Where I'm From- Reading, MA
The town i grew up in was called Reading. It was a mostly white, middle upper class suburb in which i was both grateful and resentful towards.
The exact description from Wikipedia says:
...
"As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 23,708 people, 8,688 households, and 6,437 families residing in the town. The population density was 921.8/km² (2,388.3/mi²). There were 8,823 housing units at an average density of 343.1/km² (888.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.47% White, 0.36% Black or African American, 0.06% Native American, 2.21% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.84% of the population.
The median income for a household in the town was $77,059, and the median income for a family was $89,076. Males had a median income of $61,117 versus $39,817 for females. The per capita income for the town was $32,888. About 1.7% of families and 2.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.7% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over."
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Reading is a convienient location, because 2 of massachusetts biggest highways come together through Reading. Getting to Boston from Reading with no traffic takes about 10 to 15 minutes.
The Purple Line train also will take you from Reading to Boston in a half hour's time. To some people Reading is an ideal location.
Reading is a well respected town. The Reading Memorial High School has the best Track team, which hasnt lost in like 30 years. They're unbeatable, the football team is strong. It almost always goes through to championship games. The marching band is noted as one of the best in Massachusetts. Every year at least a few RMHS graduates go on to Harvard.. i dunno. BLA BLA BLA. Damn that's the thing with that town, you gotta be the best! But most of the kids who went on to good colleges ended up spending their whole lives in Reading. Everybody knowing eachother and their buisness. Yuck!
What i find more interesting about Reading is the kind of crimes that are committed here and what that says about the place i grew up.
Also interesting is that Reading has a huge heroin problem. This was not the case when i was growing up there, but there was a gang that started up from kids in my grade, who at the time i thought were wanna be gangsta dumbasses... which they were. One time ice skating, i took one of the gang kid's hockey sticks after he told me his friend wanted to rape me. I told the kid i'd hit him in the nuts with his hockey stick if he didn't leave me alone. He said "Do U Kow Who You're Talking To?" i said his name and he said "yeah, but Do You Know Who I Am? What I Represent?"
??? i looke puzzled.
"I'm A Crazy Angel, Muthaf***. Haven't You Seen My Tags?"
I said... "You Obtuse Idiot"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY"
"i said you're an idiot --- you tagged Crazy Angles... EVERYWHERE"
and i skated away laughing as he looked puzzled, then he yelled "F*** U" and stuck his finger up.
Anyway, oddly enough this gang still exists 15 years later and has kinda made a name for itself on the north shore.
But Drugs and Gangs are nothing compared to these next 3 stories...
Let's start with Reading Resident Charles Stewart. One of the first huge news stories i really remember as a kid (the others were Baby Jessica stuck in the well because 2 years earlier i had been caught in a laundry chute for several hours and i could relate, and when i was 6, my first grade classroom watched as a school teacher was going to ride to the moon with the astronauts. However, we also all watched together as it exploded and they all died)
But back to Charles Stewart. To explain the situaion, i will use the words of the respected actor Mark Whalberg back when he was known as less respected rapper Marky Mark...
still, i love this song and these lyrics tell the story..
"Charles had everything going for him /A top paying job, a good life, a good wife
A baby boy on the way any day /A gentleman attitude is all he displayed
Carol was the wife he loved and adored /Her family and freinds treated him like an Ambassador
One night on the other side of town /A police dispatcher picked up a weird sound
Charles on the car phone asking for help /Claiming a burglar shot his wife and himself
His pregnant wife lay slumped over /Dreams corrupted and a young life over
Extensive searches throughout the projects /Put a lot of people through misery and wreck
Everyone a suspect til someone was found /Interrigated cause their skin was brown
Then there was Bennett, guilty until proven so/ But soon as the case started moving slow
What do you know, sure as as sea gull gets webbed toed /Charles was the culprit
The whole plot was an insurance scam /Charles and his brother came up with a plan
Kill Carol, collect a big check /Blame it on a black man, what the heck?
And just before the story was known /Charles had a feeling that his cover was blown
So he jumped offa bridge /Committed suicide /This is how it is - on the Wildside"
STORY #2
THE HOCKEY DADS.
"It's not a pleasant story, any way you look at it: One minute, Thomas Junta and Michael Costin were watching their sons' hockey practice. The next, fists (and insults) were flying - a brawl that left Costin dead. The July, 2000 incident, which bloodied the floor at a Reading, Massachusetts hockey rink, was front page news for a few days, then mercifully faded from sight."
you can read more of the article here...
http://www.time.com/time/pow/article/0,8599,192891,00.html
That case was flashed on the news all over the world in order to distract viewers from the more relivant news of war, so you may remember it.
