It was near the end of June in the summer of 1973, about 3 weeks after my 15th birthday.  Summers were hot in Oklahoma.  In the air-conditioned comfort of our family room that summer, my political consciousness was born.  

A little while ago on Countdown (11 PM West Coast airing), Keith Olbermann interviewed John Dean about his new book on Barry Goldwater, co-authored with Barry Jr.  I think it was the first time I've actually seen Dean since that June that began it all for me.  I was struck with an overwhelming urge to write this diary.

"We were Irish and French Canadian, living right next door to Boston, my grandparents downstairs, my parents and us five (later six) kids upstairs.  From the upstairs porch on a summer night, with the Sox on a small black & white TV, we could see the lights of Boston and almost hear the crowd roar when Yaz knocked one out."

So begins a diary by Mass Southpaw that is by turns funny and moving, a diary about the poignant loss of innocence and the possibility of redemption, a diary that will leave you wanting more from this fresh new voice of American letters.

Or not.