Tom Quinn in his Hyde Park home (Photo: Kelly Creedon)

A few years ago, Tom Quinn’s wife got sick. Cancer. She had to stop working, and the bills started piling up. Then one day, a glossy mailing landed on the couple’s kitchen table: “Refinance now with a 15-year adjustable rate mortgage!” The Quinn’s were smart; they were thoughtful; the deal looked good. The broker told Tom he could adjust the rate down if his wife’s conditioned worsened; then it did.

After his wife passed away, Tom was left to support the couple’s two teenage girls by himself. Money was tight, but he had a good job, and the family scraped by. Then Tom got a letter from Wells Fargo, informing him that his bi-monthly mortgage payments would now be consolidated into a single monthly payment. Tom couldn’t pay it in time. He asked if the terms could be adjusted. “No.”

Statue of James Michael Curley. Photo Credit: Molly Feit

I’m Irish, and I grew up in Massachusetts. Never mind that I grew up in the western part of the state, in the Pioneer Valley, a place true Bostonian’s believe is so far west, it’s practically upstate New York. Growing up, I thought of Boston as the big city, and loved my occasional visits with my family, mostly to go to Fenway Park. Boston was a wonderful place for me, and as soon as I could, I moved here; I have never left.

When I came to Boston, I didn’t know anything about James Michael Curley. This is what I did know: city government was controlled by the Irish. I knew of the hyper parochialism of South Boston’s Irish community, and even though I didn’t have a strong connection to my own Irish identity, when moving to Boston I felt I was moving to an Irish town.

Man, our show today generated a lot of listener interest, and we only got a fraction of our great callers on the air. Some very thoughtful emails came in, and I’d like to share excerpts with everybody…

 Listen to the full show:

This Friday’s show focuses on the minority communities of Boston, its elected officials and community leaders.  How will an Obama presidency change our immediate world?  What challenges remain?

Speaking with us in the studio are: Reverend Dr. Ray Hammond, State Representative Linda Dorcena Forry, State Senator-elect Sonia Chang-Diaz, City Councilor at-Large Sam Yoon, community leaders Horace Small and Caprice Taylor-Mendez.

Let us know how you feel: comment below, email (radioboston@wbur.org) or call during the show: 1-800-423-TALK.

Join us tomorrow at 1pm EST as we take a deeper look at the local.  

Photo by: Anna Pellicioli

WBUR’s Delores Handy writes about her youth in the Jim Crow south and how an Obama presidency shatters all she ever knew. Click here to read her essay.

What does an Obama presidency mean to YOU?

Back in 2006 when Lincoln Chafee lost his Senate seat, Yankee Republicanism was declared to be on its last legs. So what’s the future of the New England GOP? Well, so far, we’re hearing it’s Yankee Republicanism! Or at least, socially moderate, fiscally conservative Republicanism.

I hadn’t seen Barbara Anderson for years when I pulled up to her house in Marblehead last week, a small place tucked behind two big spruce trees with a woodsy backyard and a sense of stay from the confusion on Beacon Hill. Check out the sides of the modest, comfortable, cozy and cluttered home and you’ll find out something telling about the woman who has terrified both Beacon Hill’s ruling class and liberal interest groups for the last thirty years.

On October 17th, Radio Boston focuses on Massachusetts Ballot Question One. 

The big question: should the Massachusetts state income tax be repealed?

We’ll go into the nitty gritty during the show but some interesting reports have already been featured online. The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation published a twenty-eight pager outlining the expected effects of a repealed state income tax. Read it here.

The only African American member of the State Senate, Dianne Wilkerson has launched a sticker campaign to try to hang onto her seat, after losing the Democratic Primary to former teacher Sonia Chang-Diaz.  Radio Boston plans to devote an hour to this interesting race on Friday the 24th of October at 1 pm.  Let us know what you think about this race, by clicking the “more” link below.

Radio Boston will re-air its Greenway show on Saturday, October 11th on WBUR between 1-2 ESTpm. 

Out of town?  Check out the podcast on this website.