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Monday, December 26, 2011

The MBTA Plays Scrooge - BAH HUMBUG!!!!

Christmas night - riders at Park Street ( and perhaps other stations) were amused by this attempt at holiday cheer.


But this being the 21st Century somebody in T management was not amused.



MBTA worker faces possible discipline
for displaying 'Deck the Halls' on signs

A dispatcher injected a bit of unauthorized whimsy into the LED signs at the Park Street Station. He programmed them to scroll the carol's lyrics.

These signs were supposed to tell us how many minutes before the next train but after more than 2 years they still only tell us a train is arriving ( like we need a sign to tell us that )

Hopefully the T will not discipline this worker.





Sunday, December 11, 2011

John Lincoln Wright - Rest In Peace

John Lincoln Wright (left) and the Sour Mash Boys (with Tom Miller on bass) excelled performing honky tonk music in the area. They thrilled the Topsfield Fair audience in 2002.
Boston Globe Photo




John Lincoln Wright passed away on December 4th and his death has saddened many in the Cambridge-Somerville area which was home but also untold thousands across New England. 


Lincoln had a large and loyal following and from the 70's into the 90's he could fill just about any club he chose to play in from the old 1369 in Inman Square to the Plough and Stars, Johnny D's and even the Middle East. He also preformed all over New England and I recall one night in Portland, Maine where he entertained thousands at  Deering Oaks Park. 


It is no secret that the last twenty years were not good to Lincoln as he simply seemed to give up on life. He would waste away afternoons at the Plough, Whitney's or the CanTab and he just didn't care anymore.


He had two passions in life, music and his beloved Boston Red Sox. He recorded a Red Sox song in the mid 70's that became well known because of the chorus and it was played on stations as diverse as WITS, WHDH, WVBF and WBCN.


In the early 90's Lincoln was invited by the Red Sox to sing the anthem at Fenway Park and I don't think anyone ever saw him so happy. Of course being a perfectionist he thought he had botched it even though everybody assured him he had not.






It is almost forgotten than in the late 60's John was the front-man of a Boston rock band - The Beacon Street Union - that was badly mishandled by out of state record producers. The so called 'Bossound' was eclipsed by San Francisco bands and the very good Boston bands were forgotten.

Beacon Sreet Union with Ken Harrelson on TV



 This television show captures Lincoln perfectly
The man lived to perform.
 RIP Lincoln.