Tag Archives: boston

Donnie Ward 1270

April 26, 2012 – 5:35 pm

In 1971 I drove taxi to pay for my college education. The Boston Cab Company had its garage on 72 Kilmarnock St. The split was 50/50 for booking over $100 in a night. Tips added another $10 to the equation. Average income for a family of four was $10,000. I wasn’t rich, but I had […]

By Peter | Posted in 70s, boston, gay lesbian, youth | Also tagged , , , | Comments (0)

THE FIRST TEN MILES by Peter Nolan Smith 

April 12, 2012 – 12:06 pm

Early on a warm May morning my friend AK, a blonde BU co-ed, and I traveled by the trolley to Jamaica Plains, where we were picking up a 1973 Ford Torino station wagon to transport cross-country. Upon our arrival at the address, the middle-aged owner descended the tenement’s steps to the sidewalk. He tapped at […]

By Peter | Posted in 70s, boston, cars, Drinking, hitchhiking, holiday, music, semi-fiction, Travel | Also tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)

The Closet of Lost Things

June 12, 2011 – 5:58 pm

The Nuns of Our Lady of the Foothills taught their students math, English, religion, history, geography, and a scattering of basic subjects. Their educational technique depended heavily on rote memorization and harsh discipline. The Palmer penmanship was beaten into our rebellious right hands. The left hand belonged to the Devil. Laziness on small ts earned […]

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WANDERLUST by Peter Nolan Smith

April 7, 2011 – 11:43 pm

The 60s were a time of rebellion. My father was straight. I was a hippie. His politics and mine were in conflict for most of our lives and I swore that I would not be my father. He was no fan of my lifestyle. We were worlds apart from the 60s into the 90s. A […]

By Peter | Posted in 2010s, family, semi-fiction, Travel, youth | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

GODLESSNESS by Peter Nolan Smith

March 27, 2011 – 12:36 pm

East of Albuquerque the interstate switchbacked up the Santia Heights out of the Rio Grande Valley. The summer lost its heat, as the rusted pick-up climbed toward the pass and the cooler temperature revitalized AK and me. Late-August temperatures were murder on longhaired hitchhikers crossing the Far West. Rides were few and distances were far. […]

By Peter | Posted in 70s, hitchhiking, religion, semi-fiction, Travel, youth | Also tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)