As I was walking through Union Square in Somerville, MA last night, I couldn’t help but notice this portable bathroom–looking far more plush looking than a mere porta-potty. Nice logo bug. Looks like the neighborhood is being taken over by yuppie construction crews. Gentrification.
Someone snapped a photo of this guy on the train one day and apparently liked it so much he/she framed it and hung it up. I found it abandoned on a wall next to some dresser drawers that had also been left on moving weekend…
Anyone know this guy?
You can say that again…
Seeing this almost inspired me to plan a cross-country trip to vandalize every Love ST in the country. Well done… whoever you are.
Whenever you put yourself out there, you’re taking a risk. If you are a performer, musician, artist or writer, you come to expect harsh criticism, snarky comments, mean-spirited rumors, etc. Still, you rarely expect to have your life threatened. Death threats are generally reserved for popes, presidents and high profile superstars. As a performing musician, I’ve never felt threatened. There have been a few times when I’ve had to duck out of the way of a fight in progress. In a bar or rock club, you expect to see more of that–fueled by drugs, alcohol and jealousy. Ironically, I’ve only felt threatened while blogging in coffee shops.
The first time was when I brought attention to the Boston Chargers scam–first with this article and then this one. Eventually, Fox 25 News broke the story with this report. Still, I had received some emails and comments not-so-politely requesting that I stop writing And given the outpouring of emoton on my blog and emails I received after the Fox 25 report, it was abundantly clear that team members and people involved were following the posts and comments all along.
Today, as I sat here trying to decide on the topic de jour, it presented itself in the form of a 375 lb guy brandishing a knife. He started opening the blade as he approached me, but suddenly stopped a few feet away and said, “Wanna buy it?” Then, he approached two girls sitting at the next table as I got up to alert the manager. He left. Apparently, we weren’t the first because as the manager ran out the door to find the guy, he found the man surrounded by police near the corner of Huntington Ave.
I said to a friend, “Doesn’t he know I love homeless people?”
He just replied, “Or that you can’t afford a knife?”
Ha ha.
I think I’m going to stick to dive bars and rock music. It’s too dangerous out here! 
Last night, I ventured out in the freezing rain and sleet to go to the Burren in Davis Square, Somerville. I ate a tasty Guinness beef stew with some Irish brown bread, listened to my friends’ music, and drank some beer and Irish whiskey. (You know, the types of things you do at an Irish bar.) As I was eating, I turned to my right to see this book sitting on the bar:
The title of the book is Collaborative Therapy with Multi-Stressed Families. Given my skepticism about social workers and therapists, I was delighted by this sight: Darn. If only I hadn’t been drinking heavily and texting naked pictures of myself, I’d know what to do in this situation. “Don’t jump!” AWESOME! I’m a songwriter; I’m supposed to be drinking on the job. There are a few professions that don’t lend themselves to this kind of excess, however. But, hey, I’m no angel. It’s actually more bizarre to me that people go out to bars to do their homework, correct papers for their 3rd graders, or read at all. I’m usually too distracted by beer and boobies to get any serious work done–nor would I want to.
But, apparently, I’m in the minority. As I looked down the bar, all I could see was people reading:
Well… and texting and drinking and looking around (read: beer and boobies). In fact, the guy on the other side of me was reading as well, but I got tired of clandestine photo snapping, so you’ll have to trust me without the photographic evidence.
Anyway, I couldn’t help but think about the library “concept bar”. If there are any investors out there, I’d be happy to take on partners and open a bar called The Lending Library. You’d apply for a library card the first time you visit. The menu could be in card catalog form. The wait staff could all dress up like librarians. So many possibilities. And given the anecdotal evidence, I am confident it would go over amazingly well in this town. I’m sitting on a goldmine of an idea my friends!
So, if you’re interested, drop me a line. We can meet at a bar to: drink heavily, draw up contracts, write a business plan, do internet research, get on a conference call, listen to music, flirt with girls, do the dishes, make friends, spend money, contemplate life, wax philosophical, make fun of people, text our friends, and… Ah… Multi-tasking in the age of enlightenment.
Festivals in Somerville and Cambridge, MA are generally a really fun hang. This year, I missed Honk! Fest in Davis Square on Saturday but managed to make it out to Oktoberfest in Harvard Sq on Sunday, October 11. Being at Oktoberfest made me regret missing Honk!. Fortunately, many of the same artists were performing there as well, so I did manage to catch a few bands. Unfortunately, in general, Oktoberfest was a mess of parents pushing around crying babies, overpriced felafel sandwiches and cheesy beer gardens that were policed like federal prisons.
Here’s a shot from Church St and Mass Ave:
That big pink tent on the left is a Dunkin Donuts truck doling out free samples of coffee drinks and then a Nantucket Nectars stand, so between the two, I got a little “juiced up”. The scene was mainly people selling shit with a few political activists sprinkled in for good measure. There were some street performers like pogo stick daredevils and stilt-walkers as well.
Strangely, I ran into a friend at the local coffee shop on Saturday who asked if I was going to Honk! Not sure, I asked if he was going. He told me he was torn because last year, when he was broken up with his girlfriend, she ran off and slept with a stilt-walker. Every time I passed one of them in the crowd, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was the guy.