STORY #3
THE DONAHUE MURDER
"A husband who marched in vigils for his missing wife was convicted Monday of bludgeoning her to death and stashing her body in their basement for weeks." (in tupperware)
contunued here...
http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/050598/LA0750.001.shtml
We do have a few things to be proud of... like ME for instance. i'm so figgin awesome and i'm from Reading.
But notable others are Mark Errelli the folk siger (who sang for The Dead Flowers and The Organic Icecubes, local bands i followed in high school)
Mark Storty, a friend of my parents who will soon appear in a tv ad with Beyonce and has been in daytime soaps.
Brad Whitford from Aerosmith is from Reading. My 3rd cousin was originally a drummer for the band but was kicked out when they got big, cuz he had a severe drug problem which he died from when i was 13. I didn't really know the guy, so i wasnt at his funeral, but Brad Whitford showed up there i guess, cuz they were still close frends.
and Mike McKenzie AKA Gunface from the hardcore/death metal band The Red Chord who are really big for a death metal band. i know i've mentioned them before and that Mike was one of my best friends as a kid. He lived next door to my grandparent's where i spent a lot of time.
and Machete' the Burlesque dancer from Babe's in Boinkland (my friend) also grew up in Reading.
I Will Post a few Reading Videos Under the Cut.. Yay oh Reading oh town of Suck. here ye oh suburb....here ye.
1. Boston Burlesque shows my friend Machete as Mary Poppins, a construction worker, and a hot cop taking down the Moononites. She's also the pigtaled girl w/ pasties. WARNING! BOOBS!
2. The Albino Code-preview for the short film directed by my friend Aaron.. who i really miss and should give a call too. It's a parody of The Da Vinci Code.
3. Missionary Positions: A short film about love, hate, and religion
Directed by Ryan Flynn. A kid i grew up with and did drama with.
Produced by James Fitzpatrick, i assume its Jimmy Fitzpatrick of the Fitzpatick family in my neighborhood who had 9 kids. Jimmy was the 3rd. He was a grade below me.
4. The Red Chord's Gunface (Mike) discusses the new album (i put this video instead o one of their music videos cuz most of you are not death metal fans, nor am i, but you can see who mike is witout feeling like you are hearing satan speak.
5. The song Runnin' Around by Mark Erelli to some weird video someone made of trees and water
6. Luis and Rob (some kids from Reading) made a rap video.
7. Dan Finigan (some kid) dances like Napolian Dynomite to Push It by Salt n Peppa
8. This mostly upsidedown video was taken in Reading
9. This video was taken at a party in Reading
The exact description from Wikipedia says:
...
"As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 23,708 people, 8,688 households, and 6,437 families residing in the town. The population density was 921.8/km² (2,388.3/mi²). There were 8,823 housing units at an average density of 343.1/km² (888.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.47% White, 0.36% Black or African American, 0.06% Native American, 2.21% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.84% of the population.
The median income for a household in the town was $77,059, and the median income for a family was $89,076. Males had a median income of $61,117 versus $39,817 for females. The per capita income for the town was $32,888. About 1.7% of families and 2.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.7% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over."
-------
Reading is a convienient location, because 2 of massachusetts biggest highways come together through Reading. Getting to Boston from Reading with no traffic takes about 10 to 15 minutes.
The Purple Line train also will take you from Reading to Boston in a half hour's time. To some people Reading is an ideal location.
Reading is a well respected town. The Reading Memorial High School has the best Track team, which hasnt lost in like 30 years. They're unbeatable, the football team is strong. It almost always goes through to championship games. The marching band is noted as one of the best in Massachusetts. Every year at least a few RMHS graduates go on to Harvard.. i dunno. BLA BLA BLA. Damn that's the thing with that town, you gotta be the best! But most of the kids who went on to good colleges ended up spending their whole lives in Reading. Everybody knowing eachother and their buisness. Yuck!
What i find more interesting about Reading is the kind of crimes that are committed here and what that says about the place i grew up.
Also interesting is that Reading has a huge heroin problem. This was not the case when i was growing up there, but there was a gang that started up from kids in my grade, who at the time i thought were wanna be gangsta dumbasses... which they were. One time ice skating, i took one of the gang kid's hockey sticks after he told me his friend wanted to rape me. I told the kid i'd hit him in the nuts with his hockey stick if he didn't leave me alone. He said "Do U Kow Who You're Talking To?" i said his name and he said "yeah, but Do You Know Who I Am? What I Represent?"
??? i looke puzzled.
"I'm A Crazy Angel, Muthaf***. Haven't You Seen My Tags?"
I said... "You Obtuse Idiot"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY"
"i said you're an idiot --- you tagged Crazy Angles... EVERYWHERE"
and i skated away laughing as he looked puzzled, then he yelled "F*** U" and stuck his finger up.
Anyway, oddly enough this gang still exists 15 years later and has kinda made a name for itself on the north shore.
