#43 Boston - I'm Having a Hot Flash - March 31, 2005
Well, I am not quite that old, just in case if you wondered. I might go off the deep end once in a blue moon, but that is a whole other story. I actually went to the Stuart Street Playhouse this past weekend to see "Menopause, The Musical". Now, I love musicals to begin with, but this one was absolutely hilarious and so much fun! A platoon of four women (Power Woman, Soap Star, Earth Mother and the Iowa Housewife) danced and sung their way through the funk that attacks us babes a little later in life. Pop songs took on a whole different meaning - Smokey Robinson's "My Guy" turns into "My Thigh", Irving Berlin's "Heat Wave" becomes the "Hot Flash" and "Puff the Magic Dragon" ends up as "Puff, Boy I am Draggin". Girls, go see it and have laugh while you can! Guys, you better check it out, so you can see what's coming your way - start construction on that separate "man room" in the basement right now! (http://www.menopausethemusical.com/)
I hope all of you had a lovely Easter weekend - it certainly was most wonderful here in New England - the weather was picture perfect! I had to put in some work time on Saturday morning (a great "opportunity to excel" over the past two weeks had presented itself - good project, lots to do, with some solid progress being made, so I am padding myself on the shoulder officially - right here, right now!!) - but I made up for it big time.
First I headed to Haymarket - located between Faneuil Hall and the North End, this very popular Friday-and-Saturday outdoor produce market is quite impressive. You can find some excellent bargains there, especially if you show up a little later in the day, where they practically throw the stuff at you. For a few bucks you can come home with pounds and pounds of carrots, potatos, salads, all fruits and veggies imaginable - it is quite the scene. Of course you really want to make sure that you do indeed want to buy ten bell peppers (even if they are only a dollar) or 6 pounds of carrots.
After visiting Bostix, the half-price ticket booth for my musical tickets, I headed out to the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum - it is the official memorial to JFK, who grew up here in Brookline and who was Massachusetts Senator before running for president. (http://www.jfklibrary.org/) I have to say that this has been probably one of my most enjoyable outings here in Boston - after an introductory movie, you head out on a self-guided tour, which leads you through galleries depiciting anything from a mock 1960 Democratic Convention set-up, to 60s street scenes reminiscent of his presidential campaigns, multi-media presentations with the Nixon-Kennedy debates, and complete reconstructions of White House rooms. There are loads of original items from his presidency, including notes, desk accessories, speeches, letters, gifts received from foreign dignitaries - even Jackie's baby sweaters are there. Mixed in are tons of screens with original footage, John Glenn's astronaut suit, and other fascinating memorabilia. Very moving is the section with footage of his assassination in a completely black corridor, with just the words "22 November 1963" written on it, and three TV screens showing the news reporting from this tragic day. The last room contains a quite sizable section of the Berlin Wall and a statement that was made by JFK in June of 1963 : "Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free. When all are free, then we can look forward to that day when this city will be joined as one and this country and this great Continent of Europe in a peaceful and hopeful globe. When that day finally comes, as it will, the people of West Berlin can take sober satisfaction in the fact that they were in the front lines for almost two decades." Once you exit the tour, you end up in the Pavillion, which is stunning - a 115 -foot high atrium, whose walls are made from a scaffolding-like structure and glass - with a stunning view of Boston!
On Sunday, it was time to get moving, so I joined the AMC on a 6-mile hike in Groton, Mass. Thanks to some rather cryptic directions, I got to know the area really well and arrived a bit late, but the group was nice enough to wait. The Groton Town Forest turned out to be a lovely place to hike, there was still snow and ice galore, and Ella got to prove her "all-wheel-driveness" in a pretty slick parking area. The march lead along some abandoned railroad trails and we ended up having a lunch on an old railroad bridge, which was pretty cool. This was not a botanical hike, so no explanations by our trip leader (who was remarkably quiet), but I did make everyone at least sniff at the Wintergreen plants and explained the difference between red and white oaks to a few folks who were interested. Boot would be so proud of me! Once I got home, I decided the weather was too nice to sit inside, so I went for a 4-mile jog along the Esplanade - amazing what a little nice weather can do! Puts a little spring in your step!! I can never get tired of the view you have when jogging along the Charles River on the Cambridge Side looking over at the lovely city of Boston.
The week has been busy with work, work, work and work, and exercise in the evenings. This Tuesday I met up with my friend and neighbor Mike, who is an anaesthesiologist at the hospital and who was showing me pictures from his trip with an MGH crew for Project Hope, which provided medical help in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, to victims of the tsunami. Quite amazing pictures and it was impressive to hear first-hand accounts on the situation down there.
That's the news from the hub for now - Have a great weekend my friends, we are expecting torrential rains (some snow showers maybe), so it might be time to hit up some more museums!!
