Passersby often ring the doorbell just out of curiosity. With its pointed roof and arched windows, the building appears to be a church. But the sculpture of a frowning giant above the door hints otherwise. Few pass the threshold — the doorbell doesn’t work and the building at 115 College St., in Somerville is usuallyContinue reading “The House Where the Muses Live”
Salem’s Little Italy
Some would say that Salem’s Italian neighborhood began in a small room next to a fish market at 27 Front St. in the year 1914. It was then that Rev. Pietro Piemonte began the city’s first Italian Mass with a group of immigrant families who didn’t speak English. According to city records from 1910, aboutContinue reading “Salem’s Little Italy”
Salem Bakery Provides Sweet Retreat
As Salem bakery-owner Malita Fiore will testify, the life of a pastry chef is no piece of cake. At 2 AM while most people are tucked snugly beneath the sheets, Fiore is already in the kitchen wrestling with endless layers of croissant dough. She has endured painful blisters while shaping sculptures out of boiling hotContinue reading “Salem Bakery Provides Sweet Retreat”
Lipstick and Steel-toed Boots
Click to access peggystory-1.pdf A Real Life Winnie the Welder Recalls Her WWII Adventures The melancholy cry of gulls; the crackle of sparks; the click clack of work boots on a ship’s deck. These sounds play like a familiar song in the mind of 99-year-old Peggy Citarella when she recalls her days as a welderContinue reading “Lipstick and Steel-toed Boots”
Secrets of the Vespa Sisterhood
“Secrets of the Vespa Sisterhood” was written for The Boston Globe, 2004 and is available at archive.boston.com
Excommunicated from his church, pastor draws praise and condemnation from pagans and Christians
Pastor Phil Wyman would be the first to agree that he’s a black sheep among clergy. An expert on Wicca, a well practiced interpreter of dreams, Wyman has been an avid participant in the city’s annual Halloween celebration, supporting a holiday many Christians believe to be a symbol of darkness and the occult. A littleContinue reading “Excommunicated from his church, pastor draws praise and condemnation from pagans and Christians”
Tesla Sparks the Strength to Power On
I love this poem by my honey, Jason Imanuel, published this month on Poets Online. RESISTANCE LIGHTS THE WAYStep right this way!See with your own eyes where most men shy away!Your future is now!Called the raconteur, his barker’s baritone glowingas Thomas Edison, the djinn of direct current, declared,“…alternating currents kill!”which is how he made thoseContinue reading “Tesla Sparks the Strength to Power On”
Tintype Photography
They all gathered at the Light Club Lamp Shop on North Winooski Avenue in Burlington to wait for their big moment: a tattooed couple dressed in black. A white-bearded man in a black vest and top hat. A teenage girl with long brown hair carrying a bag with a tiny kitten tucked inside. Though theyContinue reading “Tintype Photography”
Shy Guy Gelato
My love affair with gelato began almost two decades ago. I was 23, backpacking alone in Italy, and got lost trying to find my way back to my hotel in Venice. After an hour circling the labyrinthine streets, I spotted a sign for a gelateria at the end of an alleyway. Ducking out of theContinue reading “Shy Guy Gelato”
