and then utter disgust as I watched politicians and others on the left (including myself) spout off about gun control once again. I am always amazed how as Americans we react to a situation after tragedy strikes. The same thing happened with…