Augusten Burroughs on Holyoke

Unflattering Portrait

 



I'm currently reading Amherst writer Augusten Burrough's hatchet job memoir of his late father, UMass philosophy professor John Robison, A Wolf at the Table. I once knew someone who was a graduate student under Robison, and he told me he couldn't recognize the person Burroughs described in the book. He said he experienced Robison as a good teacher and a nice guy.

Whatever. What is interesting is that at one point in his book, Augusten describes how he got his first apartment on Appleton Street in downtown Holyoke. He does not describe the city in flattering terms:

Once, Holyoke, Massachusetts, was a thriving industrial city on the banks of the Connecticut River. Settled originally in the early seventeenth century by Englishmen, Holyoke's very bones are British. Stand beside one of the old brick paper factories - its tapered, elegant smokestack reaching high into the sky - and squint, and you'd swear you were looking back in time at a factory along the River Thames. In the residential areas, wide boulevards are lined with old-growth oak and elm trees and mansions are set back from the street - Greek revival, Victorian, Tudor. These were the homes of the paper factory owners and managers. Glorious, stately structures decidedly European in their design and construction....

Holyoke could have become another Boston, or even a New York City, but instead, it stopped following the bread crumbs and lost its way. After the war, when the American economy moved away from manufacturing, Holyoke failed to reinvent itself. It just sat there and wondered where everybody went. And then it began to smell bad and its wounds became infected and it stopped bathing.

The city plunged into failure. It became the grimmest, poorest city in Massachusetts. A splotch of cancer in the center of the state. An entire brick factory, weeds sprouting from between the mortar, could be bought for tens of thousands of dollars. You could buy yourself a Craftsman home right near the river for under ten grand. But then, you'd have to live in it. 

 




Stormwatch

I voted this morning in the senatorial primary at this quaint New England structure that serves as my polling place. 

I was the 53rd voter, but I was told that in normal elections about 200 voters usually cast their ballots by the time I showed up.

In the antique shop across the street from Pops in downtown Northampton is this 1973 psychedelic Watergate poster for sale for 35 bucks. 

There was snow on the pumpkins this morning, with more due tomorrow. 

That means I may have to shovel at this Habitat for Humanity house in Hamp where I volunteer.

These are students who work on the house from Williston Academy in Easthampton.

Hopefully after I shovel no one will fall down like in this cartoon painted on a downtown bank.

 



Today's Music Video

Action speaks louder than words
And I'm a man of great experience
I know you've got another man
But I can love you better than him

 

Senate Endorsements 2009

No Good Candidates

 



If the voters can stop yawning long enough, they will go to the polls on Tuesday to select two people to run for the U.S. Senate seat left open by the death last summer of Edward M. Kennedy. I don't know why anyone should give a damn about who I would vote for, but that never stops me from throwing my two cents in.

If I were voting in the Democrat Primary, I would vote for Mike Capuano.

The race is really between Capuano and Martha Coakley, the other two candidates being political unknowns who should have stayed that way. Both Capuano and Coakley are wrong on nearly all the issues, but Capuano is at least a supporter of drug law reforms. As Valley libertarian activist Terry Franklin explains, "Mike Capuano is the drug law reformer to vote for. Martha Coakley, the front runner, is the hard core Drug Warrior who would be a disaster as our representative."

If I were voting in the Republican Primary I would vote for Scott Brown.

A political unknown with no money who probably has no chance of winning, Scott is at least a solid fiscal conservative. Unfortunately he is also wrong on nearly all the social issues, but in this election it's the economy that counts. His opponent Jack E. Robinson has unfortunately in the past proven himself to be totally unelectable.

The winners will face off in the special election on January 19th.

Words For Our Times

At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument is needed. Oh, had I the ability, and could reach the nation's ear, I would today pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. For it is not light that is needed, but fire, it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, the earthquake. The feeling of the nation must be quickened; the conscience of the nation must be roused; the propriety of the nation must be startled; its crimes against God and man must be proclaimed and denounced.

