Crossing Kevin's Crossing

Hello Dear Reader, Lately, I've been starting my morning to by listening to the refreshing local radio station KMO 9.92. My favorite show to wake up to is the town sweetheart and transgendered radio personality Kimberley Valentine!  On Wednesdays, Kimberley does a segment called Secrets of Kevin’s Crossing.  With a title like that, I’m sure you’re not surprised that it’s my favorite! Kimberly spends five to ten minutes informing listeners about some aspect of the town or its history that even lifelong residents may not know about.  This morning’s topic: Pirates! One particular pirate, that is, Captain Abraham Archer.  He was a pirate and privateer towards the end of the golden age of piracy.  He claimed to be English but had a strange indistinguishable accent. It seems there were many wild rumors about him, many of which he started himself.  Here are a few favorites: He was the son of Sultan and one his concubines. He was the son of a mermaid and...

When we were kids our father never took Susie and me on normal vacations.  We never went to the beach or amusement parks.  Our father was obsessed with how things worked.  So we’d visit factories and behind the scenes tours.  We never went to a baseball game but we’ve seen how the stadium operates.  We left before the game started. We’ve been to everything from meat packing plants to power stations.     So I’ve always had an understanding that behind every finished product, every facade, there’s enormous amount of unseen work and activity taking place.  Simplified: nothing is ever as simple as it seems. Postscript:     This morning the mystery light bulb was on again when I woke up.  Perhaps I should get a plant to put underneath it.  Maybe a Ficus?  I'll keep you updated!

Hello Dear Readers! People have been telling me lately (apparently I’m starting to get a reputation!) that if I want to see something strange, I should stand at the intersection of March St. and Pennyworth Lane.  Known as March and Pennyworth. Also known as the place you can conduct all sorts of illicit business. Specifically, stand at the corner of March and Pennyworth, with my left hand touching the street sign pole for four minutes and thirty-six second and then look across the intersection between the two mulberries growing there. March and Pennyworth are in what the locals call ‘Treasure Town’.  Supposedly it is ‘not a good part of town’.  So I took the bus in the middle of the day and carried no money.  Like always.  I tried to blend in by wearing old, worn clothes, nothing flashy.  Like always.  So essentially I went as myself and no one bothered me. On my way to the intersection, I saw several interesting pieces of graffiti.  Tha...

Hello Dear Readers! I woke up early this morning to join Vic and Gemma on a trip to the local junkyard(don't worry Susan, I didn't get tetanus)!   Vic and I have been meeting regularly for brunch at the Steaming Mug.  Apparently, he and Jason have been spending less and less time together.  So he has more time to hang out with me!  Hooray for relationship problems! Apparently, Vic and Gemma are old friends from high school and do stuff like this.  They asked me to come along!  Well, Vic asked me to come along and Gemma just grunted in consent.  I was so excited to be invited that I didn’t even find out what we were doing.  I was a little concerned they might have been bringing me to the outskirts of town, in the early morning, to murder me.  Lucky for me, that didn’t pan out. We went to Big Earl’s Junkyard.  Why are the people who run junkyards either Big or Lil?  I have the same question about rappers. Jak-Jak is said...