The Dottoman Empire

Sometimes called "The Sick Man of Boston," Dorchester is in fact quite robust. Sure, it's got its aches and pains, its creaky joints, its lumbago, and poor eyesight. Nothing that can't be alleviated with some limbering up exercises and corrective lenses. Dorchester has been around awhile, in fact the original town of Dorchester is older than Boston itself by a few months. You can't be creeping up on 400 years without showing a little wear and tear.

While some of Dorchester's sclerotic streets may be inflamed, those intersections are more appropriately thought of as hot spots, as in: where the action is, where the cool kids hang out, where deals are brokered, where important business gets done. Only the hopelessly myopic cannot see Dorchester for what it is: an empire encompassing diverse terrain and many different peoples of different backgrounds brought together under an enlightened despotism.

Dorchester is ruled by a tyranny of optimism.

What is a Dottoman? He is a guy who doesn't suffer any guff but lets bygones be bygones. The slings and arrows of outrageous Fortune fall into the Neponset River where they flow under the Lower Mills Bridge out to sea and are soon forgotten. A Dottoman is a tough, but a sensitive one, who takes pride in himself, his family, his neighbors and in their collective ability to get any job done. He is a rugged man, handsome in his homeliness, with dirt under his nails and callouses on his palms and soles.

You can find Dottomen everywhere, on scaffolding and inspecting basements, in the sewers, in office towers replacing fuses and on top of three deckers hammering shingles into place to withstand a hurricane. They cook meals for the hungry and cart away trash after the meal is done. They crisscross the city, the state, and the nation making deliveries. Wherever they go during the day, the come back to Dorchester for the duration of the night. They could overrun Boston if they chose. They choose not to. They tend to their families and their gardens at home base instead. Maybe that is best for Boston. These practical folk would remake the South End and Beacon Hill if they chose to conquer those territories. It would be a classic clash of cultures.