-Frederick Douglass

Today's Video

Very funny true life psychedelic sports story. 

Westfield Wanderings 2009

Off the Beaten Path

Yesterday my sister and I headed out on the streets of her adopted town of Westfield to see what we could see. This is ol' Saint Mary's.

I was sorry to see that this art store has gone out business. They always had cool paintings by local artists in the window. 

For a long time I used to wonder about this "Devine Interiors" sign. The building it is painted on has no such store within. 

Back in the summer of 2005 I posted on this website an inquiry as to whether anyone knew anything about it. I soon received the following email:

From : patrick johnson yazgoesbacklookingupitsgone@yahoo.com
Sent : Saturday, August 6, 2005 4:06 PM
To : baystateob@hotmail.com
Subject : oooh oooh, I know the answer!

Mr. Devine you wrote:

"In Westfield I have long noticed this odd sign painted on the wall of a building, advertising a furniture store and "Devine Interiors." The furniture store is no longer in the building bearing the sign. Do any history buffs know anything about this? Did the painter really mean to say "Divine Interiors" or is that a reference to a brand? I'd appreciate any info to solve this mystery."

The Devine Interiors is correct. It refers to the former owner of Lambson's, back when it was a furniture store and not a pool hall, named Rita Devine of Westfield, who died a few years back.

She was my mother's cousin, and a real tough old broad -- and I mean that most complimentary. No cream, no sugar, just black coffee. My mother worked at the store as a book keeper for 20 or so years before she retired, but I always thought her principal job was to be Rita's diplomat/conscience.

Rita sold the business to some Southwick couple in the early/mid 80s, and they ran the joint into the ground, but it probably wasn't their fault.

Lambson's and Hearn's, two competing furniture stores existed for years right next to each other on Elm Street. But people stopped going downtown, and going to places like Bob's Discount Furniture instead. Now Lambson's is a pool hall and Hearn's is some social service agency.

The Lambson building itself was really cool. It had a water-powered elevator, the only one that I ever heard of. You'd step in, shut the door and pull down a rope. You'd hear what sounded like a toilet flushing but in a second or two, the elevator box would rise up. To go down, you'd lift the rope and you'd hear the water drain out.

P. Johnson, Easthampton

So there ya go, ask on the internet and ye shall receive! I suspect those Devine's are my relatives, at least I remember hearing my Uncle Gervais speak disparagingly about "Westfield Devines" that he refused to have anything to do with. They probably declined to buy him a drink or lend him money. When I was in rehab a few years back I met one of the Westfield Devines and he was a fine gentleman who has stayed sober to this day. 

Apparently some people have been known to try to drive this store-cat crazy.

We stopped in at the bank and saw my cousin Margaret, who works there.

This is a famous abandoned railroad trestle in Westfield.

I noticed that there was a rugged path on the side of the trestle that you could use to climb to the top of it. A little steep, but no barrier to those of us who like to explore the places others dare not go.

Why people do not go there quickly became apparent when we saw the dangerous state of the old railroad tracks.

The trestle itself is in an even greater state of decay, with open holes where the wood has completely rotted out. One wrong step, and you will fall to a probable injury or even death on the traffic filled street below. 

Oh well, nothing to do but to return to the safety of the sidewalk below. However, our expedition was not a complete loss, as I captured this rare image of how downtown Westfield appears from the vantage point of that ruined trestle. 

Good Fun 

Jorma Kaukonen wrote the following entry in his diary after his Northampton show with Hot Tuna last week:

Saturday, November 28, 2009 Northampton, Massachusetts
The gig at the Calvin Theater was chilly in the beginning... I mean really chilly... but everything warmed up when we started to play. Here is our set list:

Set One:
1. Search My Heart
2. There’s A Bright Side Somewhere
3. I’ll Let You Know Before I Leave
4. More Than My Old Guitar
5. I See The Light
6. Come Back Baby
7. River Of Time
8. Breadline Blues
9. Hesitation Blues
10. 99 Year Blues
11. I Know You Rider

Set Two:

1. Trouble In Mind
2. Things That Might Have Been
3. Cracks In The Finish
4. Full Go Round
5. How Long Blues
6. Serpent Of Dreams
7. The Terrible Operation
8. Sea Child
9. Good Shepherd
10. 3rd Week In The Chelsea
11. Just Because
12. Encore: Embryonic Journey

It's been a long day so I'm heading back to the hotel and hitting the sack. Good fun tonight though.

