Using AI (Artificial Intelligence) to understand the old Greasy Village neighborhood. Trying To Get StartedEvery once in a while I get writers block, meaning I can't think or get excited about things I want to learn or write about. When I began writing this article I wanted to know more about the Greasy Village neighborhood …
Tag: Cambridge
Sweet Memories
"Life and candy are reminders that the world is full of sweetness" It's amazing how a bit of candy from your youth can stir up memories. I received this box of assorted goodies as a gift and what I found inside was more many more memories than sugary treats. Anyone growing up in Cambridge Ma. …
You can take the kid out of Cambridge but…..
I just got home from a Cambridge High and Latin, high school class of 73 reunion for those who live full time or are snowbirds in the Naples Florida area. Although it was a small turnout, considering we were a class of over 600 seniors back in 1973.... small when it comes a gathering of …
Continue reading You can take the kid out of Cambridge but…..
Back to being seniors again….
I suppose right now you are wondering if you are going to your 50th High School Reunion. Should you or shouldn't you is completely up to you of course. However, if you are on the fence, I would encourage you to go….or at least consider it. TALK TO EVERYONE AT YOUR HIGH SCHOOL REUNION Who cares …
Ideas With Sentences In Stacks
There is a place in Cambridge Ma where bright ideas wait for us like prisoners awaiting release of sentence among steal gray, shelved cells. We served as parole board granting release for behaviors be they good or bad, delightful or scary, funny or tragic, any or all which serves our desire. Before the renovation in …
Apple core..Baltimore, who’s your friend?
I finished an apple this morning and while holding the apple core in my hands, I channeled a childhood voice in my head and shouted. Apple Core... Baltimore.... Who's your friend? and then I blurted out my daughters name...Izzy! As I raised the apple core to throw it at my daughter she looked at me …
A Personality Test
Growing up...A trip to Fanny Farmer in Central Square for me was better than a trip to the toy section of Sears and Roebucks in the late 60's. The toughest part for me however was pushing past the Transcendental Meditation (TM) recruitment zombies that stood on the corner in front of Cochrans. "Want to take …
Through His Eyes…
Lately, I have stopped watching the news and reading the newspaper because I find it too painful. I realize however, that in doing so I have in essence locked myself into a one sided opinion unable to see or hear opposing options. I know better... I learned this lesson during a class I took while …
Pitching Coins
Sunday Morning:I learned to pitch coins in the mid 60's against the brick walls of my neighborhood church between Sunday morning masses. It helped to kill the down time between the morning and afternoon masses as a paperboy selling the Sunday newspapers to the faithful. To play the game each player would take a coin …
The Sweet Smell Of Home
At times back in the day the air from Lafayette Sq along Main Street to Kendall Sq. and all the way to Lechmere station in Cambridge Ma smelled as sweet as candy. Many of the candy factories there produced some of our favorite treats, including Necco Wafers, Sugar Daddies, Charleston Chews, and Junior Mints. The …
On The Corner of Pleasant Street and Putnam Ave
In Cambridge before video games were a thing, kids played the game of stick ball. Using card board bases, a ball (rubber pinky, pimple or half ball) and a broom handle, we played a short version of baseball which made it fit the close quarters of back yards, alley ways and busy streets. The toughest …
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Cambridge’s Mass Ave a High Fashion Mecca….
On a recent trip to Europe I was struck by how well dressed Europeans are in the big cities I visited like Rome and Barcelona. As I walked though their city streets I found myself remembering the days when Jackie O' inspired a desire for fine clothing among Cantabrigians before spandex and sweatshirts replaced a …
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Charlie’s Tap
I grew up in a town with a lot of bars. This particular one is tucked behind Central Square, Cambridge and was called Charlie's Tap, a gritty workingman's tavern. I hated the place as a kid.... because my mother worked there as a barmaid.... a fact I was not proud of as a kid growing up. …
Brick walls that talked and made pictures
There’s an old brick building on the corner of Main and Osborn Street in Cambridge Massachusetts that arguably could be considered the birthplace of the modern day smart phone. An unassuming structure as historic buildings go, for years it looked like an abandoned warehouse but inside the beauty of innovation has blossomed for years. What …
Freddy’s Coffee Shop
I grew up in Cambridge, at a time when families lived and died in the same homes or within the same neighborhoods for generations. While researching my family tree recently, I was surprised to learn I was actually related to a few of my neighbors through marriages that took place long before I was even …
Playing in the streets of Cambridge
I was sitting with my mother one evening listening to her reminisce about her childhood on Marcella Street in East Cambridge. Something about getting older clarifies the long term memory as it muddies the short term stuff. She wondered out loud … "Why is there so much violence with kids these days?" She could not …
The Bow Legged Blogger 