Tag Archives: south shore

Missile Away

Having returned to my split-level house from Our Lady of the Foothills, I tore off my Catholic school uniform and dressed in a tee-shirt and jeans. My mother was in the laundry room. My brothers and sisters were watching WHERE THE ACTION IS on the TV. It was too nice a day for the lip-synching […]

Danger Mr. Smith

The 1960s Space Race between the USSR and USA exterminated young boys’ worship of westerns. Cowboy hats, vests, guns, and holsters were retired to the closet next to toy boats and teddy bears. I pleaded with my parents for an astronaut costume for Halloween and my father answered my dream with a gleaming space suit […]

Letter To Jocko – A Wedding

Two weekends ago I had a great trip up to a wedding south of Boston. Brigette and I thought about renting a car, but resisted the corporate brainwashing instructing the masses that they can’t live without a car. We took the 8am bus to South Station, wandered about the Fort Channel, and headed down to […]

DA AUTUMN LEAVES by Peter Nolan Smith

Written October 2010 Back in the 60s my family home on the South Shore bordered on a small woods and every October the trees beyond the old stone wall turned brilliant reds, yellows, and oranges. The glorious explosion of color lasted several weeks, then the colding wind ripped the weaker leaves from the branches and […]

I HATE PAUL by Peter Nolan Smith

The Beatles infested America in 1963 and the following April the Fab Four dominated the US charts with five #1 hits. I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND was followed by one chartbuster after another. Everyone had their favorites. My next-door neighbor, Addy Manzi had seen the group at Carniege Hall in December 2, 1964. Her father […]