| Moving from East Boston By Jim Correale (Published in the East Boston Sun Transcript on September 14, 2001.) Having roots in a community is a good thing. To feel part of a place, to understand the people and the history of one small area, is a wonderful experience. A person develops lifelong friends in such an environment, and a common set of reference points makes conversation easy, though indecipherable to outsiders. (If you are not from Eastie, you probably don�t understand what we mean when we say �the point� or �the city yards� or �the slush place� or �Shay�s Beach.�) I have lived in East Boston for all of my 38 years. I went from the James Otis School to East Boston Central Catholic to Dom Savio High School. I earned my bachelor�s degree at Suffolk University while living at home. I worked at the Salesian Boys & Girls Club for 13 years and Savio High School for five. I have been a true local boy, but now that has all changed. I moved to Somerville. Though having deep roots is a wonderful feeling, change is also important. Last week I started a new job and moved into a new place. It is a bit scary, but it�s also exciting. I look forward to the challenges ahead. However, no matter where I go or what I do, the years I have spent in East Boston will always be a large part of who I am. That can never change. The indelible impressions of this working class, unpretentious neighborhood are with me permanently. I will always believe that Santarpio�s has the world�s greatest pizza and that the slush sold out of a doorway on Bennington Street is one-of-a-kind. And I will always cast a jaded eye toward any action that Massport takes under the guise of being good neighbors. This move was necessitated by my new job, which is teaching at a residential home. I could not deal with the prospect of an hour commute each way to the facility, located in a nearby suburb. From my new apartment in Somerville the drive is 15 minutes. The ride is about the same from here to Eastie, and I will be in the old neighborhood frequently. My family, many of my friends and my favorite restaurants are all there. Nothing can keep me away. While it may look to some like I left the community, I think of it as taking my home along for all my future adventures. Though I may be removed from East Boston, for as long as I live Eastie will be in the marrow of my bones and in the blood running through my veins. |