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| My Wife and Sister In Law Exploring a Very Cold Common |
Yesterday I dragged myself out of bed
following the exertions of the night before at Maxwell Silverman’s. My wife had planned a day in Boston and then
a party at the home of a scion of the Worcester Chapter of the Panamanian Mafia
(and she told me about these plans). The
gorgeous Pana-Gals were not exactly chomping at the bit to spend more time in
the cold weather but they rangered on, anxious to see new sights.
I grew up in New England but was always
intimidated by driving in Boston, mainly because the street system based in the
early 1600s makes no sense whatsoever.
In the time I’ve been back in New England though I find myself more and
more comfortable negotiating through the very confusing streets. I took the Mass Pike into the city and jumped
off at an unfamiliar exit but was soon able to pinpoint the Common (alright I
did use the onboard map) and parked underneath the common.
We emerged onto the Boston Common and were
immediately assaulted by the windy 24 degree weather. It even felt cold to me which meant it was
torture for the tropical ladies. My wife,
in particular, was struggling with the cold and had me walk in front of her as
a wind block. She even borrowed a spare hat that I was carrying to cover her mouth, despite what she described as a heavy scent of Buddy permeating the heat. Her cousin’s daughter was enthralled by the very friendly and
hungry Common squirrels, which are unknown in Panama. We stopped by the ice skating at the Frog
Pond and made our way quickly by the state capitol heading for a warmer
destination, The Quincy Market, that just coincidentally included shopping
opportunities (go figure).
We spent the rest of the afternoon in the
heated environs of Faneuil Hall which the gals dove into with their usual
shopping acumen. I was appointed to my
normal duties of overwatch since I forgot to bring a book with me. I enjoyed the constant stream of people
watching opportunities, something I really enjoy.
I also took some time to read some of the
historical markings abundant in this cradle of the American Revolution. I made a vow to myself to return on one of the
weekends while my wife is gone. I was a
little ashamed that I had never walked the Freedom Trail in Boston despite
growing up immersed in the local history.
I’ll take a day, hopefully much warmer, to return to Boston and rectify
that shortcoming.
The Pana-Gals topped off their shopping with
some of Boston’s famous Clam “Chowdah” served in bread bowls. I’m not a fan of the concoction so I wandered
through the innumerable food vendors until I spotted a burger bar. Ari’s was run by a very bellicose and
efficient Eastern European (I think) who demanded your order and then made
damned sure you got it from his hard working cooks (family members I
think). I made the mistake of ordering
the largest burger which turned out to be immense. I did get a couple of admiring looks as I
made my way back to the Gals in the food court.
Sadly the looks were all directed at the burger. The burger was awesome although it did hit my
stomach like the proverbial rock – but that’s what a great burger does.
We returned to Worcester last night to gather
at the house of a friend for the planned dinner. It was a great juxtaposition of the Pana-Gals
and the Panamanian Mafia, two of my favorite ingredients for a good time. The gals gathered around for pre-dinner hors
d'oeuvres which were devoured in a fairly amazing space of time. We were shortly joined by one of the true characters
of the mafia – the resident jokester. I knew
it would be fun to see him match wits with my sister in law who would be the
perfect foil for his non-stop jokes. I
was not disappointed and the rest of the evening was spent watching the verbal
jousting match. It really was too much
fun; another great evening. I’m going to
miss the Pana-Gals whose departure draws nigh.
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| Frog Pond Ice Skating |
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| Pana-Gals at the State House |
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| Shopping (Of Course) |
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| My Sister in Law Battling an Attacking Lobster |
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| My Post for Most of the Afternoon |
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| Heated Pana-Shopping |
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| Chowdah in the Bread Bowl |
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| The Juxtaposition Starting Out |
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| The Jokester (Yellow Shirt) Arrives |
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| Matching Wits with My Sister in Law |
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