 

Today's Video

 

On the Sauce

Albano's Brand

Reprinted from the November 17, 2002 edition of Tommy Devine's Online Journal:

 



I finally got around to trying out the coffee and spaghetti sauce the Mayor of Springfield Michael J. Albano has been peddling for several years. I purposely avoided doing so any earlier because I regarded the whole concept behind selling the products as essentially a political scam. Both the coffee and the sauce are overpriced, but that's supposed to be okay because the profits go to charity. Of course it is Mayor Mike who determines which "charities" receive the funds.

All politicians who intend to be re-elected do a lot of charitable giving. In fact it's considered a routine expense of holding public office and usually comes out of their campaign re-election funds. But by making such contributions out of coffee and sauce profits, Albano is able to make politically advantageous charitable donations while leaving his official campaign treasury intact, where its size can serve to intimidate possible opponents. It also gives him free advertising in an unlikely but valuable place - supermarket shelves. I consider all the income from those products to be little more than a glorified slush fund, and therefore never saw any reason to contribute any money to it by buying the coffee or sauce.

However a friend recently argued that I had a duty to at least try the products one time, and even bought me some samples so that I couldn't refuse on monetary grounds. And you know what? I like them.

The coffee is pretty good, if brewed as dark as the circumstances surrounding a community development project. The aroma is not that great, but won't remind you of Bondi's Island, while the high caffeine content gives you that extra energy you may need to outrun a man with a subpoena. Of course such a powerful brew might lead to high blood pressure when combined with the sight of an FBI agent, but is probably otherwise harmless under normal circumstances. Just remember that caffeine can be as addictive as a contractor's kickback, so don't overdo it.

The sauce is also pretty good. It's supposed to be based on the Mayor's mother's secret recipe, but some cynical critics have suggested it is really the generic BigY brand with a Mayor Mike label slapped on it. I had the "meat flavored" version of the sauce, which had a meaty taste without encountering any evidence of any actual meat. But so what? For years when it comes to Mayor Mike we've been wondering where the beef is, so why should his sauce be any different?

So surprisingly I find myself recommending the Mayor's products. Just be sure to attend confession and mass after every serving, in order to seek forgiveness for where the money you spent on Albano's products may end up.

On July 9, 2002 I printed an insider's account of what went down at one of the FBI interrogations into corruption in Springfield.

 




Sources in Springfield, some of them deeply connected, keep telling me this story, which I must share with you even if libel laws demand that the names be omitted to protect the guilty.

Recently a certain somebody and his wife were being interrogated by the FBI. The agent handed the wife some pages from her husband's expense account and asked her to examine them.

"What I would like to know m'am," the agent asked, "is how do you justify taking all of these luxurious trips with your husband and then charging the cost to the taxpayers?"

The wife stared at the documents in silence for several long moments, then quietly began to sob. Her husband slumped in his chair, burying his face in his hands.

"I'm sorry," the FBI agent said, "but I had to ask that question."

What a way for your wife to find out about your affair!

Dope and Change!

Drug enforcement authorities released this photo of a quantity of Obama blotter acid they confiscated recently. 

Daisy Deadhead offers this review: The Obama acid comes at a high price, lots of intense build-up and flash early on… then only performs in a relatively mediocre fashion, leaving you with a ferocious hangover wondering what was I thinking? Afghanistan-shaped blotter next!

The Obama Administration may wish they were on acid when they see this poll by MoveOn.org of 50,000 of its members on whether they approve of his escalation of the war in Afganistan. If Obama loses his liberal base, what will he have left?

In the Fortress of Solitude

An interesting painting of Superman by Jay Buck. 

Around Amherst


Planting bulbs to bloom in the spring in Kendrick Park.

