Cheers

Sunday I drove up to Boston and braved the mean streets in my rental car. I decided to stay downtown and got a very nice room at the Marriott Courtyard on Tremont Street, right on the border between Chinatown and the theater district. It must have been my special day because I was randomly selected as “Guest of the Day,” a well deserved honor even if it was random. I was awarded 500 Marriott points and my room was upgraded to the top floor. I surrendered the rental car to the valet parkers and figured I would explore on foot and use the “T” to get around. I had been to Boston a couple of years ago so I had seen most of the historic area so I just wandered about. As I was returning to the hotel I saw Jesus Christ, Superstar was at the Shubert Theater. I saw JCS when it first came out in the early ‘70s. I checked the dress code (I was in jeans and a polo shirt) and discovered there is no longer a dress code for the theater. I bought a ticket and attended the performance. The production was superb and Ted Neely was excellent as Jesus. The play covers the last seven days of Jesus’ life and ends with the crucifixion. Neely really portrayed Jesus’ frustration with the demands put on him by his followers and the inability of his disciples to understand who and what he was. The only one who understood him was Mary Magdalene even though she claimed to not understand him. The final scene was full of anguish and doubt as Jesus asked his Father why he had to die. It was much better the second time around.

Monday, I went to the JFK Presidential Library and Museum. It is a beautiful building and the exhibit was well done. I forgot how charismatic he and Jackie were; of course I was in my teens during his presidency. I spent the entire morning and part of the early afternoon at the Library.

I got back into Boston and had to find a sandwich shop Phyl and I ate at on our previous visit. If you ever get to Boston grab a sandwich at Al’s State Street Café on State Street (duh) near the old Custom House. Mmmm, lunch and dinner. The weather was quite cold and the wind was gusting so I bought a sweatshirt because my other one was in Shirley back in Honesdale. I specifically searched for a non-hoody model which ended up being a mistake.

I took the T (the public transit system) to Fenway. It sure is nice having a transit system that works. I wandered around the park for a while and considered selling my extra ticket. I thought one of my East Coast friends may want to go to the game but none did. There were a number of folks selling tickets outside the Park for face value or less. There were also a bunch of folks trying to sell tickets in the “Scalp-fee Zone.” Based on the simple economic principle of excess supply and limited demand, I elected to eat my ticket, a good choice.

I found my seat and it was a doozy. It was in the last row in the very corner of left field. I couldn’t even see the “Green Monster” because I was right next to it. I could see the scoreboard tender come out with a ladder between innings to update the scoreboard. There was an opening right behind my seat and the frigid wind roared through the opening and right on my exposed neck. Jane, the lady in front of me was very grateful for my discomfort because I blocked the wind for her. A hoody sweatshirt would have been nice. My seat had a view of home plate but the catcher was obscured by a column. The extra seat had a totally obstructed view. If I had sold that ticket I am sure the buyer would have been very upset. I am kind of surprised the Red Sox ticket office didn’t mention the full priced ticket had an obstructed view. The game was a good one with Boston winning 7-6. The defensive play was very sloppy but the unseasonable cold may have had something to do with it.

I scored with seatmates again. Jane, the lady who I shielded from the wind and her husband, Ted, are from Connecticut. Ted is retired from the Postal Service and Jane still works to provide a hedge in case the economy takes another dump (or the stock market has another 1,000 point hiccup). Bob and Kellie are from Rhode Island. Bob is retired from the RI State Police and is an instructor in the Law Enforcement program at Brown College. Kellie was too far away to talk to over the howling of the wind. One of the traditions at Fenway is the playing of Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline in the middle of the eighth inning. The fans really get into it and the recording is turned off at a number of points so the crowd can sing it a cappella. The rumor that the playing of the song is a tribute to Caroline Kennedy is false. The real reason is simply because it is fun and the fans love it.

I had no real plans for Tuesday so I decided to drive up to Maine because I had never been there. I went up through New Hampshire and discovered the worst drivers encountered so far on this trip. There must be a law that says one cannot enter the flow of traffic at a brisk speed. One must creep onto the roadway, putt along for half a mile then accelerate to 30, maybe even 35 miles per hour. After reaching 35 mph it is obligatory to slow down and catch one’s breath. It is also unlawful to maintain a constant rate of speed for more than two miles. The highways are also cleverly designed. There are no passing lanes on uphill grades (helps ensure variable highway speeds). The passing lanes are on the downhill sides so the trucks can roar down the hills and gain momentum for the next uphill.

There are quite a few beautiful lakes in New Hampshire and most of them have Native American names like Lake Wassernopeepee and Lake Lackaweewee. Every lake has a couple of lodges and most of them have moose crossing signs posted along the highway.

I was able to survive NH twice but was very glad to get into Vermont and then cross over into New York. I finally arrived at Cooperstown around 6:00 p.m. and will do some major exploration of the Hall of Fame Wednesday.