For a few unsettling moments, I was afraid the girl with the wide brown eyes was going to start a revolt. She was halfway through the lunch line when she stopped abruptly. Her eyes went big and she gripped her tray so tight, it shook. I braced for a mutiny — a “Lord of the […]
Mark LaFlamme
Posted inMark LaFlamme
Street Talk: Thou shalt not exercise unauthorized control
I think it’s only fair to warn you: I am in possession of a shod foot and I’m not afraid to use it. Forgive my surliness. I’ve been reading through the latest list of criminal indictments, where court folks take exciting local crimes and twist them into confusing, dull and overly long paragraphs of legalese. […]
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Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Mark LaFlamme
Street Talk: Christmas gift ideas that probably won’t get you kicked out of the family
If I look deep within myself with unalloyed honesty, I’m not sure I ever completely forgave my brother for giving me an ice scraper for Christmas. Don’t get me wrong: As ice scrapers go, it was just fine. It had the little teeth on the edge to rip into ice and there was a nice […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Mark LaFlamme
Street Talk: It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world
A tip for you smart shoppers: All I want for Christmas this year is a one-way ticket out of Looneyville — a fast flight out of this goofy dystopian landscape that feels like equal parts George Orwell, Philip K. Dick and Dr. Seuss. You know what I’m talking about. Somehow we all woke up in […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Mark LaFlamme
On tonight’s episode of ‘Street Talk Dickering’
I met the guy in the darkest parking lot available along Route 4, a place where weeds have long grown over what used to be a thriving parking lot. I killed the engine and waited, listening to the solemn ticking from beneath the hood. Somewhere nearby, an owl hooted uneasily. Crickets chirped and frogs croaked […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Mark LaFlamme
Street Talk: Your questions are important to us
Well, it’s mid-April and that means it’s time to open the old mailbag. True, I’ve never actually answered letters in this column space — but I’ve always meant to and just you shut up. I can do it if I want. Here are some questions I’ve received lately. Thoughtful, intelligent questions asked by people who […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Mark LaFlamme
Street Talk: Cream, sugar and shame in my coffee
I was having a sit-down interview with a 70-something woman one recent afternoon when she offered coffee for me. “How do you take it?” she asked. “Cream and sugar.” The woman looked at me a moment over the top of her spectacles. “Geesh,” she said. “What a sissy.” My shame is great. It’s one of […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Street Talk: Street affrays and lewd cohabitation
Oh, the fun I could have had. If I had been a newspaper reporter at the turn of the previous century, I would have worked for free. Back then, Lewiston was but a young city, with childlike dreams and childlike enthusiasm for all that the wild world had to offer. Or something. It was just […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Back in the day, tipsters weren’t friends — and we liked it
There’s this guy who has been feeding me news tips like clockwork for 20 years. Problem is, none of his tips have ever been any good. “Iceland,” he’ll say to me on one of our occasional meet-ups. “They’re tossing the bankers out on their keisters up there in Iceland. You didn’t hear that from me.” […]
Posted inbPlus
What this town needs . . . may be slowly happening here
When readers finished the sentence, “What this city needs is . . .” some definite themes emerged. They generally wanted more business and retail, more arts and boosted self-esteem. We found six experts to ask how doable that all might be. Grow the arts scene here? Very possible, according to Melanie Therrien and Tyson Pease, […]