 



This giant mural shows UMass as it was when it opened - all of three buildings! Dig the first class with their showboaters and high hats. 

In the early days of the University, the Old Chapel was a religious institution where students were required to attend prayer services every morning. Too many absences from Morning Chapel was considered grounds for dismissal. Today the Chapel is hardly used at all, preserved primarily for its historic value.

SPFLD 2009

A Visit.

On the bus leaving Hamp.

Out the window going past Sylvester's.

 


 

On my arrival I passed through the Peter Pan bus station in Springfield like a blur.

Breakfast at Jake's on Main Street.

This is the Babson Library at Springfield College.

Inside the library are these hot antique statues of nude athletes. 

I haven't been on the Springfield College campus in years, and couldn't remember where the building was that was donated by Art Linkletter. I asked a student walking by and he had a totally blank expression on his face that made me realize he had never heard of Art Linkletter. I asked another student and got the same non-reply. Art Linkletter was a famous TV personality in the so-called golden age of television in the 1950's and 60's. A popular recurring segment of his show had him interviewing cute kids that was called, "Kids Say the Darndest Things."

Finally I saw someone who looked like a faculty member and asked them. They said that the building constructed by Linkletter has been expanded to become the "Wellness Center."

Despite his generousity to Springfield College, Linkletter felt a bitter hatred towards a well-known Springfield native - Dr. Timothy Leary. Linkletter blamed Leary for the death of his daughter, who after reading one of Leary's books decided to experiment with LSD alone in her room. She freaked out and leaped from her bedroom window, falling to her death. Mad with grief, Linkletter hounded Leary for years, even calling into a talk show Leary was appearing on in order to accuse him of causing his daughter's suicide.

Leary defended himself by saying that Linkletter's daughter must have had pre-existing psychological problems that had nothing to do with LSD. Ironically, Leary's own daughter, a heavy acid head herself, also committed suicide. As Leary was dying of cancer, he actually met Linkletter in person at a charity event, but the bitterness could not be overcome, as reported in Timothy Leary - A Biography by Robert Greenfield.

Not until Tim was wheeled up to the head table did anyone realize that he was now sitting across from Art Linkletter. Tim was no longer the vibrant, grinning drug guru whom Linkletter had blamed for the suicide of his daughter. By now, Linkletter must have known that Tim's daughter had also killed herself. Bound together by the worst loss that any parent could imagine, the two men had much in common. 

If ever there had been a moment for mutual forgiveness, or some sort of meaningful communication between them, this was it. Eighty-three years old, Linkletter stared at Tim. "It was such a shock," he later told an interviewer. "I thought it was one of the strangest moments of my life. I was so glad to see him because he was suffering so. It was pretty good evidence about what happens to you when you live that kind of life."

Heartbroken fathers will say the darndest things!

The most beautiful spot on the Springfield College campus is by Lake Massasoit, known to the white man as Watershops.

His star may be fading nationally, but the President is still a hero in the poorer sections of Springfield.

Despite his landslide defeat last month in his mayoral campaign, Bud Williams still has fans, despite the bullethole.

The building that once housed the Pine Point Cafe is now a restaurant called D&G.

Strangely enough, the old Cafe signs are still hanging outside.

Me in the exact same spot in 1993. Photo by Jay Libardi. 

When the most prominent billboard in the Point no longer communicates its message in English, it tells you something about how the old neighborhood has changed. 

Voices of Inexperience

President Obama will soon be holding a summit on job creation. But who in his administration has ever actually created a job? This graph shows the percentage of cabinet officials who have had private sector business experience before joining the administration, as opposed to those who have had only government jobs.




Back Home

The Jefferson Starship is back from their tour of Europe. Here they are backstage in Edinberg, England: L to R, Chris Smith -keys, Tony Morley -drums, Jeff Pevar -lead gtr, David Freiberg -vocals, acoustic gtr, Paul Kantner -vocals, 12 string gtr, -Cathy Richardson, vocals.

 



Today's Video

The rules are the first to go.