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Old Philadelphia Bar in lower Kensington, which is more or less Fishtown. Howard is a month from his 70th birthday, and that's his sister, Loreen.

Howard was a dog catcher, then a circular stuffer, "I was the guy who left all that shit on your doorstep!" Though his dad was a car mechanic, neither Howard nor his brother liked to work for the old man, so they only did it sporadically. When he was 15, Howard and a bunch of other teens were caught breaking into a warehouse. Howard was locked up for three years. That's his only brush with the law.

In 1989, Howard was in a car accident, so walks with a prosthetic leg.

Loreen can't afford the rent in gentrifying Fishtown, so is living in a West Philly ghetto, which means after dark, she can't go outside. This day, she returns to her old neighborhood for a couple of beers. It's a long ride on the public transit.

In Philly, all of the traditionally Irish neighborhoods--Northern Liberties, Fishtown, Kensington, Greys Ferry, Queen Village and Pennsport-- have become gentrified or black ghettoized.

A pint of Rolling Rock is $1.50 in Old Philadelphia, and sometimes they even have free hot dogs.


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