Category: Voices from the Streets
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The Church of The Coveted Glen (Conclusion)
Read part one here. Lucy practically moved into his residence. Greta, at first, took great umbrage at the Lucy Pharr invasion. This, in itself, was extremely unusual. Most of the congregational women that had fallen under the spell of the passionate minister had not even registered the flicker of an eyelid belonging to the now…
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Plan…? What plan?
A couple of weeks ago, several homeless advocates and I received word that a homeless man from a Boston shelter had died from meningitis. A few things ran through my mind as I talked with the other advocates. Obviously, my first concern was making sure our own vendors were safe. My other thought was: why…
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Voices from the Streets: A Book Addiction
Instead of writing a novel today, I have decided to write to you. Sorry it took me so long to respond, but I am basically out of sorts. The emotional windmill has taken me for quite a spin and I don’t know if it’s wind-driven or driven by the demons in my mind. Yes, I…
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Voices from the Streets: Choices
Until recently, I’d mostly steered clear of the current race for the White House. Call me an uninterested observer, but I just didn’t want to be bothered. Elections come and go and after awhile you find out or come to believe that no matter who’s in the Oval Office, not much is going to change.…
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The Church of the Coveted Glen
Photo Credit: Line Olsson His name was Nathaniel Round and he constantly struggled with his belief. Voices in his head kept him from sleeping many nights. He slipped out of bed, quietly so as not to disturb his wife, crept into the kitchen, made a pot of strong coffee and wrote sermon after sermon. On…
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Voices from the Streets: A Hidden Violation (Conclusion)
Read part one here. (I had just gone into the courtroom, attempting to take care of a matter that was more serious than I had presumed: a felony possession of heroin with a suspended sentence.) I placed my hands on the rail so Judge Luby wouldn’t see them shaking. My public defender explained that I…
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Voices from the Street: A Hidden Violation, Part One
I had been in recovery for approximately four years and was extremely active in what my support groups called H & I, which stands for hospitals and institutions. A few of us would go to speak at various hospitals and detox centers to people who were trying to kick their drug habits and alcohol addictions.…
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Voices from the Street: Ignorance
The other night I watched an episode of “Law and Order” about a homeless man who killed another homeless man. I’ve probably seen it 10 to 15 times over the years, but on this night, the sheer ignorance about homelessness made my skin crawl. The episode touched on every stereotype about homeless people and explored…
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Banning Replica Handguns: A Vendor’s Perspective
Photo: Andrew Toskin This writer was asked to give a response to a recent article in the Boston Globe. The article pertains to the ordinance banning replica handguns in public areas proposed by the mayor of Boston, Martin J. Walsh. At the time, our writer took to the streets to get input from the public.…
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Voices from the Streets: A Story of the Vendor
With the holiday season upon us, I’ve been having thoughts about the many years I’ve been working as a Spare Change News vendor. I started working for the paper in March 1993 in the Porter Square area and I stayed there for about one year. That was the time of the Big Dig. I had…