Late Night Rowdiness in North End

''I have never seen anyone out of control. This is Boston. Everyone drinks."

This is a quote, from a young woman professional currently living in the North End, from a story in today’s Boston Globe about the late night rowdiness that is disturbing some of the long time locals.

The comment that this is Boston and everyone drinks says a lot about the mentality and demeanor of some of the yuppies. This is not coming out of the mouth of a teenager but from the heart and soul of a 26 year old woman accountant.

Does she realize that the area she lives in now, used to be the landing ground for many of yesterdays’ poor immigrants. The English, Irish, Jews and lastly Italians have made this area their very first home in America. This along with Southie was one of the last places to see the breakup of family life, a place where people respected each other, a place where like a famous sitcom says, “everyone knows your name.”

This was and probably still is a neighborhood where one can walk around at all hours and feel relatively safe as long as you mind your business.

I wonder if this woman realizes when she says that this is Boston and everyone drinks that everyone did drink when I was living there. Part of the Italian culture is to present and afford to anyone sitting with you at table a glass or two of wine with your meal. You don’t have to be 16 or 18 or 21 years old to drink alcohol in a traditional Italian family. I remember as a toddler (2 to three years old) being introduced to Marsala, a sweet wine used for cooking. My mom used to put about an ounce of it in a fresh beaten egg which I would have each morning. Imagine doing this today. Someone would probably report you to the Department of Social Services (DSS) as an irresponsible parent. What a way to jump start your day especially when I faced the long walk to school. On cold mornings, I could feel the Marsala radiating that internal warmth that no extra item of clothing could provide. It was a crude version of today’s eggnog.

Everyone did drink. Most times it was at home in accompaniment of meals and not simply to get drunk. Having exposure to liquor at an early age and having your parents not making it a taboo fostered a sense of respect for alcohol.

Yes, I admit that as teenagers we would sometimes get together and drink beer on weekends and would have to be disbanded by the local cop on the beat. But I never remember disturbing people at 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning.

If we did something like that we would soon feel the pain from a swift boot to the ass and/or a couple of good backhanders to the face, and that was from your grandmother, never mind what your father and mother would do. Now your new neighbors live by themselves and have no respect for you and your family.

One beer company has incorporated “drink responsibly” as part of their ad campaign. That’s like telling a young sixteen year old driver “be careful” as you hand him the keys to your Ford Explorer. Canta, Canta (sing, sing) he says to himself as he leaves to pick up his friends. You just pray to God that He sends all the guardian angels to watch over them.