Come On-A My House

"Come On-A My House" is the fourth effort in my Lawrence - My Hometown series. Like the last three, this book contains varied anecdotes about the old neighborhood and the old gang. In it I try once again to create a picture of a time and a place and a neighborhood that once was but is no more. On the front cover of this volume I have a picture of the old tenement where I was raised. This is a very old picture of the structure at 32 Chelmsford Street in North Lawrence. It is the house as I remember it as a kid. Most of the folks in the photo are my relatives - grandmother, grandfather, uncles and aunts. This old homestead stands as another icon of my hometown as I remember it. My grandmother owned the building and it was passed down to one of her children, my Uncle Ray. But the song title, "Come On-A My House," is equally significant. The song was written by William Saroyan and a nephew of his while traveling cross country to visit a much beloved aunt. It was a nostalgic song reminiscent of all the ethnic foods and shared childhood delights that William and his nephew were lusting for upon arriving at auntie's house. This is a very common feeling for all of the folks raised in "The Immigrant City," my hometown of Lawrence, MA. One of the first books I ever read was written by William Saroyan and it was titled "My Name is Aram." It was a book very much like this Lawrence series of books that I've been putting together, ethnic in tone yet universal in its message. It has been my inspiration.