Skip to main content

Boston Beans

I have been to Boston two other times in my life. Both times, if my memory is correct, it was a bit like being a mouse in a maze. A maze directed by an evil scientist that kept changing the blockades and making this mouse change directions. So that by the time I reached the end and that much-sought after cheese, I was no longer hungry.

This time this mouse had GPS! Take that you evil scientist - or diabolical city planners!

It is still a chaotic mess and is not a place I would want to live, but I felt like I could manage the drive with fewer expletives. There were still some heated exchanges between John, the driver, and me the navigator but I imagine far fewer had we not had Garmin Gal leading us along. But GG only came in handy when we had an address and a plan. Not so on our way to see Paul Revere. I'm still not completely sure how we stumbled on North Church and the statue of Paul Revere - and that is indeed what happened. One minute, I was saying, "I have no idea what street we're on and where the . . ." and the next, "Wait, there's a statue and a bunch of people!"  (And lo and behold a parking space too!)

Because Boston is an old city - it's not necessarily the easiest to navigate by car let alone wheelchair or by using a cane. The sidewalks are uneven in most places and many places are not accessible at all. Got me wondering, what did a person that could not walk, do in those historic times? Perhaps, I don't really want to know the answer! But I went where I could and when I could - and especially enjoyed the North Church (still does not have electricity because the fire-codes won't permit it unless major renovations are done to the facility that could interfere with it's historic character!).

I know why the trolley/bus/Duck/boat tours are so popular, though. The drivers are professionals that know how to navigate and narrate at the same time. Now that takes talent!

Paul Revere, he's the one on the horse!
John and Delaney are discussing where he actually rode on that midnight ride. It's not on the GPS.


Comments

It's not a popularity contest, but ...

Parenting

I just read a post on Facebook regarding the dearth of parenting. The poster was describing a scene where two young girls were pelting rocks at some ducks in our little town and how he observed no parents around telling these girls that it was wrong to torture little innocent animals. Within hours, there were 15 responses - all alluding to a lack of parenting that is evident nearly everywhere today. Stick with me here - because that conversation reminded me of one I'd had recently that might not seem related to parenting at all. It was with my oldest son about his concern about the selfishness of our culture - most recently evident in the Wall Street meltdown. He believes that we are too focused on "Me" and not enough on "We" and if we had a little more focus on the total and just not our part, we would be in a much better place. Still there? Okay, here's the cement that will hold this together - those girls pelting little ducks with rocks weren't likely...

Tough time to be a Pollyanna

Remember when 9/11 was just a date or a number you called in an emergency? Our lives changed dramatically post 9/11. For weeks after that September day, we seemed to walk around in a fog, like the haze that loomed over the now-fallen twin towers. I remember trying to minimize my obsession with the news, trying to keep the three little Piggins away from the enormity of the disaster. Remember when corona was simply a beer best served with a lime wedge? It now and forever will be instead associated with this virus that has upended our world in ways we could never have imagined. This tiny little, microscopic virus has brought the mighty to their knees. It has us quarantined and distancing socially (though I believe we've been doing this emotionally for years) and working from home. As anxiety peaks, our economy tanks. As toilet paper and hand sanitizer flies off the shelves, we are looking for new ways to stock our pantries. A good friend observed, "I never thought I'd...

When a small town is huge

  In the movie "it's a Wonderful Life", the protagonist George Bailey has longed nearly his whole life to 'shake off the dust of this crummy little town off my feet," to see the world. But Bedford Falls, that crummy little town, felt differently about George. And with the help of a quirky guardian angel, George eventually sees that his life and his town were pretty wonderful. Good lord, but I love that movie and it's characters and it's moral and that small town. I watch it every year at least twice and still cry every time. And I wonder too about the man that pushes the devious Mr. Potter's wheelchair and stands by his side- you know the man, he looks a little like Lurch from "The Addams Family". I wonder, what was he thinking as he listened and watched his boss ruin the lives of everyone he could. What kind of an Non-disclosure agreement did he sign, to keep him silent as he stood by and watched Potter pocket the money Uncle Billy was depo...