Toodles,
pet:)
I have to add a little Boston tidbit (of course), from one of my favorite websites, Adam Gaffin's "Boston-Online.com", where he describes the "Great Molasses Flood of 1919" (I know, by now you are saying, what kind of a place is this? - Good thing is, we have not had one since!):
"If you had to choose how to die, drowning in molasses would probably not rank high on your list. On Jan. 15, 1919, 21 people, a dozen horses and at least one cat had no choice. A 58-foot-high, 90-foot-wide cast-iron tank holding 2.2 million gallons of molasses burst, sending a tsunami of the viscous liquid down Commercial at 35 m.p.h., destroying houses, commercial buildings and a part of the elevated railroad. Today, only a small plaque at the entrance to Puopolo Park commemorates the disaster. But climb up the terrace (which looks like a stone medieval rampart), look out over Commercial Street toward the harbor and imagine a three-story wall of molasses flowing past."
I hope all of you had a lovely Easter weekend - it certainly was most wonderful here in New England - the weather was picture perfect! I had to put in some work time on Saturday morning (a great "opportunity to excel" over the past two weeks had presented itself - good project, lots to do, with some solid progress being made, so I am padding myself on the shoulder officially - right here, right now!!) - but I made up for it big time.
First I headed to Haymarket - located between Faneuil Hall and the North End, this very popular Friday-and-Saturday outdoor produce market is quite impressive. You can find some excellent bargains there, especially if you show up a little later in the day, where they practically throw the stuff at you. For a few bucks you can come home with pounds and pounds of carrots, potatos, salads, all fruits and veggies imaginable - it is quite the scene. Of course you really want to make sure that you do indeed want to buy ten bell peppers (even if they are only a dollar) or 6 pounds of carrots.
After visiting Bostix, the half-price ticket booth for my musical tickets, I headed out to the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum - it is the official memorial to JFK, who grew up here in Brookline and who was Massachusetts Senator before running for president. (http://www.jfklibrary.org/) I have to say that this has been probably one of my most enjoyable outings here in Boston - after an introductory movie, you head out on a self-guided tour, which leads you through galleries depiciting anything from a mock 1960 Democratic Convention set-up, to 60s street scenes reminiscent of his presidential campaigns, multi-media presentations with the Nixon-Kennedy debates, and complete reconstructions of White House rooms. There are loads of original items from his presidency, including notes, desk accessories, speeches, letters, gifts received from foreign dignitaries - even Jackie's baby sweaters are there. Mixed in are tons of screens with original footage, John Glenn's astronaut suit, and other fascinating memorabilia. Very moving is the section with footage of his assassination in a completely black corridor, with just the words "22 November 1963" written on it, and three TV screens showing the news reporting from this tragic day. The last room contains a quite sizable section of the Berlin Wall and a statement that was made by JFK in June of 1963 : "Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free. When all are free, then we can look forward to that day when this city will be joined as one and this country and this great Continent of Europe in a peaceful and hopeful globe. When that day finally comes, as it will, the people of West Berlin can take sober satisfaction in the fact that they were in the front lines for almost two decades." Once you exit the tour, you end up in the Pavillion, which is stunning - a 115 -foot high atrium, whose walls are made from a scaffolding-like structure and glass - with a stunning view of Boston!
On Sunday, it was time to get moving, so I joined the AMC on a 6-mile hike in Groton, Mass. Thanks to some rather cryptic directions, I got to know the area really well and arrived a bit late, but the group was nice enough to wait. The Groton Town Forest turned out to be a lovely place to hike, there was still snow and ice galore, and Ella got to prove her "all-wheel-driveness" in a pretty slick parking area. The march lead along some abandoned railroad trails and we ended up having a lunch on an old railroad bridge, which was pretty cool. This was not a botanical hike, so no explanations by our trip leader (who was remarkably quiet), but I did make everyone at least sniff at the Wintergreen plants and explained the difference between red and white oaks to a few folks who were interested. Boot would be so proud of me! Once I got home, I decided the weather was too nice to sit inside, so I went for a 4-mile jog along the Esplanade - amazing what a little nice weather can do! Puts a little spring in your step!! I can never get tired of the view you have when jogging along the Charles River on the Cambridge Side looking over at the lovely city of Boston.
The week has been busy with work, work, work and work, and exercise in the evenings. This Tuesday I met up with my friend and neighbor Mike, who is an anaesthesiologist at the hospital and who was showing me pictures from his trip with an MGH crew for Project Hope, which provided medical help in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, to victims of the tsunami. Quite amazing pictures and it was impressive to hear first-hand accounts on the situation down there.
That's the news from the hub for now - Have a great weekend my friends, we are expecting torrential rains (some snow showers maybe), so it might be time to hit up some more museums!!
Toodles,
pet:)
I have to add a little Boston tidbit (of course), from one of my favorite websites, Adam Gaffin's "Boston-Online.com", where he describes the "Great Molasses Flood of 1919" (I know, by now you are saying, what kind of a place is this? - Good thing is, we have not had one since!):
"If you had to choose how to die, drowning in molasses would probably not rank high on your list. On Jan. 15, 1919, 21 people, a dozen horses and at least one cat had no choice. A 58-foot-high, 90-foot-wide cast-iron tank holding 2.2 million gallons of molasses burst, sending a tsunami of the viscous liquid down Commercial at 35 m.p.h., destroying houses, commercial buildings and a part of the elevated railroad. Today, only a small plaque at the entrance to Puopolo Park commemorates the disaster. But climb up the terrace (which looks like a stone medieval rampart), look out over Commercial Street toward the harbor and imagine a three-story wall of molasses flowing past."
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5:35 PM
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