But Drugs and Gangs are nothing compared to these next 3 stories...
Let's start with Reading Resident Charles Stewart. One of the first huge news stories i really remember as a kid (the others were Baby Jessica stuck in the well because 2 years earlier i had been caught in a laundry chute for several hours and i could relate, and when i was 6, my first grade classroom watched as a school teacher was going to ride to the moon with the astronauts. However, we also all watched together as it exploded and they all died)
But back to Charles Stewart. To explain the situaion, i will use the words of the respected actor Mark Whalberg back when he was known as less respected rapper Marky Mark...
still, i love this song and these lyrics tell the story..
"Charles had everything going for him /A top paying job, a good life, a good wife
A baby boy on the way any day /A gentleman attitude is all he displayed
Carol was the wife he loved and adored /Her family and freinds treated him like an Ambassador
One night on the other side of town /A police dispatcher picked up a weird sound
Charles on the car phone asking for help /Claiming a burglar shot his wife and himself
His pregnant wife lay slumped over /Dreams corrupted and a young life over
Extensive searches throughout the projects /Put a lot of people through misery and wreck
Everyone a suspect til someone was found /Interrigated cause their skin was brown
Then there was Bennett, guilty until proven so/ But soon as the case started moving slow
What do you know, sure as as sea gull gets webbed toed /Charles was the culprit
The whole plot was an insurance scam /Charles and his brother came up with a plan
Kill Carol, collect a big check /Blame it on a black man, what the heck?
And just before the story was known /Charles had a feeling that his cover was blown
So he jumped offa bridge /Committed suicide /This is how it is - on the Wildside"
STORY #2
THE HOCKEY DADS.
"It's not a pleasant story, any way you look at it: One minute, Thomas Junta and Michael Costin were watching their sons' hockey practice. The next, fists (and insults) were flying - a brawl that left Costin dead. The July, 2000 incident, which bloodied the floor at a Reading, Massachusetts hockey rink, was front page news for a few days, then mercifully faded from sight."
you can read more of the article here...
http://www.time.com/time/pow/article/0,8599,192891,00.html
That case was flashed on the news all over the world in order to distract viewers from the more relivant news of war, so you may remember it.
STORY #3
THE DONAHUE MURDER
"A husband who marched in vigils for his missing wife was convicted Monday of bludgeoning her to death and stashing her body in their basement for weeks." (in tupperware)
contunued here...
http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/050598/LA0750.001.shtml
We do have a few things to be proud of... like ME for instance. i'm so figgin awesome and i'm from Reading.
But notable others are Mark Errelli the folk siger (who sang for The Dead Flowers and The Organic Icecubes, local bands i followed in high school)
Mark Storty, a friend of my parents who will soon appear in a tv ad with Beyonce and has been in daytime soaps.
Brad Whitford from Aerosmith is from Reading. My 3rd cousin was originally a drummer for the band but was kicked out when they got big, cuz he had a severe drug problem which he died from when i was 13. I didn't really know the guy, so i wasnt at his funeral, but Brad Whitford showed up there i guess, cuz they were still close frends.
and Mike McKenzie AKA Gunface from the hardcore/death metal band The Red Chord who are really big for a death metal band. i know i've mentioned them before and that Mike was one of my best friends as a kid. He lived next door to my grandparent's where i spent a lot of time.
and Machete' the Burlesque dancer from Babe's in Boinkland (my friend) also grew up in Reading.
I Will Post a few Reading Videos Under the Cut.. Yay oh Reading oh town of Suck. here ye oh suburb....here ye.
1. Boston Burlesque shows my friend Machete as Mary Poppins, a construction worker, and a hot cop taking down the Moononites. She's also the pigtaled girl w/ pasties. WARNING! BOOBS!
2. The Albino Code-preview for the short film directed by my friend Aaron.. who i really miss and should give a call too. It's a parody of The Da Vinci Code.
3. Missionary Positions: A short film about love, hate, and religion
Directed by Ryan Flynn. A kid i grew up with and did drama with.
Produced by James Fitzpatrick, i assume its Jimmy Fitzpatrick of the Fitzpatick family in my neighborhood who had 9 kids. Jimmy was the 3rd. He was a grade below me.
4. The Red Chord's Gunface (Mike) discusses the new album (i put this video instead o one of their music videos cuz most of you are not death metal fans, nor am i, but you can see who mike is witout feeling like you are hearing satan speak.
5. The song Runnin' Around by Mark Erelli to some weird video someone made of trees and water
6. Luis and Rob (some kids from Reading) made a rap video.
7. Dan Finigan (some kid) dances like Napolian Dynomite to Push It by Salt n Peppa
8. This mostly upsidedown video was taken in Reading
9. This video was taken at a party in Reading