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THE MASSACHUSETTS
UFO
By Larry Cugini |
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Since 1916, the Cugini family
name has been a fixture in the beautiful town of Newton, MA,
just outside of Boston. For over ninety years we have enjoyed a kind of
VIP status as one of the oldest clans in the middle-class Italian
section of Newton that was officially called Nonantum, but
affectionately referred to by locals simply as "the Lake" (named for
Silver Lake, a nine-acre peat pond that used to be central to the area
but was filled in with debris from the construction of Boston's Storrow
Drive many years ago).
Between 1963 and
1970, during the Lake’s heyday, my parents and I resided in one half of
a tiny duplex on Dalby Street, in the heart of the Lake, right next door
to my paternal grandparents' house -- the hub of the entire family.
Italian families in that area looked out for each other. For
example, take our elderly landlady, “Old Lady” Bartolomucci (I swear,
that was the only name the whole neighborhood knew her by). She
retracted a lucrative $100/month rental agreement she had made with an
Irish family when my grandmother informed her that my father was getting
married and needed a place in which to start a family of his own. So,
Mrs. Bartolomucci told the Irish family that she had decided to move
some of her own family in and then she gave the place to us (no actual
relation). She charged my dad $50/month for the entire duration of our
seven-year stay.
In the Lake, no doors
were ever locked. All business contracts were verbal. All prices were
negotiable. Every home had a bar in it and most had two kitchens (the
one in the basement being used for heavy volume cooking). There were
velvet paintings, lace doilies, and sad-looking saint statues
everywhere. Anyone not Italian (or at least Roman Catholic), was either
pitied or watched closely until out of the neighborhood. Any and every
social occasion, even a visit from the Avon lady, called for a huge
spread of food and wine, plus a tour of the house (to include the price
paid for each piece of furniture). There was one sofa for us to
sit on and one sofa for company to sit on. Women cooked, cleaned,
and gave birth (but were expected to always look pretty). Men earned the
money, drove the car, and only came home for meals, changes of clothes,
and to sleep. Effective parenting was measured by how few backhands it
took to get a kid to comply.
When I emerged into
that world in 1965, the blood-related Cugini clan consisted of around
seventy people in total. Grandma was the undisputed
commander-in-chief, with full powers of parental veto, down through the
entire ranks of all nine of her offspring and all of their
offspring -– and all of theirs. In fact, Grandma held the
impressive title of great-great-grandmother (five living generations,
all female) from 1985 until she passed away in 1987. My grandfather had
passed away in 1964, four months before I was born. I am told that his
role had been that of revered seer/oracle, subordinate only to Grandma.
We alone had the privilege of living next door to Queen Grandma.
Geographically, the
Lake is somewhat uneven territory. There are a lot of shallow inclines.
Dalby Street connects Watertown Street (Rte 16) and California Street.
It’s thickly settled, about a half-mile long, down-sloping slightly from
south to north. Our house was on the east side, near the top of the
slope, maybe 300 feet from the busy intersection of Watertown Street.
Grandma’s big multi-family home was nearer the intersection, on the same
side of the street as ours. Our driveway was about 100 feet long, on a
perpendicular downgrade eastward away from the street. It ended in a
tiny cul-de-sac shared by three buildings and a garage. If the inner end
of the driveway was at 6 o’clock, then our duplex was at 9 o’clock,
there was another apartment building at 1 o’clock, Old Lady
Bartolomucci’s 2-bay garage was at 3 o’clock, and her house’s back door
was at 5 o’clock. Facing down the driveway from the slight elevation of
the street, Mrs. B’s house was on the right side of it and her fenced-in
vegetable garden was on the left. Grandma’s house was literally above
Mrs. Bartolomucci’s. If I stood on our front step and looked straight
across at a 45-degree incline I’d be looking over Mrs. B’s garage and
right at Grandma’s side porch.
Continued on Page 9... |
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Click on the card to the left for more information
about Toni Elizabeth Petrinovich, Ph.D. |
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WEBSITES YOU SHOULDN'T MISS |
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THE GHOSTS COME HOME
continued... |
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His mommy
asked him if there was something in the house that scared him and he
nodded his head and said “yes. He wasn’t able,
at that time, to tell us what it was for sure.
When he was able to talk better and understand the question,
he told his mommy there was a mean ghost in the house that scared him.
He hasn’t been in my house since.
I will now list the
things that happened in the year-2002
1) Front door opens when shut and locked
properly (02)
2) TV turned off and on (02-03)
3) Heard footsteps on stairs when no one is
there (02-03)-Now this one is interesting, I’ll be sitting in the house
or even outside on the top step when the sound of people running up and
down the stairs is heard and felt. I could feel the steps literally
vibrating underneath me, the whole staircase is shaking. When I hear it
inside the house, it sounds like a bunch of people running up and down
playing. When I go
out to check, there is not a person in sight.
Now, onto the year 2003 when
quite a few events happened. It appears the ghosts are getting more
comfortable in their new environment. I want to list the happenings that
occurred before I discuss anything else. It will give you more
perspective.
1) Lights flickering in the bathroom (03) - when in the bathroom.
2) Door knob turned 2 times by itself (03) - I could hear the doorknob
drop back into its original position after being released.
3) Curtain rod knocked over (03) - this was placed in the laundry room
as I had no curtain to put on it. I heard it fall over and there was
nothing in the laundry room except the washer and dryer and a pantry
door... or IS there?
4) Cabinet door creaking (03) - cabinet door in the kitchen where I keep
my pots and pans. My cats were in the living room asleep at the time and
my child was sitting on the couch with me watching TV.
5) Bottle of laundry soap fell off dryer and spilled onto the floor
(03).
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6) Have been touched on legs and
on right side of butt (03) - now, let me explain this one. I would be
outside on the top step smoking a cigarette when, all of a sudden, I'd
feel this hand wrap around my leg or place itself on my upper left
thigh. And, I would also feel a hand on my butt. Let me promise you, I
could feel every one of those fingers on my right butt cheek. For some
reason, whoever it was, had a thing for that side of my butt. *Shrugs*
7) Photo negatives taken out of envelope and laid on couch ()3) - this
was done after I decided to start taking photos around my house, mainly
of my kids. I was looking at them one day and laid the pictures down on
the couch with the negatives still in the envelope. When I came back to
the couch, the negatives were out of the envelope and laid on the couch
in their wrapper (you know, the ones that the negatives now come in to
protect them).
I have to get into the Christmas spirit of 2003. On
December 8th, 2003, I bought my now toddler, a train set. Just a $10
one, but to him it was the most wonderful gift in the world. I had set
up the train track and turned it on so it could run about the tracks. My
toddler turned it off after he finished and we left the train right
where it was on the track. A few minutes later, I walked by the train
tracks and the train had moved. My son wasn't playing with it. At this
point, I'm figuring, okay, someone in the house likes trains too and
wants to play. I said, outloud, "Whoever is playing with the train, it's
all right to do so." Whomever it was, continued to play with the train
even while it was running. They'd knock it off the tracks which was
funny at first, but soon started to irritate my toddler. They'd move the
people and trees that came with the set too.
Part Two of Nicole's story will be found in the
June Issue of the Night Whispers Online Newspaper - released on May 1,
2008. |
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