It was the perfect panhandle. The man standing outside the grocery store, shivering in the cold, was neither too clean nor too grungy. He was polite but not gushing and his story walked that fine line between outlandish and plausible. “Hey, buddy,” he said, darting to and fro like an aquarium fish. “Can you help […]
Mark LaFlamme
Posted inMark LaFlamme
Talk of the town
Pot holes We’re going to have a lot of them this spring, yes indeed. Imagine if they were actual holes full of pot? Boy, that would change the driving experience. But I’m just thinking aloud, now. Pine and Bates Word on the street is that Lewiston city leader types actually voted on whether to dismantle, […]
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Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Mark LaFlamme, The Franklin Journal
Street Talk: Ann Murray Paige: Rain falling up instead of down
When someone well-known has died, we all say the same things: She was so young. So full of life. A ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. Seventy-five percent of the time, they’re just words. We don’t really mean it; they’re just nice things to say about the recently departed. But now Ann Murray Paige […]
Posted inMark LaFlamme
Talk of the town
Bieber’s private parts won’t be exposed in police video The depth of my disappointment just cannot be described. That aside, do we live in weird times, or what? A pop star is arrested for drunken driving and the whole world waits breathless to hear whether his Willy will be revealed in a jailhouse video. Meanwhile, […]
Posted inMark LaFlamme
Street Talk: Radius of gyration, or why I had to quit bowling
I’m only going to say this once. Possibly twice, but no more than that. I don’t bowl. Please don’t ask me to bowl. And don’t ask me why I don’t bowl. I simply don’t, and haven’t since the incident. I won’t talk about the incident. You can’t make me, so don’t even try. When I […]
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Street Talk: Live free or live in Connecticut
It’s said that when Nathan Hale was about to swing at the end of rope in the fall of 1776, he held his head up high and told the hangman: “I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country.” Hale was from Connecticut. What do you suppose he would say […]
Posted inMark LaFlamme
Talk of the town
The search continues For a hooker who accepts Bitcoin. It’s not what you think I’m reporting a story on Bitcoin, not seeking the services of a prostitute. Boy, we narrowly avoided an embarrassing misunderstanding, didn’t we? But seriously If you’ve paid for something with Bitcoin recently, I’d like to hear about it. The more embarrassing […]
Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Mark LaFlamme, The Franklin Journal
Street Talk: A different role every day for this master thespian (giggle)
A great philosopher — it was either Socrates or Don Henley — once said: Well, I could have been an actor. But I wound up here. I’ll just give you a moment to absorb that. I bring it up because on a recent rainy afternoon, I had the pleasure of standing inside a long barn […]
Posted inMark LaFlamme
Talk of the town: Free beer tomorrow!
Keg stolen from Pedro O’Hara’s We were all quite impressed with the brute strength required to pick up a keg and run with it down snowy Lewiston streets. Sadly, it turns out the keg was empty. How much do you want to bet the culprit believed the keg was full and that he was only […]
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Street Talk: As you can see, weather aficionados, Todd is just dreamy
Well, this storm is only just beginning, Todd, but as you can see, the winds are already whipping like crazy and the rain is blowing sideways. My hat blew off six blocks ago and some kids threw snowballs at me, but the important thing is, we’re giving our viewers an up-close look at the power […]