"I never hurt anyone who's just walkin'through," Williams says. "That's real bad, man."
The Other Side of the Tracks
Continuing down Cambridge Street requirescrossing an old railroad track. Literally a wallof division that once separated the Irish,Portuguese, and Italians from each other at theturn of the century, the tracks have lost some oftheir practical value, although symbolically theystill demarcate a boundary within the city.
First stop is the Mayflower Poultry Company,where the sign outside advertises, "Live Poultry.Freshly Killed." When the store's manager won'tanswer any questions, customer Naima A. Singletonpipes up saying that a few years ago, the storeused to hang chickens in the display window.
Singleton says the practice has since stopped,but the quality of the food is still superior toany in a Star Market deli.
As the afternoon sun begins to sink slowly intothe western sky, Charles A. Watson yells out, "Areyou looking for something?" The man outside theCambridge Street Laundromat, located at 315Cambridge St., sits with cane in hand andTam-O-Shanter on his head. From a distance healmost resembles an Irish leprechaun.
"It's hard to walk with only one leg, but Ilove getting out to see the city," Watson says."Besides, I have to watch the Laundromat."
Watson, a longtime Cambridge resident, speaksabout how the city has changed. "Cambridge..[has]lost a sense of purpose. It used to be the mostwonderful community back in the [19]40s and[19]50s."
"I still think it's remarkable, but there'ssomething missing in the soul of the people,"Watson says. "Somehow people just don't careanymore."
"Maybe it takes an older guy to see it," Watsonsays. "I just don't want to let the spirit ofCambridge die."
"Because once the spirit is gone, there's nogetting it back. And it wouldn't be right foreveryone coming after us to do a terrible thinglike that."