I haven't had a post for ten days. That is a long time. I have been quite lazy to tell the truth. I have rediscovered Mahjong. Bad idea. Stay away! Very addicting.
Since I last wrote I have been out to Quincy to see the three homes where John Adams and his family lived. It was only natural for me to go out there because I am currently reading John Adams by David McCullough. It is a great book. I am fascinated by the life of John Adams. The letters between John and Abigail Adams are wonderful. It was so cool to be in the very spot where many of Abigail's letters were written. It was also awesome to see the huge library that has just a portion of John Adams' and John Quincy Adams' over 12,000 books (and I thought I had a lot of books). I learned so much about John Adams' role in the American Revolution and the early years of this country's government. I highly recommend it. I have even gone so far as to buy a copy of the HBO miniseries based on this same book. I can't wait to watch it.
Being the history nerd that I am, I also went out to Lexington and Concord to see where the American Revolution began. About a year or so ago I had read Paul Revere's Ride by David Hackett Fischer and so it was thrilling to see where it all took place. Another book and place to visit that I recommend. I would recommend that you read the books or at least a good portion of them before you go to get a true feel for what took place at the historic sites and the people who lived there.
Last Saturday we drove out to Cape Cod and drove around to several lighthouses. It is so pretty out there. I was surprised at how big the place was. I had imagined it as a much smaller area. It took a lot longer to drive to all the locations we wanted to. Of course you have to bear in mind that on many of the roads we were lucky to go over 30 mph. Yes, life is much slower out there. The roads are narrow and there are not many roads with more than one lane each way. I would love to go back. I was disappointed that we didn't get to spend anytime just kicking back on the beach. Our list of things to do was too long.
This Monday I stayed home and did laundry. I was expecting to do some work from my real job but it didn't happen. I'm not surprised it didn't but I was hoping to be of help.
This Tuesday as well as last Tuesday, I spent part of the day at the Boston Temple. The spirit there was awesome. It just helps my week go better by having some spiritual experiences there.
Today on the bus I made a short list of things I wanted to write about. Most of them had to do with more adventures using Boston public transportation. The bus that I ride to and from the subway station is actually a sort of cable car. It runs on electricity and is hooked up to cables that run over the road. Yesterday on the way home the bus just stopped and went silent except for some kind of warning signal up on the driver's panel. It sounded like the bus might have ran over something but I couldnt tell from inside. The bus driver got off the bus and after a few minutes he got back on and we were up and running. I suspect I know what he was doing. About a month ago I was following a bus and the driver stopped, got off, and had to hook the electric cables back up to the bus. I imagine that is what happened yesterday. He never said a word but it seems likely.
I would like to introduce you to some of the people that I have seen on the bus. The first people are two girls who ride the bus regularly in the morning. They are in an English class together trying to learn English. It is fun to watch them study and talk on their way. I call them the English girls and I always look forward to watching them on the bus. I haven't ever talked to them but I enjoy watching them from a distance. I remember the good old days of trying to learn the language of the foreign country I was living in. I wish them well.
Today on the bus there was a cute Chinese family. Before they got on the bus, the mom had snapped a quick picture of the dad and their son getting on the bus. If it wasn't the end of the school year, I would say it was a first day of school picture. The son looked like he was about 5. School ends here this week and so maybe it was his last day of school picture. Who knows? They were cute. Mom continued to snap a few pictures of dad and son on the bus. I have seen some other strange characters but I won't get into any details. Let's just say that it always makes the ride interesting.
One evening last week I was waiting for the train in the Park Street station. In that station the train opens its doors on both sides rather than the usual one side. I was standing with a few other people waiting for the train. When it arrived, the doors opened on the far side, and so we waited for them to open on our side. And we waited, and we waited, and we waited. Next thing you know the doors were now closed on the other side of the train and it was pulling away. Even though the train wasn't that full, apparently we weren't getting on that one. The next one was not too far behind but I have never seen that happen and will be perfectly content if I don't ever see it again.
The Celtics won the NBA championship last night. There is going to be a big parade downtown tomorrow. I hope that I can get away from work to go see it. I think it would be fascinating to watch this city congratulate their sports heroes. I forgot to ask at work today about what would happen during the parade. I guess we'll find out tomorrow. The parade is going to end at Copley Square which is just a block away from work.
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