I went back to my roots last week. I had to escape the heat of the desert Southwest. I had to feel an ocean breeze. I had to return to my childhood home. I needed to experience again the sights and sounds and smells of the North End. I had to replenish my spirit. 

I found a North End apartment on VRBO and I rented it for three nights. What I discovered was that today’s North End is not the North End of my grandmothers. It is vibrant and alive with young professionals. Millennials walking around in their high-heeled sandals with cell phones in hand have replaced the Italian immigrant women in their black dresses and lace-up shoes carrying shopping bags from the butcher and bakery shops.