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 […]
Street talk
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 […]
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Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Mark LaFlamme
Street Talk: You wouldn’t believe who scooped us
So, every time you see me out and about of late, you note that I have a confused look about me. The hanging jaw, the squint of befuddlement, the overall comportment of a fellow who’s lost his way. You assume that I bought the wrong size boxer shorts again, but it’s not so. Not this […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Mark LaFlamme
Street Talk: Who wants breakfast?
I’m sure the nice lady meant well. But as I drooped over my coffee, swollen-eyed and garbled of thought, she exhibited all the tenacity of an overzealous police detective hellbent on punishing me for the crime of waking up. “How about some scrambled eggs with toast? I have a nice pomegranate jam.” “No thank you,” […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Mark LaFlamme
Street Talk: How old is too old to trick or treat?
The kid was just slightly more than 5 feet tall, but when I climbed upon his shoulders, together we had to be close to 11 feet. That’s monstrous! Certainly the sight of an 11-foot tall snarling teenager had to be creative enough to coax an old lady out of a Zagnut or at least one […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Mark LaFlamme
Street Talk: Positive change you've been waiting for
One of these days, I’m going to up and run for mayor. It’s not that I have an interest in helping to run the city, mind you. I don’t like making decisions very much and I have trouble sitting through meetings that last longer than three minutes — which is how long all meetings should […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Mark LaFlamme
Street Talk: Driving you crazy
I thought the guy in the pickup was going to blow a blood vessel and die right there on Longley Bridge. At every stop between Auburn and Lewiston (there are an estimated 900 traffic lights between Court Street, Auburn and Main Street, Lewiston) the dude found new fuel for his road rage. First it was […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Mark LaFlamme
Street Talk: Let's go to the movies!
The kid with the baseball cap was sitting just a few rows ahead of me, but that didn’t matter. I could have spotted his game a mile away. The way he leaned in close every time he offered the girl his popcorn. The way he laughed whenever she did and of course, the classic yawn-and-stretch […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Mark LaFlamme
Shaking off the news gets harder after each tragedy
A couple of weeks ago there was a fatal car wreck in a nearby town. As a news story, it was pretty standard stuff. Time, location, number of cars involved. Get the identities of both drivers, throw in whatever police narrative is available and you’re done. Someone will follow up with the conditions of survivors […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Mark LaFlamme
Street Talk: Eclipse 2017: Weird scenes inside the shoebox
Not many people know this, because it hardly got any media attention at all, but on Monday, the moon passed between the earth and sun, causing what we semi-professional astronomers call a “solar eclipse.” There was virtually no hype for this event, which likely caused common laypeople like yourselves to miss it entirely. Fear not, […]