Honk! bands are self-described as “activist street bands”. You can read more about them here. Anyway, here’s one of the Honk! bands I saw:
I think this band is called Minor Mishap Marching Band, but since their uniform is pretty close to that of the band before them called the Yellow Hat Band (in the background), it was a little hard to tell. This was a “minor mishap”, however. Both bands were a lot of fun.
Later that night, I stopped into the Burren in Davis Sq to see my buddy Tim play in his Americana Session. If you’ve never checked it out, they play every Sunday from 7:30-9:30pm in the front room. It is very laid back, a fun hang–and free. In any event, this Minor Mishap band member wandered in at one point and sat in with the band:
I heart this town!
Well, not really… But over 2.5 years after writing my first story about the kids toiling on the streets of Boston claiming to be the Boston Chargers track team, dozens of concerned citizens posting comments, contacting the city and news outlets, and, finally after writing a second story back in August, Fox 25’s Ted Daniels writes this report.
At least one of the readers commenting on his blog gave me some credit for exposing the story and being the #1 search engine result for Boston Chargers for a long long time. Ironically, I assume that Ted’s blog post will bump my story out of position by the end of the week. Go figure. Regardless, now that’s it’s really been brought out in the open, I’m interested to see what happens next. And to all the people that have contributed to this discussion since February 2006, I give my thanks for all the interesting conversation. And to all the finger pointers out there: go bug him now. 
BREAKING NEWS:
I had once heard this rumor from a Boston Globe reporter who told me that he’d done some digging into the Chargers but was never able to prove anything. A commenter on the blog just left this as one of 2 comments on the old posts saying the same thing:
Have you ever wondered how did these people get these kids parents to let them do this????????? The reason they can do this is because the head coach E. Hudson is the father of all the kids you see begging thats right I let the cat out the bag sorry mom. The woman that was on tv Catherine Peeples is one of the three women involved in the scheme. The only way a child can join this club is only if you have sex with the coach and get pregnant then you can get in. This story is sick dig deeper I beg you. This is real child abuse. Thius man has 3 women and over 20 kids forreal. Check it out they all have the last names Deberry, Jones, Peeples. THis has been going on for years. Now that the coach is dead maybe this will die with him
I would have told this guy he had toilet paper sticking out of the back of his pants, but I was too busy looking for my phone so I could snap a picture. Then I thought: it kind of suits him…
Well, it’s that time of year again: moving season in Boston. And with the Fall comes great promise, but also the horror of meeting some of your new neighbors, never mind the “shit show” that has been the past few days–U-Hauls, discarded matresses with big bedbugs spray-painted on them, empties and puddles of vomit everywhere. Yesterday, I met a woman that moved into my building on the other side of the floor–and she was from outerspace.
As I started into the elevator, a tall skinny woman in her mid-twenties darted by, disappearing behind the fire door leading to the other side of the hallway. When I left my building, I realized I’d left a power cord I needed and ran back up to grab it. As I was walking back to the elevator, I saw the same woman climbing in and the door closing. I dashed for it and got in myself. Suddenly, she blurted out, “Can you press the ‘1′?” I thought, ok, a little odd. I followed standard operating procedure–turned toward the door, stared in front of me in silence, and pretended that being in close quarters with this woman didn’t feel that uncomfortable.
The silence was broken, however. First, she started fidgeting around. Next, she started, “The thing about neighbors is…” I turned towards her. She continued, “Well, I just don’t care. I mean, I can’t be bothered. What I’m trying to say is…” I continued to stare in her direction. She continued to fidget and gesticulate. Finally, the doors to the elevator opened, and she said, “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I don’t want people to feel uncomfortable.” I smiled at her and said, “I don’t feel uncomfortable.” She sort of smiled back, relieved, and said, “Well, good. I mean, if that’s what you want. I mean, it doesn’t really matter.” I walked towards the other side of the hall and haven’t seen her since.
I meant it though. I really didn’t mind the fact that she was creepy. Sketchy is one thing, but this woman’s creepiness was endearing–if not hinting at some untreated mental illness. It was interesting to watch her have this whole conversation–mainly with herself–and get all flustered. I’m glad I chose to walk in other direction, however. With a few more minutes, creepy could have turned into scary–and no one likes scary.
Oh, and on another note… The band and I are playing tonight at TOAD in Cambridge, MA. The show is free and we go on at 10pm. Come by and hang out!
Dear Coach,
A little over 2 years ago, I wrote this blog post stating my concerns about the children canning for change on the streets of Boston. As recently as today, blog readers are still weighing in on the issue. Can you or another representative from the running association help clear up some issues?
Despite the fact that my post is one of the top search engine results for the running club, no one with any knowledge about the organization and its fundraising practices has come forward. A representative of South End Baseball commented, doubting the legitimacy of the team. A few kids claiming to be team members have commented–insulting the rest of people who have commented. A former college track athlete weighed in. But mainly, a few dozen concerned Bostonians have expressed their real worries–and some have even tried to take action beyond commenting on this blog.
Search engines do return race results for Boston Chargers runners. Therefore, I believe there is a good chance the organization, in fact, exists. However, many doubt that the kids on the streets are actually on the team. And many are concerned that the fundraising practices–if they are in fact on behalf of the team–are unsafe. Most importantly, if these children are not attached to the team, the city should shut down this operation. If they are with the team, the city should work with the parents and organizers to find grants and other fundraising strategies. It’s one thing for adults, who feel they have no alternative, to panhandle. It is another thing to exploit young children and endanger their health and their lives.
We look forward to hearing from YOU.