Memoirs of a South Boston Mechanic - Paperback

by Thomas M. Cirignano (Author)

With mob wars, "Whitey" Bulger's reign of terror, "Forced Busing" of students and an OPEC oil embargo, this memoir covers a history-rich era in South Boston. This author experienced it all, personally and up close. Tom ran an auto repair garage and gas station in the heart of Southie. With mobsters and cops as his close friends and customers, Tom learned to coexist and thrive within two conflicting worlds and became comfortable in both. While he was adept at navigating a tightrope between good and evil, his reckless choices resulted in far too many close brushes with death. When offered lucrative or frightening opportunities to immerse himself in mob activities, Tom answered very carefully. Certain acquaintances seemed to lure him to places where something really bad was about to happen. Was that done on purpose? He'll never know for sure. After stressful workdays, the corner tavern usually offered Tom a much needed haven. But back then in Southie, even your favorite bar could transform from a haven to hell in a heartbeat. Tom shares all of his surreal memories with his readers and injects a bit of humor at times. On his doorstep while living across the street from South Boston High, he experienced fierce protests related to court-ordered desegregation of the Boston schools via "Forced Busing". Add to the mix, Tom's mobster friends and interactions, the tension and violence he encountered at his shop, and the stress of running a gas station in Southie during the fuel shortages of the 70s, and you've got all the ingredients of a memoir which gains intensity and momentum with each passing chapter.
During a difficult childhood in Dorchester, the author grew tired of feeling like an outsider. He decided to do whatever it took to be accepted within each of his challenging environments from that day on. Living up to that solemn pledge served its purpose well, but it also placed him in far too many scary and life-threatening situations. He's one of the very few people who have had a gunpoint encounter with James Whitey Bulger and lived to tell about it. How did he do that? Surprisingly, Tom tells it as a rather humorous story with a mostly happy ending. Written from the perspective of someone who experienced history first-hand, Tom's life story is a vivid flashback to an exciting era in Boston's colorful past.
Within this amazing story of survival, Tom's past also illustrates the positive results of never giving up on your dreams and wishes. His life is proof positive that those wishes can and often will become realities if a person truly believes in them.
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