High on Crack Street: Lost lives in Lowell
November 23rd, 2011 by Mr. C
Revisiting this documentary shadowing 3 lost souls with a harrowing crack addiction in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1993 just put a whole new perspective on Thanksgiving day for me. High on Crack Street would follow Brenda, Boo Boo, & Dick Eklund (former pro boxer & older brother of “Irish” Micky Ward) for 18 months up & around in crack houses, jail, rehab, a boxing gym, & a medical clinic. God only knows how much HBO put forth in compensating the troubled trio for their on screen services & voracious habits.
Lowell, Massachussetts was known at one time as being the largest producer of cotton textile in the United States which gave them the title of being the 1st land industrial city in the US. Unfortunately, in the 1920’s most of the cotton textile industries in Lowell began to move down south which caused the city to empty out. Fast forward to the 1990’s and the city still has a roughneck disposition to its existence. Drugs, unemployment, & lack of education would slay any dragon.
Boo Boo would feed his $200+ a day rock habit by rhymin’ & stealin’ and not by the Beastie Boys’ code of ethics either. The film showed him going into a store and blitzing right out with a set of golf clubs without paying of course. I guess you can say the film crew was an accomplice to the crime as they provided the getaway for the operation.
Brenda was another victim of the night of the living baseheads as well. She has an on/off relationship with Boo Boo as she hooks on the streets of Lowell to feed her habit. She also has an on/off relationship with rehab, too. Things get a little complicated when Brenda finds out that she is prego but who is the father? Hmmm, can it be Boo Boo, ex-boyfriend Mike, or one of her paying friends from the streets? The prospects of abortion will be discussed.
Another bomb would drop on boo boo when he discovers that he is HIV positive.
Dicky Eklund, a former boxer whose most famous bout was against Sugar Ray Leonard in July of 1978 is the most dangerous of the night of the living baseheads! Being hopped up on crack and possessing two lethal hands as weapons is not a good combination. Eklund feeds his habit by robbin’ & stealin’ using lethal force by any means neccessary including assistance from a sawed off shotgun. Eklund finds himself in/out of jail as he uses boxing as a solace point but eventually the demons would come a calling once again. Dicky awaits trial for a more serious offense and the consequences can land him up to a decade in jail. The mother sets up a benefit at the local VFW replaying the 1978 boxing match between Eklund vs Sugar Ray Leonard in order to collect funds to try and bail out her son from jail. Who would know that this benefit would generate fisticuffs of their own?! Eklunds relationship with his professional boxer-brother Micky Ward has also been a rollercoaster of emotions. Training his brother for a fight seems to keep him out of trouble…for the night, but unfortunately the baseheads would eventually come knocking on his door.
The three would seem to go on a path of self destruction as AIDS, a pregnant crack addict, & a man prone to a life of violence can only lead to the calling from the crimson ghost.
To get a drama filled replay of Dicky Eklund on screen, watch The Fighter. It’s definitely a piece of work! This movie is mostly about Micky Ward — the boxer and his family, but Dicky Eklund played by Christian Bale in the movie really stole the show!
And remember, Crack is Wack, folks! Happy Thanksgiving?!
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