Lights out The previous weekend was marked by repeated and sustained power outages across large sections of Lewiston. I should point out that in the case of an electrical outage, a battery-powered toilet light faithfully remains working, saving God only knows how many people from accidentally doing their business in bathtubs and sinks. Not to […]
Mark LaFlamme
Posted inbPlus, sj-web
From atop Auburn's slippery Goff Hill, Bill Hamilton sees all
AUBURN — A word of advice for wintertime driving: If you see Bill Hamilton standing at the side of Goff Hill and waving his arms at you, mind your driving. He’s not just being friendly — Hamilton is trying to keep you from slipping and sliding into oblivion. Trust us, he knows plenty about the […]
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Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Mark LaFlamme
Street Talk: A gift of inches and seconds is the difference between life and death
To this day, I’m not sure if the Trans Am rolled once or twice before rocking back onto its tires in the middle of that field in Oakland. We had been trucking down Fairfield Street at twice the speed limit, beers between our legs, when some fool suddenly slowed in front of us. Brakes screamed. The […]
Posted inMark LaFlamme, sj-web
Let's blame the shadowy figures
What evil lurks in the hearts of men? Police were sent to East Avenue in Lewiston last week after a woman reported she came home and spotted a “shadowy figure” moving around at one of her windows. Nothing much came of the call, likely because the correct terminology was not used. It has always been […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Mark LaFlamme
Street Talk: When good scanner calls go bad
Over the police scanner, it sounded like the real thing. Four shots had been fired near an Auburn hotel, according to the caller, and at least one person had been struck. The man who reported the shooting further advised police that he was locked in the trunk of a Buick. He was thumping around and […]
Posted inMark LaFlamme, sj-web
Talk of the town: You can say that again
Save the date Show of hands. How many of you are still writing 2017 when you mean 2018 in your checkbooks, time sheets and personal diaries? Aggravating, ain’t it? To me, the years have been flying by so fast, I’ll occasionally write 2007 in the date field. Ah, 2007. Those were the days. I totally […]
Posted inbPlus
Staying warm: What’s in YOUR underwear drawer?
I have to confess: Last weekend, I spent a considerable chunk of time running around in a pair of my wife’s nylons. Pantyhose, that is. I squeezed into those suckers with grim determination, like a man trying to shove 10 pounds of raw meat into a 5-gallon bag. Worth it? Hardly. All day, I was […]
Posted inMark LaFlamme, sj-web
Talk of the town: Wild horses and butt flaps
Do stormtroopers’ uniforms have butt flaps? Ya know? When I heard that people would be lining up for the new “Star Wars” movie (“Star Wars XVI: Darth goes in for a prostate exam”), I just knew that temperatures would dip down in the teens. Pity Carhartt doesn’t produce a fleece insulated Luke Skywalker outfit, ain’t […]
Posted inMark LaFlamme, sj-web
Talk of the town: Cleanup in aisle 9
Norway woman robs store with finger Wasn’t it just a week ago that I complained, in that spleeny way I have, that nobody ever used the cartoonish finger gun to commit robberies anymore? This woman (in Thursday’s Sun Journal) failed miserably, but you have to give her credit for appreciating the classics. Although, if she was […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Mark LaFlamme
Street Talk: One night in Deadwood
So, I’ve been watching “Deadwood” on Amazon Prime because it’s November and what else am I going to do with my spare time that doesn’t involve freezing parts of me that generally crave warmth? Set in an unestablished mining town in post-Civil War South Dakota, Deadwood is a wild place, lawless and volatile; a muddy […]