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Man not killed by speeding commuter train in Newton

Mitchell Transit Police report that when officers caught up with William Mitchell, 36, traipsing inbound along the Worcester Line tracks in West Newton shortly after noon yesterday, they asked him what the hell he thought he was doing.

"It's a free country, I can walk where I want to walk," he reportedly replied. Officers then gave him a ride to Transit Police headquarters, where he could exercise that right in a somewhat smaller space. Officers also signaled train dispatchers, who had held up train service along the line to avoid hitting Mitchell.

While booking him for trespassing, police say, officers discovered there was a warrant out for his arrest in Boston for breaking and entering in the night time and possession of burglarious tools.

Innocent, etc.

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Comments

This made me chuckle. I'm sure it's actually a very technical and accurate description, but burglarious is a funny word.

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Is this a more severe charge than regular ol' B&E? Or is Adam just adding some descriptive information?

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I believe it is a more severe charge.

https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/...

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For somebody to be charged with uttering, usury and possession of burglarious tools all at once (all of these are actual crimes).

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So they're not all that uncommon.

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Throw in Affray and you have the Superfecta.

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Railroad tracks probably aren't the best place to go all Woody Guthrie.

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"As I was walking that ribbon of highway
I saw a sign there, said, 'Private Property'
The other side didn't say nothin'
That side was made for you and me"

One of the verses they don't teach in school. Guess why.

(Hat tip to Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper, who schooled me on that one. And if you ain't got Mojo Nixon, then your store could use some fixin'.)

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Asked for mojo nixon they said he don't work here!

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Woody Guthrie wrote that verse, but he almost never used it when he sang the song in public. However, he did use it in a studio recording of "This Land" as part of a collection of his works he did for Electra Records.

It was only "discovered" when Arlo Guthrie started signing that verse while performing "This Land ..." in his later concerts - like his free 1979 concert in the Arboretum.

And, for the record (no pun intended), the verse goes (at least as Arlo sang it) "No Trespassing", not "Private Property".

On the subject of Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper, IMO their two best songs are "Elvis is Everywhere" and "Get Out Of My Way".

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Wow, I can't imagine where they could hold such an event without resulting in major damage to the grounds from the assembled crowd. What was the occasion for this show, and was it part of any series?

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I was at that 1979 concert. It wasn't at the Arboretum, it was at the Rose Garden in the Fens. I don't recall that it was part of any particular series, I guess he just felt like doing a concert there, or maybe it was to commemorate something. I do remember thinking it was kind of an unusual place for such a show. But that's where it was. A great performance. He did a killer version of "Coming Into Los Angeles".

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No wonder I never learned that in school, I was in primary school, where I got most of my music-education classes, somewhat before then.

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While it's still illegal and not the best idea, it's possible to walk on most rail rights-of-way off to the side of the tracks, where you wouldn't get hit by a train.

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Off to the side of those tracks is the Mass. Turnpike, where you could get hit by a car. They picked this guy up pretty near where they shot that bear in a tree a few weeks ago, for much the same reasons they had to get him off the tracks.

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The right-of-way isn't always wide enough. Sometimes the trains pass within inches of walls and stuff.

Trains are a lot quieter and faster than you think they are....and they don't stop quick, either.

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I'm well aware of how hard it is to hear an approaching train in time.

My point was that some rail lines have enough space to walk next to them while being clear of trains. I'm not sure if this applies to the line along the Pike.

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A face only a mother could love.

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