Hooker Street:
Possibly the Greatest Dead End Street in
Boston
Our Generation of Hooker
House was born in the fall of 1997. Founded by Keith Hollis
Ladinsky (me), Sean Mannion, Eric Baldwin, Emily Deschanel, Erica
Leehrsen and Molly Lawless. Since then many of us have
come and gone but the memory of all the times we had together remains.
Speaking for myself(I only moved out of Hooker House 1 year ago, ending
a 5 1/2 year stay), I will never forget the place. From our Halloween
house parties, crazy neighbors, house dinners, jam sessions, block
parties, sketchy and not so sketchy people crashing on Hooker couch
and all around great times living in Boston. Hooker House of old lives
forever in our memories and amazingly still lives on today!!!
Since 1997 Hooker House has hosted over 20 (God only
knows how many!) different people crashing on the couch. Once in a
while a random stranger would arrive at Hooker Street, a friend of
a friend or something, and either enchant us or totally freak us out.
Does any ex-Hooker remember Robbie's "buddy" from Maine. That dude
had his "420" skills down pat! How about the "old guy" from the 1999
Halloween party who slept over in the rocking chair. The next morning
we all realized that he a party leftover. When we politly woke him
up, before we left for breakfast, he said he had to go back to the
office in Harvard Square What the heck???? Most Hookers will remember
Adrian Fuentes. Adrian was our next door neighbor whose wife kicked
him out on the street in the dead of winter 2001. Poor Adrian had
been sleeping on the streets of Allston until it occured to him to
ask us for help. Adrian was a wicked nice guy. He taught us how to
cook killer Guatemalen food("you gosta BURN that shit Mang!!") and
also how to enjoy a bottle Ruple Vodka at 7:30am. Crazy. How about
John the ex-Marine? Anyone... Ferris....?? John was an ex-Hooker,
an ex-Marine Gulf War veteran and small time bike theif. How about
John Waikus, the Mayor Hooker Street. THE KING OF THIS F$#KING TOWN!
Has anyone seen the "Zombie" of Lower Allston?? Is he Hooker Street
in the after life, anyone?
Today Hooker house still rocks and is occupied by an awesome crew
of Hookers. None of the original members from 1997 still reside there.
Actually, I moved back in in August! Seriously.
Anonymous Hooker
Memories (Winter 2002)
..."Every Hooker knows
the cardinal rule of the kitchen. And no, it’s not be clean or do
your dishes. Please. The Hooker kitchen was filthy, everyone knows
that. The whole three years I lived there, no one even once attempted
to clean the “sketch area” in between the fridge and the stove. Furthermore,
what in the world was in the cabinet under the microwave? Phone books?
Silverware from previous Hooker generations? Boxes of cassette tapes?
All of the above? But I digress. The cardinal rule of the Hooker kitchen?
Never, never use the microwave and the toaster at the same time. Things
explode. Lights dim. I, for one, never learned where the fusebox was.
Never claim as your own the cupboard that has the pipe running through
it. Everyone knows it has mice. Some of us have seen them, some of
us deny they exist. Please ignore, for years, the fact that there
is perscription medication for a cough Molly Lawless had in 1998 still
in one of the kitchen cabinets. Never eat cookies that have been left
out overnight unless you are positive who made them. If Sherry made
them, fine. If you think Keith was involved, and there are green bits
in the cookies because he thought he would just throw in whole leaves,
I might leave them alone. Especially if you’re on your way to class.
For god’s sake, label your food. We take no responsibility for stoned
housemates or visitors who take a fancy to your pizza at three a.m.
However, good luck finding a working pen. It might be tied to the
wall. Or there might be a measuring cup tied there. Which people continue
to drink out of. By the way, don’t ever turn on the light in the hallway
by the stairs. It smells really bad, and we never really bothered
to find out why. Perhaps something died in the fixture. It is a very
Hooker-esque mentality to not actually figure out what the problem
was, but instead to avoid the issue by never using the light. Even
though the lightbulb actually worked. Unlike most of the ones in the
chandelier in the living room. At parties, the most important thing
is to have someone of the opposite sex in your bed at the end of it
all. Extra points for multiple people in your bed. Fewer points if
you were already going out with them. Kudos to anyone who makes out
in the living room in full view of all the other Hookers. Of course,
other bets can also be taken during parties. Check the inside of the
bathroom mirror for stats. The bathroom at Hooker House was a continual
issue. It was always the punchline when I told people how I lived:
Six people. One bathroom. But you survive. You have very specific
shower times in the morning that cannot be altered or everyone’s late
to work. You get used to seeing everyone in bathrobes, underwear,
towels. You hate that you consistently find hair on your soap. You
ignore the rotted-out windowsill. And the tiles that make that squidgy
sound. You come to terms with the fact that the door just does not
lock. There are a few important bathroom rules. First, Hooker Street
has an open door bathroom policy. If you are in the shower, anyone
of either gender can come in and pee. But only pee! Doing number two
while someone is showering is wicked nasty and the smell gets all
caught up in the steam. Second, during parties, the Hooker bathroom
is female only. The toilet fairy recommends that all boys use Hooker
Park at the end of the street. Or, what the hell, piss on the side
of the house. We’re not particular. Third, in case of emergency, always
follow the “procedure”. Rules are posted above the toilet. You all
know what I mean. In general, Hooker Street has few rules. Love your
housemates. Drink up, smoke up, have fun, play music, talk, laugh,
eat (sometimes well). People always ask, hey, what are you doing tonight?
At Hooker Street, there’s no answer needed. There’s always a party
going on at home...."
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