There goes the neighborhood (tales from the South End)

This store just moved in replacing a shortlived, modern interior design storefront that in turn replaced an upscale kitchen/bath store. (To be fair, it moved from another South End location, but this is a more visible spot.) I am reminded of my friend J who regularly pines for the "good old days" when all you had to worry about was the random shooting or date violence.

Khalil Gibran: Prophet and local boy done good

One of those books that should be on a reading list, one that I have read several times over the years, is The Prophet by Khalil Gibran.

Gibran, born in Lebanon, spent part of his childhood in Boston's South End and returned to Boston after spending several years in Lebanon. He moved on to New York where he died in 1931. There is a memorial to him in Copley Square, in the park between the library and Trinity Church.

In a recent blog post, Phil Metres offers a glimpse of Gibran as a houseguest of Metres' parents in Brooklyn Heights. Definitely well worth reading.