Rollie Oxton, Pulitzer Prize Winner, my hero, mentor, friend and I got to work with him at the old Record American where I started in this business.  Rollie was the King of his era. He cruised the streets of Boston for parts of 3 decades, always there when it happened. Recently I made contact with his son David, the head of the art department at the Governor Dummer School in Byfield, MA. We have exchanged […]

A couple of weeks ago on my way into Boston to begin my shift I received a call from a source telling me somewhere in the City there was cemetery vandalism. The source knew the names of two streets but he was not sure of which cemetery. He gave me the names of Birch & Fairview Streets in Police District Five and since I used to live nearby just outside of Roslindale Square I thought […]

Growing up in Revere in the 50s and 60s I was friendly with a lot of cops. Most of them never had to unholster their weapon. Probably a good thing as regular target practice was not a regular practice. It was a hot summer day, July 4th I think, around 1980, no traffic, sun shining, about 8 in the morning. I was driving down Columbia Road on the way to the office.  Columbia Road separates […]